Dreamy Massachusetts 32 Hour Work Week Possible?
Is a Massachusetts 32 hour work week possible? Lawmakers in Maine have proposed a bill that would change the employer, employee relationship forever.
Covid Turbo Charged Working From Home
Since Covid, it seems the 9 to 5 in-the-office work week has never been the same. With the lockdowns, employers had to face a hard fact. They had to trust thier workers to work from home, and still produce results. The conferance room became our living room. Our laptops in some cases ended up in our lap. Proper work attire was only needed from the waist up. Sure, we had to “log in and log out.” But one fact was clear. Employers had to make a work from home environment, work, fast.
Well, they did. But a funny thing happened. In office research showed that in many instances, employers found that a working from home structure produced better results! Employees actually showed to be more productive, working from home. While some companies asked employees to come back to the office fulltime, many have created a work in office, work from home balance. This new concept gives the employee some freedom that becomes a win win, for everyone. So, what’s the next logical step? But is it?
Massachusetts 32 Hour Work Week
According to Boston 25, Maine Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed a bill to change our work week:
The bill Sanders introduced Wednesday in the Senate would reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours. Employers would be prohibited from reducing their workers’ pay and benefits to match their lost hours.
Yes, a 32 hour workweek, nationwide, not just in Maine.
If we do the math, that means an eight hour workday, 4 days a week. Which means you could extend the weekend and have Friday or Monday off. As mentioned above, pay structure would not be affected. If in fact this becomes law it won’t happen overnight. It would be phased in in four years.
4 Day Work Weeks Already In Place
According to tech.co, there are five countries that have four day work weeks in place. Belgium was the first European country to start in 2022. But this is different than the Sanders plan. Belgians are happy with getting a 40 hour work week into 4 days, working 10 hours a day. In fact workers there can arrange the hours anyway they want, as long as the work gets done.
The other countries include, the UAE, Iceland, Lithuania and France. Nine other countries are testing the concept.
Last year the Massachusetts town of Swampscott did a test run of the four day work week which yielded positive results.
According to CBS News Boston:
Wen Fan, an associate professor of sociology at Boston College, helped conduct an international study that showed “overwhelmingly positive” results for both businesses and employees. The trial involved dozens of companies in the United Kingdom where employees worked a 32-hour week instead of 40.
But not everyone is on board. Some lawmakers are saying that companies that can’t afford to give up the hours with the same pay may be forced to move overseas where labor is more cost effective.