Process
Status Items Output None Questions None Claims None Highlights Done See section below
Highlights
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Greece has adopted a voluntary six-day workweek for businesses that offer round-the-clock services. “Voluntary” applies, of course, to the business, not the worker.
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The origins of the law are predictable: a right-wing, market-fundamentalist government, an aging population, state anxiety about its capacity to produce enough workers to support the aging population and sustain the economy, and the lingering effects of long-term financial crises.
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Shorter weeks have been proven to boost worker health, well-being, satisfaction, and, as it happens, productivity. They lead to less stress, anxiety, and burnout. They even lower pollution.
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The Greek case should be taken as a warning, not an example or template.
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we ought to “define productivity as output produced per hour,” rather than hours worked
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As any economist worth their salt will tell you, burned out employees will become less productive. Over time, ratcheting up hours worked will lead to tired, broken-down workers, higher health care costs, and productivity losses. This is why a four-day workweek may be, perhaps counterintuitively, more productive than the six-day workweek. Plus it has the benefit of not frog-marching labor into one week of hell after the next.
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Workers are in a position of weakness compared to their employer, unable to push back against abuse and exploitation, which is why the letter of the law isn’t enough to protect them against the reality of power relations between boss and worker.
✏️ power dynamics in effect as always. When these things come up, you always have to look at the power dynamics and the agendas. 🔗 View Highlight