25 Hour Work Week? Yes or No?

[Shwa Girl]

A researcher is advocating for a work week of 25 hours per week. So you would work for 3 days and be off for 2 days and have your regular 2 day weekend.

http://cphpost.dk/business/researche...3-until-age-80

The catch - you would be working to 80 years of age.

The Pro Side - How many times have heard of people retiring at 65 and dying a few short years later?

The Con Side - Will people have enough money to live on and pay their mortgage?

What do you think?

[MortgageQueen]

Not in this system. The rich are getting richer . . .the poor are getting poorer

[FallenPixels]

Nope, with all that spare time people will spend more and our bosses will expect the same done in 40 hours as 25 and sometimes 40 isn't enough for what they want done.
They are also looking at a full year 4 day school week for provinces, that will be a mess too - good luck getting day care for that one day a week

[anisa]

we live in such a money hungry society that only judges success by the bottom line.

this might work in a different society, but not ours

[blueeyetea]

Historically, working only a couple of hours a day was the norm before the arrival of the industrial age in Victorian times. It's only when factories needed the extra manpower that the workweek changed to working 8 hours/day, and 6 days/week. I'm not positive, but I think unions are what eventually brought down the work week to five days/week.

I wonder what economists would say about the reduced work week. Our society is built on the current schedule and the fact, especially in North America, that businesses, need be open 24/7. I'm sure it would have major ramifications all the way down the line. Capitalism works on the premise that money needs to keep flowing.

On the other hand, I also believe that working 8 hours a day isn't as productive as we are being led to believe. In a factory, perhaps, but knowledge workers sitting at their desks aren't machines that can just keep going like the energizer bunny. To be effective, people need downtime to be more creative and generate ideas, but in many working environment, that's seen as slacking off.

It would take a huge culture shift for it to work... Or people start planning their lives early in their career with the one goal of becoming financially independent early on.

[vesper]

If people are willing to accept a reduction in the amount of compensation and benefits they get, and willing to work to until they are 80, then yes, work 25 hours a week. Good for them.

Keep in mind, pretty much every government is faced with the horror of retiring baby boomers and looking for creative ways to reduce costs because no matter how you do the math, there is no way those promises can be met, thus man will end up working well past 65 anyway, like it or not.

[Shwa Girl]

So now, some Canadians are saying that they won't be able to retire until 66

http://www.montrealgazette.com/busin...944/story.html

[frugal50]

i've been working 25hrs per week since 2006

i have no debts and live within my means

[lecale]

.

[Shwa Girl]

i've been working 25hrs per week since 2006

i have no debts and live within my means

Just curious. Do you rent or own? Thx.

[frugal50]

Just curious. Do you rent or own? Thx.

i rent

[blueeyetea]

i've been working 25hrs per week since 2006

i have no debts and live within my means

But that insinuates that you were working more than 25 hours a week until that point. With all things being equal, would you have been able to sustain your lifestyle if you worked 25 hours a week since out of high school? I know in my community, someone working 25 hours a week can't afford to leave home unless they're paid consultant fees.

[blueeyetea]

So now, some Canadians are saying that they won't be able to retire until 66

You know, I'm starting to get suspicious when an outfit that profits from RRSP deposits tells me people won't afford to retire unless they save more. Yes, there's a poll, but it's self-serving. They're the ones that predict customers will need X million of dollars to live comfortably and people are believing by assuming they'll want the same lifestyle they live now.

[blueeyetea]

I used to work from home and you only need 25 hours to do 40 hours of work...once you cut out the coffee breaks, water cooler chat, people bugging you for various reasons...

Agreed, up to a point. It wouldn't be true of a car plant reducing the hours on an assemly line from 40 hours to 25 hours aweek. Less cars produced, less sales. Less money for workers, less money flowing into the community, potential for job losses goes up.

[lecale]

.