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> They argue that a four-day week would drive companies to improve their productivity, meaning they can create the same output using fewer hours. The idea that

> They argue that a four-day week would drive companies to improve their productivity, meaning they can create the same output using fewer hours. The idea that there is a population-wide 25% productivity boost just lying unnoticed on the sidewalk sounds asinine to me. Strong claims require strong evidence and I don’t see it. That said, I have worked a 4-day week before and it was great, but I took a proportional pay cut and wasn’t expected to somehow become super-productive. Some more charitable interpretations of why this approach might be great: * We can afford to take the pay cut and would be happier (and perhaps a little more productive) working fewer hours; * Companies with a 50-60 hour work week might have pervasive burnout and therefore get a substantial performance boost by decreasing their workload by 20%, with “4-day workweek” being a better coordination point than “only work 9-5”; * Optionality will be a good perk for employees allowing the small number of companies deploying this to get better employees (this doesn’t work if 4-day is widely adopted).

lmm 4y ago
> The idea that there is a population-wide 25% productivity boost just lying unnoticed on the sidewalk sounds asinine to me. Strong claims require strong evidence and I don’t see it. When the UK went on a 3-day week during the '70s, production was 96% of normal. The idea that people are being actually productive for 40 hours/week sounds pretty absurd to me.
- theptip 4y ago
  Citation? What was the context? And why did they go back if they were actually not getting more productivity? > The idea that people are being actually productive for 40 hours/week sounds pretty absurd to me The alternative is surely far more absurd. Employees could be working 3 day weeks and producing just as much, and somehow nobody noticed? There exist employee-owned co-ops, and employee-owned startups. If there was an equal-productivity yet far more enjoyable way of working, these companies would be stealing all the best workers. The absence of any evidence of these companies existence is strong evidence that no such effect exists. Indeed the evidence points in the opposite direction; there are plenty of examples of scrappy small companies putting in crazy hours and getting loads done. I have experienced this first hand, and pick any successful startup and you’re likely to find evidence of positive marginal productivity beyond 40h/week. The objective research I’ve seen on the subject points to net-zero marginal productivity around 55-60h/week, WAY higher than the 40 you are claiming: https://docs.iza.org/dp8129.pdf https://docs.iza.org/dp8129.pdf

lmm 4y ago

> The idea that there is a population-wide 25% productivity boost just lying unnoticed on the sidewalk sounds asinine to me. Strong claims require strong evidence and I don’t see it. When the UK went on a 3-day week during the '70s, production was 96% of normal. The idea that people are being actually productive for 40 hours/week sounds pretty absurd to me.

theptip 4y ago
Citation? What was the context? And why did they go back if they were actually not getting more productivity? > The idea that people are being actually productive for 40 hours/week sounds pretty absurd to me The alternative is surely far more absurd. Employees could be working 3 day weeks and producing just as much, and somehow nobody noticed? There exist employee-owned co-ops, and employee-owned startups. If there was an equal-productivity yet far more enjoyable way of working, these companies would be stealing all the best workers. The absence of any evidence of these companies existence is strong evidence that no such effect exists. Indeed the evidence points in the opposite direction; there are plenty of examples of scrappy small companies putting in crazy hours and getting loads done. I have experienced this first hand, and pick any successful startup and you’re likely to find evidence of positive marginal productivity beyond 40h/week. The objective research I’ve seen on the subject points to net-zero marginal productivity around 55-60h/week, WAY higher than the 40 you are claiming: https://docs.iza.org/dp8129.pdf https://docs.iza.org/dp8129.pdf