Work-Life Balance Part 1 What would you think about a law to introduce a working week that would last only four days. So that everybody would get a three-days long weekend. Wouldn’t that be great?

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Kateryna

Work-Life Balance Part 1 What would you think about a law to introduce a working week that would last only four days. So that everybody would get a three-days long weekend. Wouldn’t that be great? Recently I’ve heard a rumor that such an idea has been discussed in german media and with german law-makers. But what that would mean for us employees? Nowadays everybody is talking about work-life balance. Normally a typical job includes a 40 hours long working week. But in the modern economy there are a lot of positions, where you have to work for 60 or even 80 hours a week. If you are occupying such a job position that normally means, that your private life is nearly nonexistent. A few friends of mine, who are working 60-70 hours a week are usually complaining that they couldn’t build a relationship, that would last long. The enormous level of stress and the job where you’re sitting for the most time of the day don’t do any good for your health. The lack of sleep wouldn’t contribute to a good health either. In addition to it, it is difficult to have and rise children. I read an article a few weeks ago about a famous big enterprise, that is operating in finance and their plan to increase the working hours of the employees officially to 60 hours a week in order to avoid work at the week-ends. So if you’re working nearly 55 to 60 hours a week and then you have to work at the weekend additionally, you could imagine there is no time left for recreation and private life. You could say you’re living to work and not working to live. That couldn’t be the purpose of out lives, could it? On the other hand we should think of our economy. If we would work less, then it would be difficult to improve the GDP of the country we’re living in. And that would affect us all. It would be too expensive for the enterprises not to cut the salaries respectively. So, if we would get less salary, but the prices would stay at the current level (and surely will), out life standard would decrease. So the question would be, what is more important for us? And what does a good life standard mean for a person?

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Work-Life Balance Part 1

What would you think about a law that introduces a working week that would lasting only four days. That way everybody would get a three days long weekend. Wouldn’t that be great?

Recently I’ve heard a rumor that such an idea has been discussed in the German media and by German lawmakers.
However, what that would mean for us employees? (One usually does not start a sentence with the conjunction "but".)

Nowdays everybody is talking about work-life balance. Normally a typical job includes a 40 hours long working week, but in the modern economy there are a lot of positions, where you have to work for 60 or even 80 hours a week.

If you are occupying such a job position, that normally means that your private life is nearly nonexistent. A few friends of mine, who are working 60-70 hours a week are usually complaining that they couldn’t build a relationship that would last long. The enormous level of stress and the job where you’re sitting for the most time of the day doesn’t do any good for your health. The lack of sleep doesn’t contribute to a good health either. In addition to this, it is difficult to have and raise children.

I read an article a few weeks ago about a famous big enterprise, that is operating in finance and their plan to increase the working hours of the employees officially to 60 hours a week in order to avoid work on the weekends. So if you’re working nearly 55 to 60 hours a week and then you have to work on the weekend additionally, you could imagine there is no time left for recreation and private life. You could say you’re living to work and not working to live. That couldn’t be the purpose of our lives, could it?

On the other hand we should think of our economy. If we would work less, then it would be difficult to improve the GDP of the country in which we’re living in. And That would affect us all.

It would be too expensive for the enterprises not to cut the salaries respectively. So, if we would get less salary, but the prices would stay at the current level (and surely will), our life standard of living would decrease. So the question would be, what is more important for us? Also, what does a good life standard mean for a person?

Studies have actually shown that shorter workweek has led to greater productivity. Working shorter hours doesn't necessarily imply lower productivity. Additionally, having more personal building time usually involves in an employee that is more well-rounded and better equipped to contribute powerfully to any work environment :). As a result, it doesn't suggest the company makes less either. Consequently, this is more likely to lead to a better economy,and happier people. Most companies (in the US anyway, large corporations) do not pay their employees fairly. This was showcased in the case of Richard Branson of Virgin who basically increased all his employees salaries to cut off a small portion of his massive profits. The result? Better employee morale, better productivity. The very public nature of this event? Far more customers. :) It does you well as an employer to make conscientious decisions while keeping in mind the publicity of such actions too!

Work-Life Balance Part 1

What would you think about a law to introduce a working week that would last only four days? That way, everybody would get a three-day long weekend. Wouldn’t that be great?

Recently, I’ve heard a rumor that such an idea has been discussed in german media and with german law-makers. But, what that would mean for us - employees?

Nowadays, everybody is talking about work-life balance. Normally, a typical job includes a 40-hour workweek. In the modern economy, however, (it's good to vary up structure. There was a "But," there just earlier, so I thought you'd prefer this) there are a lot of positions where you'd have to work for 60 or even 80 hours a week.

If you are occupying such a job position, that normally means, that your private life is nearly nonexistent. A few friends of mine, who are working 60-70 hours a week, are usually complaining about their inability to build any long-lasting relationships. The combination of the enormous stress-levels and physical and emotional demands of such a work environment wouldn't do your health any favors. The consequent lack of sleep wouldn’t contribute positively to a good health either. In addition to the aforementioned factors, it would also be difficult to have and raise children.

I read an article a few weeks ago about a famous financial enterprise that is operating in finance that plans to increase the working hours of the employees officially to 60 hours a week in order to avoid work on the weekends. So, if you’re already working nearly 55 to 60 hours a week, and then you also have to work during the weekends, you could imagine there would be no time left for recreation and private life. You could say that you’re living to work and not working to live. That couldn’t be the purpose of our lives, could it?

On the other hand, we should think of our economy. If we work less, then it would be difficult to improve the GDP of the country we’re living in, and that would affect us all negatively(?).

It would be too expensive for the enterprises not to cut the salaries respectively. So, if we would get less salary, but the prices stay at the current level (and surely will), our standard of living would decrease. So the question would be, what is more important for us? And what does a good standard of living mean for a person?

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