As part of his Labor Day message to workers in the United States, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday re-upped his call for the establishment of a 20% cut to the workweek with no loss in pay—an idea he said is “not radical” given the enormous productivity gains over recent decades that have resulted in massive profits for corporations but scraps for employees and the working class.
“It’s time for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay,” Sanders wrote in a Guardian op-ed as he cited a 480% increase in worker productivity since the 40-hour workweek was first established in 1940.
“It’s time,” he continued, “that working families were able to take advantage of the increased productivity that new technologies provide so that they can enjoy more leisure time, family time, educational and cultural opportunities—and less stress.”
Couldn’t you just hire several more teachers and staff to switch out certain days subjects/coverage to achieve full 5 day coverage while also cross training people to better fill gaps. Also the education system is mostly just there to turn us all into workers of some sort, so as the regular work week shortens, perhaps the school week should as well. Especially if we’re trying to maximize that extra family time.
I think part of the point of a less taxing work week/environment is part of the draw that could bring people back into these sorts of jobs.