What are the economic effects of the three day weekend?
Assignment 5A: Textbook Article
Alex Fish
The Economic Logistics of an Extended Weekend
Altering The Economy
Since the beginning of the modern workweek schedule, the three day weekend has always been in the back of the working class employee’s mind. There are many reasons why this idea has been sought after and has gained heavy support from employees and employers alike. Some wish for an extra day to the weekend to improve their mental health; others wish to simply have an extra day off from work to be with friends and families; many wish for a way to recuperate their minds.Whatever reasons people have for seeking a three day weekend, the concept has its benefits and effects. Over the years many people have wished for the three day weekend to become their reality. As time went on many nations around the globe have experimented with and adopted the three week weekend into their societies. Many believe the United States could simply adopt the new schedule without any downsides. While the support behind the three day weekend is undeniable, the notion that it would be a simple, unproblematic adoption is not true. There are many things which have to be considered before making such a change into our society, none greater than how this change alters the economy. The adoption of the three day weekend would bring huge change to the current day economy and would take time to be successfully put into effect. We will learn about what effects the three day weekend would have on the United States’ economy, companies and employees, and how it could be effectively implemented into our society. If an extra day were to be added to the weekend, monumental benefits to the economy could, in turn, bring benefits to society.
https://medium.com/locktrip/announcing-loc-economy-2-0-ca5b68254219
Surprising Benefits
Many would assume that adding an extra day to the weekend while taking one away from the workweek would hurt the economy rather than benefit it. It sounds simple enough: less time working would be worse for the economy than more time working. As factual as this may sound, it has been proven untrue in countless experiments and economies. In fact, adding more time periods off work for employees, or an extra day to the weekend, has been proven to benefit the economy in many cases. For instance, “12 Surprising Benefits Of Having Three-Day Weekends All The Time” reports that Swedish workers have had their working hours lowered, and it has benefited the company greatly. Being given more time off has improved employees’ mental capacity and overall productivity as well. According to Liz Alderman, A writer for the New York Times, “Some employees reported working at about 80 percent capacity during the standard work week but found they got much more done with Sweden's six-hour work days.” The more productive the employees are, the more effective the company is which strengthens the economy. This decrease in working hours has caused employees to blossom with productivity and capability to perform to the best of their ability for their employers. Alderman goes on to report, “With more time available to think and less stress weighing on their minds, Swedish employees who experienced shorter workweeks found their creativity increased.The six-hour work day also provided some incentive for new ideas on how to make each hour count.” Here we have seen how shortening the workweek can bring huge positive benefits to a company and the economy as well. Sweden has seen many economic benefits through their reduction in workweek hours.
Decreasing the number of days of work per week would not only benefit the economy through employees, but through company spending as well. It can be very expensive to run a store, business, or company in the modern world of today. As we have seen employees' mental state and capability lead to a strengthened economy, reductions in overall company spending can have similar, if not greater, effects for the economy. There are many elements in a business which can be expensive, and an extra day off the working schedule could save companies thousands of dollars each month in energy consumption. Alex Williams, a writer from Business Insider writes, “Keeping office lighting, air conditioning, computers, and other equipment off for another day would lead to a 20 percent reduction in energy use. This not only helps the emissions we talked about, but it also cuts costs for the business.” Williams’ point is the less money a company spends on energy use the stronger and more flexible the company can be. An economy is only as solid as the people and companies within itself. An economy made of strong companies and businesses is a powerful economy which benefits all members of society. A reduction in energy usage would also benefit the environment as well, furthering the benefit to society and the economy altogether.
