Could a shorter work week come to North America?

By Jason Buckland, Sympatico / MSN Finance

It’d be easy to argue that Europe is generally ahead of North America, whether such trendsetting may come in food, fashion, public transit or whatever.

So it’s natural that when a special meeting of the European Union is called to solve its labour crisis, we might want to peek through the curtain and take a listen.

To mixed reactions yesterday, some EU leaders proposed a shorter working week as a fix to the growing unemployed, a group that’s ballooned to the largest in the continent since World War II.

Whether or not the idea will get serious consideration isn't known right now, but it does pose an interesting hypothetical for North America to consider.

With demand for labour at near all-time lows in Canada and the U.S., is the suggestion of a shorter work week even something to ponder? Let’s look at the two main points of the argument:

1) Force unions to concede the number of hours worked per person, per week, so more of the workforce can have a crack at consistent employment.
2) Ease the strain on major manufacturers – like German VW plants were forced to do – to keep inventories of unsold product from piling up, slashing company profits and forcing them to shed even more staff down the line.

But, like I did when I initially read the proposal, you’re probably screaming at your computer right now, lambasting the idea of a four-day work week when your bills are piling up.

Wouldn’t spreading the workforce thin create the illusion of more employment when, in reality, it would just boost the levels of underemployment, argued by some to be just as dangerous as no work at all? Wouldn’t that diminish the average family income clear across the board? Isn’t this an idea that generates more problems than it concludes?

Yet, with all that’s going on, can we just write it off completely?

Comments

in some areas a 4 day work week may help a lot but now ever everyone has to get thier afairs in order first,we all have been liveing beyound out means to long,its time for a real ckeck on our own afairs,put them in check ,live within your means and do without for awhile and guess what things get better ,may take a little longer but u r able to move foreward

A shorter work week would add so many other benefits to life I can't believe you missed these important points:

Lower demands on social systems like unemployment & welfare
Lower crime rates
Lower demands on the courts & justice systems
Better harmony at home
More leisure time
Increased quality of life
Lower Taxes
Less Stress

As some of us remember and some of us have read about the whole idea of two incomes per household becoming the norm basically after the second world war to off set rising prices ie housing ,property and living expenses. Seems we all wanted more (and that is a good economy builder) The idea of changing the workweek to four days looks like a possible alternative to having an eight percent unemoloyment rate. We all take a hit ,even the government gets less taxes and not by choice lol. Maybe the feds can give up their massive tax grab from the ei fund to give back a little to supplement this thought.
I do see many or all corporations crying due to idle factories. Imagine an increase of 20% in jobs

A shorter work week sounds great. . . . . . only if my rent reduces by the same percentage, and all of the other bills drop by the same percentage. A lot of us in "Boominb Alberta" were NOT involved in the oil-patch. We have been living (make that existing) with our paycheques stretched to the limit. Until rents, utilities etc start to come down, most of us would be, as some say; 'toast'.

Some companays have been doing that for years, it's called part time. Only the company benifits from it. Now they don't have to pay benifits. The worker usually gets less time at home, because he/she has to have a 2nd job just to make ends meet. Less money in your picket means more stress, and less harmony at home. I do not belive a nation of underemployed people would be good for the economy or for social systems.

Maybe if I worked for the auto industry averaging 58 to 76 dollars per hour, I would consider it.

It won't solve anything cutting the work week unless wages go up to compensate for the loss of hours. It will only force those employees to seek another job to compensate, therefore rendering this idea ludricus. Most families are already working two jobs to eke out a living. Taking away their hours will only make it so they have to get a third job. The minimum wage was frozen for so long that it requires both parents working, just to provide the basic necessities of life. Wages don't compare to the high rate of inflation. Increase the wages to meet the basic inflation rate and you will find that there won't be a need for people to have more than one job per household. This will provide the necessary influx of jobs to meet some of the demand. Let's face it, a lot of people won't work for less than $10/hr,therefore there are a lot of minimum wage jobs in the city that people don't want because the cost of living is too high and they wouldn't make enough to pay the rent nevermind food.
It is about time businesses sucked it up and increased employee wages to the rate of inflation. Sometines it's not just about profit but about people and their basic needs. So, instead of a billion dollar profit they make 999,000,000 million instead. This might hurt the small businesses but they are only an drop in the bucket and most small businesses are family run, so their overhead is less.
The companies hire more students than adults because the government gives them an incentive to hire students. The government pays half of the wage of every student so the companies save money. How about giving the companies incentives to hire adults. Adults have to pay for the necessities of life for their families, students don't need the money for basic needs, it's just so they can go partying and buy stuff that they want that is not needed to survive.Their parents provide food, clothing, a roof over their head, and whatever they want. There are some students who use the money they earn to buy a house, for college or a car but most just want money to party.
Let's face it, it is a miracle than anyone can pay their rent nevermind food on one income. Try finding an apartment for less than $700 a month and you only bring home $700-800 net a month. One bedroom apartments go for $750 a month plus utilities. You do the math. Do you know how many people who went to college and university are working at McDonald's or other similar establishments?
Approxitemately half of them cannot find employment in the field they went to college for in the first place. It is a universal problem that is prevalent among high school grads and post secondary graduates. So, instead of decreasing the work week maybe you should be looking into the abovementioned problems that were generated by the minimum wage being frozen for so long.

