Time out: We all need a three-day weekend | Hacker News Reader

Time out: We all need a three-day weekend

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1 pointnithinj7 comments

How many offices are going to give the person cleaning their toilets and emptying their trash a raise when they go to a 4 day week? Most of those janitors will just end up working 4 days a week for the same hourly wage, so a pay cut but they should be happy about that since 4 day week right? 4 day work week sounds great and all but there are a huge amount of people in the service industry who are are being ignored with this idea, all those restaurants and coffee shops in business areas are going to cut shifts, as are the courier services, print shops, etc.

During the Industrial Revolution, the six-day workweek became the standard in many factories and workplaces. Workers often worked long hours in harsh conditions, with little time off. It wasn't until the labor movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s that workers began to demand better working conditions and shorter workweeks.

In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established a maximum workweek of 44 hours, with overtime pay required for hours worked over 40 in a week. This law also established a minimum wage and child labor regulations. However, it wasn't until the 1940s and 1950s that the five-day workweek became the norm in many industries.

A transition to a four day work week would take time. Minimum wage will eventually will get adjusted for the workers in the service sector to have similar lifestyle.

shouldn't this be a widely accepted measure of human progress, like growing nutrition or literacy or something? As our technology advances, we'll inevitably be able to create and distribute more resources with less work. I'd think it would be fairly obvious and even celebrated that this should lead to less work with the same or increased standard of living.

>Minimum wage will eventually will get adjusted for the workers in the service sector to have similar lifestyle.

So they just have to suffer until that adjustment happens? the middle class needs this now so tighten your belts, we will get back to you come next election cycle if we have time and by the way you did not get the skid marks out of my undies? How about people accept a 5 day work week until they figure out how to make sure it does not fuck over those who really need the hours? How many people in the service industry would loose their full time status because of this and all the benefits that gives them? but that is ok, they will eventually get them back, right?

Also, minimum wage increases only help those who are at or near minimum wage, if you make $5/hour over minimum wage and minimum wage goes up $2/hour you most likely will not get a $2 raise, you will be lucky to get a $0.50 raise. For the most part the only people who work minimum wage are people in a first job situation and jobs with good tips, it is mostly a political talking point and easy to work around for anyone who wants to legally pay less then minimum wage.

So.. why stop at 5? Under that logic it would be better for the janitor if we worked 7 days a week.

I mean the bike shop would close because I don't have time for biking.

Tourism would suffer because I never get in my car and visit the local spots.

Heath care would benefit, because working more means more heath problems. Mental health too.

When you see everything through the "come over here and work" lens, you forget that life isn't about work. I don't go to the office so the coffee shop can stay open. That's a silly argument to make.

The minimum wage thing. I agree with. It won't raise nearly as fast as it should. But I can with no doubt say, me working in an office 5 days until it does change, makes no sense. There's no reason to change the min-wage if I'm in the office 5 days. It's a catch 21.

No, under that logic we would take the time to consider them before just taking what we want. Most of these problems are not massive things and can be worked around without kicking people onto their asses. Most of the janitors can be covered just by each business taking the time to communicate with the building management, instead of saving $50 a week on cleaning with the 4 day week just save $40 and kick it to the janitor, most janitors clean a few dozen offices a night, each kick in $5-10 a week and it all adds up. But why when we can just say ME! and get brownie points caring about the plight of janitors come election season.

See that's centrist thinking.

People in coffee shops in the city will suffer, but coffee shops near the parks and beaches, along trails, in suburbs; those will add shifts. The work force will move out to the place the people move to.

The 4 day workers don't just drop off the planet. They go to the mall, they get together with their friends. They purchase bikes, take up hobbies, go to the gym, learn a new skill.

It doesn't help the office cleaner. But I mean offices are evil places.

If you want to reduce partisan thought too childish self serving behavior (which I do not think is accurate but am OK with) than yes, that would be centrist.

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