Benefits in Action
The three day weekend serves an important role in the way work is viewed. The shift to a three day weekend would take time, and the economy would take time to adjust as well. As the three day weekend is implemented into society, many would begin to live the many benefits which come along with it. One example of these benefits in action comes from “The Case for a Three-Day Weekend Is Clear – Let's Start Planning Now,” which reports lowering working hours for employees would open up opportunities for the unemployed to find work. According to writers Caroline Lucus and Jonathan Bartley from The Guardian, “Redistributing work from the 6 million of us in Britain working more than 45 hours a week to the more than 1.5 million who are out of work would share prosperity and start to tackle the costs associated with unemployment.” This goes to show how the economy would continue to grow as more people are able to find work and afford their own living. Although the transition would take time, the economy would quickly grow and begin benefiting society as a whole. Another benefit would be the lessening of gender inequality through pay in this new economy. Lucas and Bartley even believe that balance would be established among men and women in the workplace following the shorter workweeks implementation. They go on to write,“A shorter working week would also break down inequalities between women and men, as paid work would be shared more equally between them, and men could take on their fair share of unpaid work at home”(Lucas and Bartley). This would further improve the happiness of all workers leading to a stronger economy.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the shift to the three day weekend is understanding our new economy. The highest importance may just be understanding that the economy does not shape us, we shape the economy. Lucas and Bartley believe that we must first shift our negative image of work to a positive one writing, “we need to redefine our relationship with work and start to build an economy in which the focus moves away from “living to work” towards more individual choice, more flexibility and more opportunities to live life to the fullest.”The economy will prosper under the three day weekend schedule when the people put their faith in it and see the benefits through in order to gain them. Rather than living in a society which prioritizes work over the individual, we would become a society in which the economy prioritizes the individual.
Economic Evidence
There have been numerous studies conducted to further support the economic value in more time off work. Many of these studies have been recorded by William McGaughy in “The Economic Effect of Shorter Working Hours.” McGaughy has compiled a collection of various studies and experiments concerning the economic effect following decreases in working hours.
In one study, it was shown that a reduction in the working period proved to benefit and even expand companies. In, The Economic Effect of Shorter Working Hours, Writer William McGaughey tells readers,“In France, the sample inquiry among those firms which reduced hours of work in 1968-69 on the basis of industry level agreements showed that 48 percent of them took on additional workers, 38 percent installed new plants, and 27 percent introduced extended shift work.” As seen, the need for workers grew, and the industry saw expansion. In another example, reductions in working hours resulted in companies becoming more efficient. McGaughey reports, “Since the introduction of the 4 day week the company has found that costs have not increased.” Less working time with similar company cost shows an increase in efficiency. The four day workweek has proven sufficient to keep the company in business. In one final example, a study showed that a reduction in working days has little to no effect on work output. This study showed that shorter work weeks have little effect on the overall economy (McGaughey).. McGaughey reports, “In 1973, a nationwide coal miners’ strike in Great Britain forced the government to impose an emergency 3-day workweek upon the nation’s economy. When the crisis had ended, economists were startled to learn that industrial production had dropped by only 6%.” (McGaughey).With two days dropped from the working week, overall production had dropped only 6% over the course of months, showing that a firm schedule is not all that makes a company produce. These studies all show the three day weekend as a benefit to the economy and society as a whole.
A Base of Support
In, “The Green Party Wants to Create a 3-Day Weekend: Here Are the Economic Logistics Required,” writer Jim Edwards outlines the Green Party and highlights their support of the three day weekend. This party pushes for the adoption of the three day weekend in the United States for all the reasons this article has covered and because it would benefit the environment as well. According to Edwards, “Humans get tired and become unproductive if they work for too long.” (Edwards). The Green Party believes the most efficient economy will utilize employees and not waste productivity. They promote the idea that hard work is not always productive: “Our labour, in terms of GDP growth per hour worked, is simply less effective than in the past.” This chart (below) shows best that global GDP has since declined in recent years, supporting the need for a major shift in the global economy (Edwards).
Edwards, Jim. “The Green Party Wants to Create a 3-Day Weekend: Here Are the Economic Logistics Required.” Insider, Insider, 15 Apr. 2017, www.insider.com/3-day-weekend-economic-logistics-2017-4. Accessed 20 Apr. 2020.
