Working a shorter week would likely make most people feel happier and even more productive, experts say. But research suggests it may also help boost employment rates.
Mexican telecom billionaire Carlos Slim—the second-richest person in the world after Bill Gates—recently advocated a shorter workweek for the world’s corporate clock-watchers. “With three work days a week, we would have more time to relax, for quality of life,†Slim told a business conference in Asuncion, Paraguay, in remarks reported Monday by the Financial Times. Having four days off would also be a business opportunity for some, in that it would generate new leisure activities, he said.
But don’t go slacking just yet. Slim says people should work 10 or 11 hours a day in those three days. He also says retirement ages should rise to 70 or 75.
Still, Slim may be on to something with his idea, according to some experts. In fact, he’s just the latest to make headlines in a long-running debate on the length of the ideal workweek.
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“Burnout is huge predictor of loss of productivity,†says Rana Florida, CEO of consulting and research company Creative Class Group and author of “Upgrade: Taking Your Life and Work from Ordinary to Extraordinary.†The 40-hour workweek in the U.S. is not some “magical number†for productivity, she says. “You don’t have to chain people to their desk.â€
Shorter working hours make sense in particular for people in highly stressful jobs like emergency first responders, and those in creative fields, Florida says.
Most other countries have shorter workweeks than the U.S., according to recent analysis from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. And workplace productivity doesn’t increase with hours worked, the OECD concluded . Workers in Greece clock 2,034 hours a year versus 1,397 in Germany, for example, but the latter’s productivity is 70% higher.
“Quality of life, stress reduction, and engagement in our work increase with shorter workweeks,†says Steve Langerud, a workplace consultant based in Grinnell, Iowa. That said, if income dropped with hours worked, shorter workweeks could create problems. The average household disposable income in Germany is also a lot higher ($30,721 a year) than Greece ($19,095).
