ON MY MIND
WORKING from home has been a success in the pandemic. After all, it’s a lot more comfortable and the coffee’s better. But then there’s the guy who had a lie-in most mornings since he claimed he was working under cover.
Last week the Senedd debated the idea of a four-day week and its possible contribution to mental health, the economy and the environment. You would be forgiven for thinking that at a time when Britain is imploding, the PM is punching above his weight in the Pacific and seeking trade deals with a dysfunctional USA, discussion about a four-day week is about as welcome as President Macron in an Australian submarine selling croissants.
The weekend is a relatively modern idea from a mix of religious worship and artisans in the mid-19th century wanting to recover from the excesses of the previous day. Now the arguments for asking people to work for only four days while still being paid for five are rather impressive. A research trial in Iceland found that productivity remained the same or improved in the majority of workplaces and people reported that they felt less stressed, with an improved worklife balance using the extra hours to spend time with their families and in leisure activities. Scotland, Ireland, Spain and New Zealand are also exploring the idea.
It’s no surprise to learn that the more hours worked, the more the environment is affected adversely by patterns of energy use and consumption. One day less working and travelling means a 20% reduction in carbonintensive activities.
However, I suspect that personal well-being and the environment will be trumped by a culture which lives and breathes consumerism and profit. The four-day week questions the Protestant work ethic and challenges the expectations of short-term investors and shareholders and employers’ demands for increased productivity. The materialism which both produces and results from the profit motive in society will be hard to shift. It was Van Gogh who said: “I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process”.