Note: This blog will take a break during the month of August. We will be back with a new post in September. For everyone in the Northern Hemisphere, have a great summer!
In 1908, the first five-day workweek in the United States was instituted by a New England cotton mill so that Jewish workers would not have to work on the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Previously workers typically had only Sunday free. In 1926, Henry Ford also began shutting down his automotive factories for all of Saturday and Sunday.
The COVID lockdown has caused us to question many things about how, when and where we work, and it will take some time for employers and employees to experiment with and decide upon the efficacy of different models.
One thing that is being questioned is the five-day work week. You might enjoy reading Nic Haralambous’ article on medium.com “The Five-day Workweek Is Dying” in which he contends that we could work smarter and better if we weren’t chained to our desks for 40 hours a week.
The New York Times doesn’t go so far as to question the 5-day work week, but asks why it needs to be always in the office in their article Is the Five-Day Office Week Over?
Now FastCompany which is read by many innovative leaders writes Why remote work may render the 5-day workweek obsolete.
What is your opinion?
Herb