Work Reform

I deeply wish this would happen, but know it would never happen in my lifetime in my country.

I've been working full time, sometimes overtime, for almost five years out of college. I want to practice piano more. I'd love to volunteer. I want to go outside more. I've always wanted to spend a month backpacking in the Pacific Northwest. It's been my lifelong dream to write a book.

I'm so exhausted after work every single day that I can only get myself to play piano for a half an hour, and then play video games or read until I pass out before my bedtime.

Lol. This country just voted to move in the opposite direction of this. We voted for less worker rights. Less power for the average person.

At this point, we'll need to start utilizing our 2nd amendment right if we want to get anything better than what we have. People died to give us the 40 hour work week. Looks like that's going to have to happen again for any further improvements.

Smarter countries did it without the bloodshed. America isn't that smart.

Okay i agree now what

Lmao they don't want happier employees they want more money

I would literally take a life for that work balance.

40-50hrs a week isn't a life worth living

Your premise is flawed in the first sentence - "Want happier employees?" No American employer cares about that in the least. Being happy at being allowed to keep their job and keep showing up to collect your meager pay is about all you can expect.

Start paying people enough that they can actually live instead of struggling just to keep their heads above water.

4 weeks is still not on par with other civilised countries. Living here in the UK now, 5 weeks is standard. When I was in the Netherlands I was getting six.

Want happier employees?

No. American corporations absolutely do not care about how happy their employees are. They only care about maximizing profits, and the best way to do that is to squeeze as much productivity out of their workers while also paying those workers as little as possible.

They know the workers aren't there to find fucking happiness. Few are so privileged. Most people go to work not because it makes them happy, but because they need the god damn money, to keep a roof over their head and to put food on the dinner table, and as everything gets more expensive, the workers need more and more money, to stave off homelessness and destitution. Happiness, Jesus Christ. What a luxury!

The purpose of capitalism isn't to make people happy. It's to make profit for owners. That's it.

Don't forget the healthy dose of salary and humane treatment.

Wait,you guys don't get that? Shit I'm.here in Northern Ireland and that would be less than standard. That's what we give teenagers,hell,most teens would not take that deal. When did America start treating the worker so bad? Like 1865?

Want happier employees?

No, not really.
- The owner class

four weeks? hell no, i'd walk from any interview that attempted to strip two weeks of vacation from me.

Also worth mentioning from the article,

I work fully in the office. But I think remote work is better for work-life balance. I don't have the option to work remote

Well, why not? Covid showed how great this can work .. but so many companies went back to 20th century norms as soon as the pandemic ended*

• AS per https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/who-pandemic-not-emergency-1.6833321 the global emergency ended on May 2023 - almost two years ago to the day, but covid itself still circulates.

4 weeks vacation is too small.

Make it 8. Rest is fine.

No matter how valid the premise is, that headline kills this article. It should say, "Want More Productivity? Start with yada yada..."

Only 4 weeks? In much of Europe, 5-6 weeks is the norm.

32 hour workweeks AND lower the overtime threshold to match. And that's just using my office job as a basis.

The threshold from part-time to full-time will also need to be lowered accordingly for grocery store/fast food type jobs.

Unfortunately the leading point of view from employers

Is that if an employee is happy with their job... THEY ARE NOT WORKING HARD ENOUGH.

They feel that ONLY those who hate their jobs .. are efficient

That goal is too modest. We shouldn't settle until Keynes prediction of a 15-hour workweek is fulfilled.

i dont WANT happier employees i want MONEY!

32hr workweek as a transition period down to 24 or even 20. 4 weeks PTO for new hires or something, add 2 weeks per year up to like 8 or 10, or even 12?

Fuck capitalism.

Pay enough for them to afford two kids, a house and a car without dual-income and don't have them work so many hours they can't enjoy them.

But companies don’t want happier employees. With that title this article will never break out of the echo chamber and reach employers.