Some countries have implemented a new work schedule with a four-day work week and three-day weekends. What are the advantages and disadvantages of adopting a shorter work week?
A new trend is surfacing: nations have applied an unprecedented working routine, where employees have to work for shorter durations during weekdays and weekends. This essay will discuss the merits and demerits for working for fewer days.
To start with, a lobby propounds that such arrangements make workers feel relaxed as they are not over-burdened with work, hence, making them more productive and efficient. Moreover, less travelling aiding the environment is another benefit of this practice. This is to say, one travelling to work tends to use fossil fuel-driven vehicles, which release colossal amounts of carbon dioxide into the air, and hence, augmenting air pollution. However, with this the impact on the environment will be mitigated when commuting to the workplace for a limited number of days.
Having said that, this phenomenon is also laden with cons too. A shorter working week means limited salaries. In other words, wherever regimes permit hourly wages, personnel get paid by days, and imposing a cap on the working schedules will precipitate a dearth of money. This will incapacitate many to fulfill their basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter. As a result, pushing many to look for a second job to manage their expenses. For example, in Japan, this policy is facing a public backlash since many are forced to find supplementary jobs in order to meet their expenses as the first job has a 3 days a week working routine, reducing their disposable incomes.
Nevertheless, there are many industries that rely on continuous service: healthcare, retail, and customer support, which may find it difficult to operate efficiently with fewer working days. This could lead to staff shortages, delays, reduced customer satisfaction, missed deadlines, and slower responses. To corroborate, a recent survey revealed that hospitals and emergency services must function around the clock, and deploying this arrangement could create serious staff shortages, or force longer shifts, and hence, this schedule might result in chaos for service-based and essential sectors.
In conclusion, the benefits are increased productivity and reducing environmental pollution through less commuting, but this is likely to impact sectors relying heavily on continuous services, where reduced working days could lead to staff shortages and operational inefficiencies.
