The Case for a Shorter Workweek
I&#x27;ve been working a 4-day work week for over a decade now. I took the pay cut myself.<p>I pretty much agree with the article. Especially in knowledge-intense office jobs, people can&#x27;t really be fully productive across the day or week. People have different energy cycles throughout the day, and we&#x27;re biologically just not designed to focus this stretch of time. So a number of hours is &quot;busy time&quot;, sitting out the hours. A collective form of madness that serves nobody.<p>Anyway, in my case I noticed that in this line of work, your work load won&#x27;t scale down by 20%. You still need to output the same productivity as somebody working 5 days.<p>This does mean that the 4 days become more intense. There&#x27;s little slack in it. Further, it forces you into a more aggressive stance in rejecting distractions, items of low importance, and so on.<p>One thing I learned in doing so, is that I was much too afraid before in rejecting time wasters. I now generously decline meetings, and if truly of low importance, don&#x27;t even explain why. Your problem, not mine. Only my direct manager can lay a claim on my time, others must convince me of the purpose.<p>I&#x27;m in the lucky position to work in a fully output-based role, based on sprints and clear deliverables. One week before the new sprint, we agree in detail what gets delivered. And then I deliver, consistently and reliably. I take this extreme reliability very serious, as I don&#x27;t want to be seen as some part-time worker or somebody not doing their part.<p>Once this reputation is established, barely anybody can even tell that I&#x27;m not in on Fridays.<p>I strongly wish for a better work balance at a societal level. We have plenty of people to divide work amongst, combined with automation it would only be a logical and humane progression.<p>It is a type of progress we&#x27;ve ignored. We work longer, not shorter. We work as a couple, not as a single breadwinner. We have less job security than ever. The combined stress of a life long quest and grind for economic relevance is the greatest source of human suffering remaining. Which is not to imply that all work is suffering, rather the long hours, conditions, insecurity and imbalance of it.<p>If I may rant on, a sane work life may be the only way out of the climate crisis. It will inevitably lead to pressure on our material wealth, our lifestyle, our stuff. People won&#x27;t accept this sacrifice, unless...<p>...you exchange it for a better life in other ways. More economic security and a less existential stressful life in return for less material wealth. I&#x27;d take that deal.