Sincerely, Donna Nicholls

In America, real people have 2 full time low-pay jobs and people at age of retirement still work in amussement park... In Quebec Engineers have to pay a liability insurance even if they work for a big corporation, but those who work for the State do not have to pay it...

The 4 days week is good for bureaucrats who lives off the people. The young workers will not benefit unions... which were too expensive... but still have to pay for the national debt and support the bureaucrats...

I think that it would be much smarter to cut opening hours of all consumer stores like Sears, Wallmart, Bestbuy... big or small... start small ... for example on Tuesdays, they all can not open before 1 pm... if all stores close... none will loose sales to competition... traffic would be lighter that morning too...

Donna, you mention "many people who went to college and university are working at McDonald's or other similar establishments?", and that the government should raise minimum wage to offset this...
well, for those have went to university and are working for minimum wage, wow, that's unheard of among those I know of...maybe if they barely passed and perhaps received a degree in a useless field...If that's the case, perhaps students should start going to university to actually receive a useful degree in the field they hope to work in, and stop taking majors in History without furthering it afterwards

also, in response to someone else's post... I don't see the clear correlation between a shorter work week and lower crime rates? could you explain

I am really sick of people critizing people who work in the auto industry. People that wok in the factories do not make 58 to 76 dollars. They typicall make between 25-30 dollars,w hich yes it is a decent wage but working in a factory can be stressful environment. If you have never worked in a factory then you would not really understand this. This wage compensates the hardships that can occurr with your body over time, shift work etc. I don't work in a factory anymore but my husband is in the auto industry. I think it is really easy for people to critize something that they have never possibly done themselves. Work a year in a factory environment and tell me if you think this is a reasonable wage? You could easily make the argument that they don't need to work in a factory if there are so many hardships, but the reverse agrument could be made. if you think the wage is so great then why are you not working there.

This is kind of comical actually. The big buzz in the early 1980s was the transition to the 30 hour work week. Then we got caught up in Japanese labour models and their quick command of the North American automotive and electronic markets. And now, amidst this so called, hopefully not orchestrated market and industry correction the dialogue starts again. Maybe we'll stick with it this time.

KUDOS MELISSA! My husband has also worked in the auto industry for 10 years. He certainly does not make 58 to 76 dollars an hour; if he did I would get to stay home and raise my family. Want to make cuts to the auto industry/ Look to the execs that got them into this mess in the first place and cut their wages and benefits and BONUSES!

I think the time has come for people to really start being creative about how they earn their money. As soon as women started entering the workforce full blast - that is when the cost of living started going up and it has not stopped. It is all relative. The companies knew that there was way extra money being earned in each household and of course thought up ways to take that money away. Hence the current situation whereby a household can no longer survive on just one salary. The society suffers because of this, children and husbands are suffering because of this and most of all Women are suffering - working full time, trying to raise children - sometime on their own - trying to keep a clean pleasant loving home that her and her family can enjoy. A four day work week? It would be good for me. I would use it to earn money by spending the day working for myself, on budgeting, menu planning, making the weekly bread, canning, sewing, whatever would save me money because to be quite frank I am tired of working like a dog and giving it all back just to keep a roof over my head and some food on the table. What I hate is being dependent on the economy for survival.

@ Donna | May 8, 2021 9:26:08 AM

Really great post Donna, it's a wonder you can't find a job that pays more than $10/hr. I just love people who quote ridiculous asinine "facts" with no real basis to illustrate their point. You are wrong with just about every assertion you make in your post, and judging by that post, you are someone who deserves to make no more than $10 per hour. Quit whining about what companies should provide for unskilled workers like yourself; if you want to make more go out and earn it. Take a course and make yourself more valuable. Start a business. Do something, but don't expect a handout and for businesses trying to make money to end up losing money so they can pay you more than you're worth.

