Shorten the Working Week and let us get our lives back

I've said it - and heard it said - repeatedly. A two day weekend is just not long enough to get everything done.

Five days of work is too much.

The five day working week is a leftover from the days when there was one breadwinner, who usually had someone at home taking care of the non-work side of their lives. That's very obviously not the case anymore. As women entered the workforce and families shifted to having dual-incomes, prices went up accordingly until now you really need two incomes just to get by.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against women in the workforce. I believe women have a very valuable perspective that's important to include in any workplace - especially when it monopolises so much of your waking life. What I am against is the fact that everything OTHER than work is getting crammed into less and less time, and it's people's lives that are falling through the cracks.

We live in a time of change. America voted in Obama, Australia voted in Kevin Rudd, and they both offered a platform of change.

Here's one change I think is long overdue. Let's revise what's considered standard in the working week.

Think about it. If a working week becomes 3, or even 4 days, then you automatically have twice as many jobs. Offer companies reduced payroll taxes so it's no more of a burden to have two employees covering 6 (or even 8) days, than it was to have a single person covering 5, and they get more work done for their buck. Having a well rested employee is also a big bonus for productivity. It's a win/win.

Short term, yes, incomes are likely to drop - a little for a 4 day week, a bit more for a 3 day. But just as prices went up when dual incomes became the norm, market forces should eventually correct back to a reasonable standard of living - and right now we're expecting tough times. If we accept a short term drop in income we'll have less jobs lost, more free time to enjoy and long term, we really WILL be the lucky country!