would society benefit from working a 3 or 4 day week?

Gideon Lorr said:
Just....what?

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I wouldn't even know where to start correcting the OP.
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well, since you seem to not be able to bring anything to any table i just guess we should all sit on our arses and not vote etc, like you suggest. that will fix everything... :rolleyes:

apathy always beats thinking, doesnt it? :eek:

ok, its maybe not the best idea in the world. what about maybe those of us who can afford to work less days do so. that gives some opening to other people at least.

whether you like my idea or not i will still enjoy my 4 day week.
 
The Halk said:
I'm off tomorrow too. I work mon,tue,wed and saturday morning. Full time salary. :)
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i moved here and got a 35% pay rise. worked a year then got a 16% reduction. so im still on a fair bit more than my last job and working a day less. *winner* lol :)

i bet sat morning is a killer? i used to do those and said i never would again. it messed up my friday nights too much and my saturday nights as i had been up too long.
 
I'm a bit older now so I don't mind it. Being off on Thurs and Fri and Sat afternoon and Sunday means that the Saturday morning breaks things up... otherwise it'd just all run together. I work 35 hours a week and no more, and I couldn't really be out the house for any less time that I am.

It's not perfect but I do slightly prefer it 9-5, although I'm going 9-5 for a couple of months while I'm seconded to help out somewhere...
 
Monkeymatt said:
Can you please explain how this possibly makes sense? You are earning less but will still be paying the same percentage in tax therefore you will have less disposable income.

In the past this might have worked, but in the globalized world it would make our country less efficient and put us even further behind many other economies. Plus it would not make life much better for everybody, because Sports and other leisure activities would be almost impossible as there would be no standard time(weekend) when most of the population is off work.
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my basic rationale was that if nobody is claiming welfare then they should only need to take half as much income tax (maybe even less. you could irradicate it totally) and then just go on VAT, which takes more than income tax anyway.

im no economist so i cant speculate i just wondered if it could possibly work.

good point on the weekends thing, thats not something i had given any thought to. although i know so many people who work weekends we are almost at that point are we not? its not like when i was growing up and sundays didnt have anything open, so it was a family day.
 
The Halk said:
I'm a bit older now so I don't mind it. Being off on Thurs and Fri and Sat afternoon and Sunday means that the Saturday morning breaks things up... otherwise it'd just all run together. I work 35 hours a week and no more, and I couldn't really be out the house for any less time that I am.

It's not perfect but I do slightly prefer it 9-5, although I'm going 9-5 for a couple of months while I'm seconded to help out somewhere...
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lol. agreed. my days of fri & sat night parties are long behind me. i struggle to make match of the day most saturdays now! a baby really takes it out of you!
 
realBabelfish said:
well, since you seem to not be able to bring anything to any table i just guess we should all sit on our arses and not vote etc, like you suggest. that will fix everything... :rolleyes:

apathy always beats thinking, doesnt it? :eek:

ok, its maybe not the best idea in the world. what about maybe those of us who can afford to work less days do so. that gives some opening to other people at least.

whether you like my idea or not i will still enjoy my 4 day week.
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I don't remember saying not to vote? What has that even got to do with it? And last I checked no party was offering to stand on a platform of enforcing a 4 day work week.
 
realBabelfish said:
my basic rationale was that if nobody is claiming welfare then they should only need to take half as much income tax (maybe even less. you could irradicate it totally) and then just go on VAT, which takes more than income tax anyway.

im no economist so i cant speculate i just wondered if it could possibly work.
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You seem to be suggesting that half, or even all income tax goes on unemployment benefits!:eek: Good job you're not an economist :)
 
i read today that income tax only brings in around 150billion yet we spend double that on welfare. i guess i misread it? im sure it was on the Daily Heil website.

it also said VAT brought in more than income tax...

yeah, im no economist. i couldnt bear such a dull life.
 
realBabelfish said:
just that you seem to like poo-pooing yet when you get a chance to change things you dont do anything.

apathy solves nothing.
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Your change wouldn't work, and wouldn't bring the benefits you talk about. When have I had the chance to change things and didn't do anything?

I think you're just a little miffed you've have your hours docked and so tried to make yourself feel better about it by making up a poor argument that it would be great if everyone else did it.
 
Babel, what you described isn't completely accurate but it is a subject that has been written about. Tim Jackson describes a similar scenario in Prosperity Without Growth as a mechanism to reduce the amount of resources used and to lower environmental impacts. It does mean being less materialistic, relying on higher quality more expensive goods, and adopting more of a service culture than we currently have, but one of the spin-offs is we all have to work less and will have more time.

Economists hate the post-capitalist arguments presented in these sorts of books because they are convinced that economic growth is the only way to prosper. In fact, it isn't, because it results in economic crashes due to the way the capitalist economic structure works, and massive environmental degradation unless it is reeled in.
 
Gideon Lorr said:
Your change wouldn't work, and wouldn't bring the benefits you talk about. When have I had the chance to change things and didn't do anything?

I think you're just a little miffed you've have your hours docked and so tried to make yourself feel better about it by making up a poor argument that it would be great if everyone else did it.
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i dont give a rats arse. i actually offered it when the company was struggling as i knew i could freelance for double that. i just never bothered. i still can if i like, i just prefer to spend time with my son. my dad was a workaholic and it never did him any good apart from the large pension he gets. which wont last long as neither will he.

i think society is harmed by people working too much and not having enough free time with family etc.

of course a capitalist society will never try to look to a better work/life balance and neither will governments. i just think society would benefit from more quality time with family and friends etc. maybe im just a hippy still?
 
Only work 3 days a week - it's great :-)

Every time I get a pay rise I ask for a reduction in hours :-) So my yearly salary stays the same but I work less for it ;-)
 
Jonny69 said:
Babel, what you described isn't completely accurate but it is a subject that has been written about. Tim Jackson describes a similar scenario in Prosperity Without Growth as a mechanism to reduce the amount of resources used and to lower environmental impacts. It does mean being less materialistic, relying on higher quality more expensive goods, and adopting more of a service culture than we currently have, but one of the spin-offs is we all have to work less and will have more time.

Economists hate the post-capitalist arguments presented in these sorts of books because they are convinced that economic growth is the only way to prosper. In fact, it isn't, because it results in economic crashes due to the way the capitalist economic structure works, and massive environmental degradation unless it is reeled in.
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cheers mate, i will look at this. :)
 
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