Five Day Workweek

Capitalism is responsible for many great things—dozens of models of Converse All-Stars sneakers, 100 percent pure agave tequila imported straight from Mexico, DIY bands becoming world-famous mega-million dollar grossing stars practically overnight—but in plenty of ways, it sucks, too—capital moving freely around the world while labor can’t, environmental degradation in order to make a quick buck, pre-packaged pop stars becoming mega-million dollar grossing stars literally overnight—but what bugs me about it nearly as much asanything else is how the globalmarket system supports, fosters, and seems to depend upon the five day workweek.

Now, granted, in my career as an academic, I’m not always on that time clock, but for the most part, I’m beholden to it as a worker, parent, and citizen. Consequently, I’m unable to fully be all those things, at least with any real degree of expansiveness or reflection.

Saturday is half over before I’m even done cleaning house and if I do something that takes all day long like going skiing, as Mimi and I did today, then there’s the weekend, used up in a flash.

Sunday night is all about worrying over and preparing for Monday, so essentially, the entire weekend is gone by Friday night.

If people took to working four-day weeks, at least we’d have one day that felt sufficiently like vacation that we’d have time to recharge and reinvigorate for the week ahead.

I’ve seen arguments to the effect that instating the four-day work week would have great economic benefits. Productivity would go down only marginally, and people, paid the same amount for 32 hours instead of 40 would enjoy a higher standard of living and have more time to shop, thus stimulating economic growth even more.

The only downside, as I can see it, might be reduced sales for makers of anti-depressive drugs. But then, they might make it up on sales of antiobiotics, since fewer people would want to call in sick on Fridays.