Whether there should be a four-day workweek or not shouldn’t be an argument, honestly. Of course, there should be. But, given our current economy, would that be feasible? Probably not. There would need to be either a pay raise if the hours go from 40 a week to 32, or would you fit 40 hours into four days?
Working five days a week and surviving on minimum wage at 40+ hours a week is already a struggle for many. We can all agree that the majority of Americans are overworked and underpaid. That is a fact. The issues that would need to be addressed to make it feasible are massive, and we live in a capitalistic society. The ‘American Dream’ will always just be a dream for many.
A four-day workweek would allow individuals to expand on their interests or develop new ones. Working five days a week does not give someone an ideal amount of time to spend with their loved ones while managing their mental health, home-life, and other passions. We are constantly waiting for Friday to come to get to the weekend. But a weekend consists of Friday-Sunday. So why do we have to work Fridays?
Generally, working five-day workweeks in companies with strict deadlines and higher stress environments can lead to depression and anxiety-related mental illnesses. A human is only built to handle high-stress situations for short periods (5-10 minutes) as these situations come from our primal instinct to be able to work quickly and think fast when faced with immediate danger.
However, in modern work environments, this feeling of heightened stress can last for hours or even days. Frequent exposure to this environment for five days per week can seriously harm your long-term mental health. If a study were done on individuals who work five-day and four-day workweeks, which individuals would you think would be happier? Which individuals do you think would do a better job in their careers?