Property News · February 22, 2013

The four-day week: less is more


More free time, fewer carbon emissions and an answer to our economic woes. Why aren’t we all working a four-day week?In 2008, when much of the western world was reeling from the aftermath of the banking collapse, the US state of Utah quietly came up with a radical solution. The recession had hit hard, worsened by rapidly rising energy prices. Queues lengthened at food banks; unemployment and mortgage foreclosures rose dramatically. Money needed to be saved. The task fell to Jon Huntsman, the Republican governor. Instead of simply bringing a knife to public spending and pushing austerity measures, he surprised people with a new approach.Back in 1970, an American management consultant called Riva Poor wrote a book advocating a revolution in work and leisure called 4 Days, 40 Hours. It caused a stir at the time, arguing that great benefits would flow from taking a longer weekend and working fewer but longer days. Then the issue went away. Quietly, though, a four-day week became a common option for public employees at city and county level. As a public administrator, Huntsman knew this, and he saw the opportunity to go further. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
Read more…The four-day week: less is more

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