This is the weekend edition of Culture Study — the newsletter from Anne Helen Petersen, which you can read about here. If you like it and want more like it in your inbox, consider subscribing.
I would love a 4 day work week and cherish that extra time with my young daughter and with my husband and other family and friends! When she is older and in school, I'd love the extra day to finally write a book about the history of Baltimore transportation!
Something that doesn't come up in these discussions and really should is how many people use work as their escape from the rest of their life rather than work as the thing they have to do in order to enjoy the rest of their life. They don't want to spend extra time with their families because they are crazy and often dysfunctional. Their co-workers are their close friends. Hobbies are fine but they find the most purpose in their work and getting paid for it.
This is something I cannot relate to at all! I wish we could have a more flexible mentality in general about work and rest and play. I won't demonize people who want to work long hours if they won't demonize me for not wanting to do so.
I currently work what is known as an alternative work schedule--9-hour days, one 8-hour day, and an extra day off per a two-week pay period. (I could work 10 hour days and get both Fridays off and have considered it). It's not quite a four-day work week since I work the extra hours, but having that extra Friday off is a life-saver.
I use that Friday to catch up on errands, clean my house, declutter, random tasks I've been putting off, AND I usually have time to chill, read, grab lunch with a friend, whatever. It's great.
I also absolutely believe that I could get all my work done in four 8-hour days though. I'm lucky--I work for a federal agency in an office that values work-life balance, so I can log off at 5 p.m. or so and I'm done. I also don't feel pressure to check in on my days off or during vacation.
I’m also curious about what’s happened in Iceland with schools and school-aged kids (and younger). I’ve seen resistance to the idea of a shorter work week from parents of young kids who worry that it will mean fewer days of childcare.
Was coming to bring up school, especially for younger students. I'm a teacher. I think the shift to go to 4 day a week school would take tremendous courage (the status quo section of this piece hit home) and would need teachers/parents/leaders willing to completely rethink school curriculum, the traditional school calendar, and the revelation, brought on by Covid, of school as day care.
Having said that, the idea of harmony resonates for me. With the current set-up, it is a pretty much non-stop sprint for about 10 months, then, all of a sudden, the race is over. It takes me a week or two just to recalibrate my life at the start of my break. There's little flexibility during the day when school is in (for myriad reasons good and bad), then almost total flexibility when the year is over. I've been working on finding better harmony both in session and out. Still very much a work in progress
We've been talking about this a bit in Sidechannel, but part of what works in places like Iceland = a really robust care system when kids aren't in school. I will say that there are a fair amount of rural schools who've been on this schedule for awhile, and have come up with various solutions for dealing with the day off (e.g., the school itself is open, and there is supervision available, but no traditional teaching). But you're absolutely right: the overarching shift would require 1) tremendous courage and 2) tremendous buy-in in terms of federal funding for care
Very fascinating on the rural schools. I do think trying to do this on a national or even state level is going to be almost impossible, but hyper local to fit a community makes a ton of sense to go for it. Is this in the Latest Newsletter part of Sidechannel?
My galaxy brain idea for a while has been switching the school calendar to be more year round and eliminate the 2 month summer break: something like 8 weeks in, 2 weeks out. Obvious problem being teacher burnout, but a 4 day work week may help that.
I’m curious if the 4-day work week typically comes with an increase in hours on the working days, or if it really is full day off (the Icelandic study quoted 35-36 hours over 4 days, where one might have expected to see 32 hours).
I came here to ask this! All the articles about it have headlines about the "4 day work week", but then cite that 35-36 hour number. The report itself isn't loading, so I can't read it myself. Did people have to work four 9 hour days?
I was honestly surprised to see such positive results from it. I feel like it would take way more than a 4-5 hour reduction in my work time and workload to have the energy to take up new hobbies and such.
I would love a 4 day work week and cherish that extra time with my young daughter and with my husband and other family and friends! When she is older and in school, I'd love the extra day to finally write a book about the history of Baltimore transportation!
Something that doesn't come up in these discussions and really should is how many people use work as their escape from the rest of their life rather than work as the thing they have to do in order to enjoy the rest of their life. They don't want to spend extra time with their families because they are crazy and often dysfunctional. Their co-workers are their close friends. Hobbies are fine but they find the most purpose in their work and getting paid for it.
This is something I cannot relate to at all! I wish we could have a more flexible mentality in general about work and rest and play. I won't demonize people who want to work long hours if they won't demonize me for not wanting to do so.
I currently work what is known as an alternative work schedule--9-hour days, one 8-hour day, and an extra day off per a two-week pay period. (I could work 10 hour days and get both Fridays off and have considered it). It's not quite a four-day work week since I work the extra hours, but having that extra Friday off is a life-saver.
I use that Friday to catch up on errands, clean my house, declutter, random tasks I've been putting off, AND I usually have time to chill, read, grab lunch with a friend, whatever. It's great.
I also absolutely believe that I could get all my work done in four 8-hour days though. I'm lucky--I work for a federal agency in an office that values work-life balance, so I can log off at 5 p.m. or so and I'm done. I also don't feel pressure to check in on my days off or during vacation.
I’m also curious about what’s happened in Iceland with schools and school-aged kids (and younger). I’ve seen resistance to the idea of a shorter work week from parents of young kids who worry that it will mean fewer days of childcare.
Was coming to bring up school, especially for younger students. I'm a teacher. I think the shift to go to 4 day a week school would take tremendous courage (the status quo section of this piece hit home) and would need teachers/parents/leaders willing to completely rethink school curriculum, the traditional school calendar, and the revelation, brought on by Covid, of school as day care.
Having said that, the idea of harmony resonates for me. With the current set-up, it is a pretty much non-stop sprint for about 10 months, then, all of a sudden, the race is over. It takes me a week or two just to recalibrate my life at the start of my break. There's little flexibility during the day when school is in (for myriad reasons good and bad), then almost total flexibility when the year is over. I've been working on finding better harmony both in session and out. Still very much a work in progress
We've been talking about this a bit in Sidechannel, but part of what works in places like Iceland = a really robust care system when kids aren't in school. I will say that there are a fair amount of rural schools who've been on this schedule for awhile, and have come up with various solutions for dealing with the day off (e.g., the school itself is open, and there is supervision available, but no traditional teaching). But you're absolutely right: the overarching shift would require 1) tremendous courage and 2) tremendous buy-in in terms of federal funding for care
Very fascinating on the rural schools. I do think trying to do this on a national or even state level is going to be almost impossible, but hyper local to fit a community makes a ton of sense to go for it. Is this in the Latest Newsletter part of Sidechannel?
My galaxy brain idea for a while has been switching the school calendar to be more year round and eliminate the 2 month summer break: something like 8 weeks in, 2 weeks out. Obvious problem being teacher burnout, but a 4 day work week may help that.
I’m curious if the 4-day work week typically comes with an increase in hours on the working days, or if it really is full day off (the Icelandic study quoted 35-36 hours over 4 days, where one might have expected to see 32 hours).
I came here to ask this! All the articles about it have headlines about the "4 day work week", but then cite that 35-36 hour number. The report itself isn't loading, so I can't read it myself. Did people have to work four 9 hour days?
I was honestly surprised to see such positive results from it. I feel like it would take way more than a 4-5 hour reduction in my work time and workload to have the energy to take up new hobbies and such.
The Iceland study is 35/36 hours — but the other programs focused on companies are all actual four day, 32 hour scenarios (not four ten hour days).