Short work weeks, work less hours and live very well - You mean we should all be teachers.

Just a note to Johnston, I am not a teacher but several of my family members are teachers. First of all you have to have five years of post secondary education .. that has to be worth something. And then for every hour a good teacher spends in the classroom, a good teacher will spend at least another hour of preparation and marking. So, for most teachers .. six hours in the class room makes a 12 hour day. Also, for a teacher to have good rapport with their students and the respect of their peers and the community they must do extra-curricular activities such as sponsoring clubs within the school, coaching and/or field trips. Preparation, marking and extra-curricular activities are not compensated financially. So, if you re-calculate what a good teacher really makes .. it is significantly less than you think. It is true that they get two weeks off at Christmas, a week of Spring Break and two months during the summer, but a good part of the summer is usually spent marking government exams, furthering and enriching their education, organizing their class room for the next year, reading new text books for the courses to be presented, and streamlining, adjusting and enhancing their materials for the next semester. It is a very time consuming and demanding job. People should support their teachers. A good education is one of the facets that makes us a strong, creative, productive society and country and a good teacher is priceless.

Note to Sally - What a crock, I work with a teacher. People support teachers in general, but not the endless whining and complaining that too many do and they drop students at the drop of a hat to get what they want.

Shorter work week equals shorter paycheck and an extra job to make up the loss. As for teachers living very well Johnston I don't see them driving around in Mercedes or Jaguars, they work 5 days a week and bring work home with them after school and on the weekends. Donna made some valid points James, to take a course you need time and money, to have money you need a job which leaves most people very little time to take a course. Rent is expensive, taxes are high, minimum wage is too low. Years ago people could afford to buy a house on one income while the wife stayed home and raised the kids... Today 2 working adults struggle to buy a 1 bedroom box, never mind raise a family with daycare costing $1200 per month for a child under one. I don't know what the solution is but it sure as hell isn't a shorter work week.

When I first read this blog my reaction was YIKES shorter work weeks? While on the surface we all would love to work a 4 day week, but only if our paycheques remained the same, can you imagine the havoc it would cause in almost every sector of the work market..having to train a new person to come in for one day??? It boggles the mind. While in theory it sounds tempting, I'll stick to whining and working my five day week and just thank god that I have a good job to whine about!!

Wow, alot of discussion on this topic. The truth is we all would love the extra time with our families...but can we afford it? If we all went to a 4 day work week , the families struggling to make ends meet now, will suffer. What is the governement offering to our families to offset the difference? Any additional tax credits? Lower daycare costs, loans, mortgages, and credit cards rates fixed at prime? I think not. It always SOUNDS good in theory. But at the end of the day, there has to be a cut in day to day costs to justify the possiblity.

We are in a deep recession,what got us here???, Lack of production in some of the commodities but mostly the fast grab in the stock market raising prices beyond reasonable returns for labour.people with low incomes having to borrow beyond thier means to keep up.You want a shorter work week????,the only way out of this recession is increase production and stop listening to the money men.

The best way to fix the problem is to force all beaurocrats to live like the rest of us Canadians. Abolish all unions for Gov't employees, pay them closer to Canadian average incomes, make them work a 44 hour week, and cap off holidays at 4 weeks a year. You will see massive goverment surpluses everywhere, our taxes will drop drastically and suddenly Mom's will be able to stay home with there kids again. Afterall...if our labour laws are good enough for the rest of us, why do Gov't employees need a union anyway?

And as a final thought...if Unions bankrupted the auto industry am I alone in wondering how much damage they are causing the country considering every gov't office in Canada is full of unionized employees?

I would welcome a 4 day workweek. I am 46 years old, my mortgage is paid in full on my condo,
I do not owe money to anybody, I have good savings. But I always watch what I spend my money
on. I think a lot of people my age should be in the same position.
Companies should ask workers if they would be willing to voluntaraly work 4 days for one year
in these difficult times. Families with young kids, mortgages can't do this of course, but
not everybody is having a financial hardship.
Also there's something called work-share, it's a government program offered to employers
that would like to reduce working hours, and EI would partially compensate employees's lost hours.

This is to Joe - why must we increase production? Production of what? For who? Production of toxic useless crap for all of us North American shopaholic, overweight, food junkies.

A four day work week for all would mean politicians would have to go to work twice as much as they do now.