The Green Party believes that if the United States meets the logistics required to transition to a four day workweek, all employees will receive the benefits outlined in previous sections similar to those in the UK. Companies must keep employee productivity high so they counteract the decrease in working hours lost by losing a work day. If employees work diligently the company will have the same production rate, otherwise the company will lose money (Edwards ). Edwards outlines, “And in 1994, the French Marxist Andre Gorz wrote a short book, "Farewell to the Working Class," in which he calculated that by the year 2001 technology could deliver productivity gains that would allow us to work just two days per week, and still get pay rises.” While this may not have been the case, productive work is more valuable than long hours. If companies can shift into this new ideology of work week, the economy and society will benefit.
Annotated Bibliography
Alderman, Liz. “In Sweden, an Experiment Turns Shorter Work Days Into Bigger Gains.” The
New York Times, The New York Times, 20 May 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/05/21/business/international/in-sweden-an-experiment-turns-shorter-workdays-into-bigger-gains.html?_r=0.
This article is a study of the Swedish four day workweek which has been in practice in recent years. Sweden has not completely switched to this new style of workeek but it has been heavily experimented with and practices. Alderman explains and discusses how these shorter workweeks and working hours have led to benefits for companies, employers, and employees.
Diply. “12 Surprising Benefits Of Having Three-Day Weekends All The Time.”
Diply, 2 Sep. 2016, https://diply.com/15722/12-surprising-benefits-Of-having-three-day-
weekends-all-the-time.
I used this source to find other sources with specific information I could use to explain my topic.
This article examines twelve benefits of extending the weekend to cover three days. The
a writer gives beneficial factors for workers, employers, companies, the environment, and ofcourse the economy. This persuasive source was created to encourage the brilliance of the three day weekend and give readers factual evidence of its benefits all across the spectrum.
Edwards, Jim. “The Green Party Wants to Create a 3-Day Weekend: Here Are the
Economic Logistics Required.” Insider, Insider, 15 Apr. 2017, www.insider.com/3-day-weekend-economic-logistics-2017-4.
In this piece, Jim Edwards gives a detailed examination of the Green Party’s idea of
establishing a three day weekend in the United States. He covers topics such as the reductions in energy use and working hours which will strengthen the productivity of companies. He also discusses the logistics which must be taken into account when considering a three day weekend.
Lucas, Caroline, and Jonathan Bartley.“The Case for a Three-Day Weekend Is
Clear – Let's Start Planning Now | Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Apr. 2017, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/04/three-day-weekend-injustices-modern-working-life.
These two authors work together to paint a picture of how effective and necessary the three day weekend actually is. The benefits which it brings to employees and employers have an immediate effect on companies which in turn helps boost the economy. This source provides useful information concerning the benefits as well as the need for a three day weekend to not only benefit employees and employers, but stimulate the economy.
McGaughey, William. “The Economic Effect of Shorter Working Hours.” The
Economic Effect of Shorter Working Hours, 4 May 1982, www.shorter workweek .com/econeffect.html.
In this source, William McGaughey compiles a list of different studies and experiments of reducing working days and hours and its effect on economies and people. These studies range back to the early 20th century and take place across the globe, each seeming to prove and support the beneficial factors of the three day weekend. This source serves as a mini database of work time reductions throughout history across the globe.
Williams, Alex. “We'd All Be Healthier If We Had 3-Day Weekends, According to Science.”
Business Insider, Business Insider, 31 Aug. 2016, www.businessinsider.com/3-day-weekends-would-make-us-healthier-according-to-science-2016-8?utm_content=bufferf1f10&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer.
In this article writer Alex Williams discusses how we would be healthier as workers and as humans if the workweek was shortened. He uses scientific studies to show how people are much more mentally stable and happy when not overworked and how people respond to having more downtime. He also discusses how the world and the environment would be healthier with less energy consumption per day.