Should the UK adopt a 4 day working week ?

tirano

The immediate reaction would be no, but given the reduction in mortgage rates and the possible 10% - 20% reduction in Council Tax if applied to the Public Sector, then financially it should be possible to live on 4/5ths of salary.
many companies are already doing this, why not adopt it nationwide, long weekends every week !
You would create more jobs, less environmental damge etc etc.

whathavewedone

I don't think so. It should be up to companies to decide how they want to make cuts if cuts are necessary.

The first people to get made redundant in many firms are those that haven't really been pulling their weight but aren't performing badly enough to actually get sacked.

Why should people who are great at their job and work hard be penalised to help out others? That would be really bad for morale.

Not only that but if the strategy didn't work and some people had to be made redundant anyway then they would get paid on the basis of what they had been earning on a 4/4.5 day week rather than a 5 day week.

I think it can work in some firms - if you are really happy with all your staff and really don't want to let anyone go then fine, give it a try.

Sometimes though you have people who you really need there 5 days a week and others who are no longer needed, whether because they just aren't that efficient or because the area of your business that they specialise in has gone down exponentially.

It's a decision for the managing director imho not something that should be decided by the government.

pickles110564

tirano wrote: »

The immediate reaction would be no, but given the reduction in mortgage rates and the possible 10% - 20% reduction in Council Tax if applied to the Public Sector, then financially it should be possible to live on 4/5ths of salary.
many companies are already doing this, why not adopt it nationwide, long weekends every week !
You would create more jobs, less environmental damge etc etc.

We have been doing a 4 day week for years, 2 days 2 nights 4 off.

[Deleted User]

My firms Q4 profits are up 18%.. why in the hell would we want to reduce our output?

Not every company is suffering you know

vivatifosi

I don't think we should.

Anything that diminishes the effectiveness of the nation is not a good thing. Companies need to have the option as a weapon in their armoury, along with salary freezes, redundancy, etc. However there are equally companies in the current economy that are doing just fine and they should be able to set the agenda for their own business.

I was a kid in the 3 day week of the 1970s. The government also threatened to nationalise the building trade and my dad owned a building company at that time. Possibly one of the stupidest government ideas ever. Give companies the options, but don't force a one size fits all solution on all companies or whole industries, its just not appropriate.

tirano

ringo_24601 wrote: »

My firms Q4 profits are up 18%.. why in the hell would we want to reduce our output?

Not every company is suffering you know

Your firms employees would work a 4 day week, nothing to stop the Company working a 7 day week, they would take on more staff and reduce overall unemployment

the_ash_and_the_oak

On a personal level I would prefer a 40% pay cut and a 3 day week. But in general terms I think 5 days is too long to be spent at work. 4 days I think is about right, it also keeps a work force in place ready so that in the event of any turnaround businesses have a full complement of trained staff and don't need to go through unnecessary recruitment costs, I think staff would be fresher with more time off also, plus fewer job losses and less fear of job losses means higher economic activity.

tirano

vivatifosi wrote: »

I don't think we should.

Anything that diminishes the effectiveness of the nation is not a good thing. Companies need to have the option as a weapon in their armoury, along with salary freezes, redundancy, etc. However there are equally companies in the current economy that are doing just fine and they should be able to set the agenda for their own business.

The effectiveness of the nation would be improved, imagine 3 day weekends, less environmental damage etc

Ivrytwr3

pickles110564 wrote: »

We have been doing a 4 day week for years, 2 days 2 nights 4 off.

Sounds like you are doing 12 hour shifts though oppose to the normal 8 - 5 routine.

God i miss shift work!!!!

pickles110564

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

Sounds like you are doing 12 hour shifts though oppose to the normal 8 - 5 routine.

God i miss shift work!!!!

Yes 12 hour shifts, I love doing shifts because you can get things done when Joe Public are at work.
The mon to fri working system is not that fair as people probably with commuting etc do 12 hour days anyway and then they only get 2 days off at the weekend, that is something I could not put up with.

whathavewedone

Oh great so the loyal, experienced and efficient staff have to take a paycut so that people who will need training and help can get a job? A lot of the people that would get sent along by the jobcentre would be totally unsuitable and incapable of doing the job.

Staff would be coming into work sorting out the mistakes made by the newbies on their day off. Customers would be hacked off because they'd be getting a worse service. The good staff might go elsewhere if they're experienced in a field that is not affected by the recession leaving behind the dross.

Suddenly a company that was doing well in a recession might become a company not doing well in a recession.

Do you have any experience of running a business yourself OP?