Traditionally the weekend is Saturday and Sunday, but what if you could have a three day weekend every week? Would you work longer hours for a three day weekend and if so why? If you prefer the two day weekend format and shorter work days, explain why.
It seems like the Covid experience has made everyone question the existing norms and what seemed impossible in the past proved to be possible.
Telecommuting
In the past, most workplaces or management were very skeptical about telecommuting (some call it the "work from home" days). One view that I overheard was that the productivity of companies would suffer drastically if all the employees were to telecommute. That was before Covid struck. In 2020, due to government policies/restrictions, most of the companies had to telecommute and we all made it. Neither the companies nor the economy stopped functioning. That led me to also realise that humans are very adaptable, especially if it concerns our survival, which in this case refers to earning a salary to be able to take care of ourselves and our loved ones.
Longer Hours for a 3-day Weekend
Being single, I would prefer to work longer hours for 4 days and enjoy a 3-day weekend.
- Minimal Commitments
I don't have many commitments and hence am able to commit longer hours at work on a daily basis. However, this might not be possible for parents who have kids to take care, or those who need to prepare dinner for their families in the evenings.
- Time Savings
One thing I learnt from telecommuting is that I can literally wake up 15 minutes before 9am, and be able to start work on time. That's because I don't need to shower, get changed, and spend another 30-45 minutes of travelling on the train to get to the office. Including the return journey, that's a two hour difference between working from office and working from home, which could be better spent elsewhere, such as sleeping, or exercising, or posting on Hive. So by working 1 day less, I get an extra 2 hours every week.
(To add, there's also cost savings in terms of lesser train fares, lesser laundry, and perhaps lesser expensive food in the city.)
- Longer Weekends
We all love it when a holiday falls on Fridays or Mondays because the weekend is longer. We could plan short getaways without affecting our work days or simply have more time to do things that we love. I think this might encourage people to engage in more hobbies and interests, such as picking up a new skill or getting more exercise, compared to the current state, where most of us are just too tired after work to do any mind boggling or strenuous activities in the evenings.
Final Thoughts
Similar to telecommuting, I feel that if companies were to implement such an arrangement, it should be a choice for employees to decide if they would like to transition to a 4 day work week, and it should not be made compulsory. Like I have mentioned above, I would assume not everyone would prefer this arrangement, just like some people prefer to come to office to work for their personal reasons (e.g. more conducive, more productive, etc).
As long as the work output is satisfactory and the KPIs are met, in my view, it doesn't really matter where people work, or how many hours or days they work in a week.