Saturday, February 13, 2010

Twenty-One Hour Workweek?

Works for me!

The working week should be cut to 21 hours to help boost the economy and improve quality of life, a left-wing think tank has said.

The New Economics Foundation claimed in a report the reduction in hours would help to ease unemployment and overwork.

The think tank said people were working longer hours now than 30 years ago even though unemployment was at 2.5 million.

The foundation admitted people would earn less, but said they would have more time to carry out worthy tasks.

They would have better scope to look after children or other dependents, there would be more opportunity for civic duties, and older people could even delay retirement, it said.

(9) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1204 hrs
Culture + Economy + Foreign Affairs

  1. Yeah, lets implement government policy that furthers the wantless layabout tendencies of an already wussified nation….

    I know, lets also give every employee 6 weeks of vacation and two hour lunch breaks, that’ll increase productivity and create an environment of success. Hey, while we’re at it, I think that all retail stores should only be open on mondays, the post office should only deliver on tuesdays, and everyone in the country should have the day off on wednesday, because “who wants to work in the middle of the week?”. Oh, and on Wednesdays we can have a national “worthy task” day! Then, when everyone earns the same amount, and everyone works the same amount, and no-one is successful but nobody is starving, we’ll really have a ‘more perfect union’....

    RANT OFF.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 13, 2010 at 1226 hrs


  2. Now I know where the creators of the 60’s slogan “Suppose they held a war and nobody showed up” went to work - at a left-wing think tank.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 13, 2010 at 1421 hrs


  3. Funny timing i was reading the minneapolis star and tribune i think it was wednesdays opinion pages. and a person opined that everyone should have to work less a week so we should all have to feel the hard times, not just the unemployed. until the economy gets better. you know they never say here take my job from me or ill hire 1 more. no they want everyone to feel it.
    they probably dont even work

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 13, 2010 at 1424 hrs


  4. Another diversion from the fact that they do not have a clue how to create real jobs.

    “Redistribution philosophy” has given them permanent brain damage.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 13, 2010 at 1431 hrs


  5. Wasn’t it called “job sharing” in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s?  Wasn’t that the concept that while good in some aspects, was not successful in a widespread application?

    more opportunity for civic duties

    hmmm

    Posted by hsgbdmama on February 13, 2010 at 1559 hrs


  6. Gee, if it would be possible to exploit those of you with the last four posts. Oh that’s right. They already are.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 13, 2010 at 1902 hrs


  7. We already have that. 

    It’s called “teaching” and it’s practiced in the public screwels.

    Posted by dad29 on February 13, 2010 at 1906 hrs


  8. OK. a short term reduced workweek to employ more people is probably not the best way to do that, but as an aside, I’ve always found it kind of wierd that this country basically refuses to spend any productivity gains on increased leisure time.  I mean we’re sitting at a near record GDP/capita and we work more hours than ever.  Just to compare, we could probably afford to give everyone a 1920’s-standard upper middle class lifestyle if everyone worked half-time.  Not that that’s a better scenario, but its kind of strange that as the country gets richer, we just buy more stuff, rather than take some time off.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 13, 2010 at 2143 hrs


  9. Can we put the government workers on this?

    I like how the federal workers in DC have been off all week (and Monday) and no one even noticed.

    Can you say expendable?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 14, 2010 at 0902 hrs


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