Take Friday off… forever?

Part of New Scientist's 'Better World' series:Better world: Take Friday off… forever - 15 September 2009 - New Scientist First we learn that Utah state did this in an effort to cut building costs by offering 4x10hr days instead of 5x8 and did cut costs not only of the buildings but also of covering sick-leave. Then we are told an interesting piece of history: "According to Facer, it was the crash of 1929 that led to the five-day week. 'Before that it was common to work six-day weeks with 12 to 14-hour days. When the Great Depression hit, the idea was to share work around to get more people into employment.' During the next big financial crisis in the 1970s, there was much talk of moving to a four-day week, but for a variety of reasons that didn't pan out. 'Things are different now,' says Facer. 'I wouldn't be surprised if we could get 50 per cent or more of the workforce working four-day weeks in the next few years.'"
This was based on the more radical work less hours but for same hourly rate. Those who've done this have found that many people are up for it: it seems that more leisure may work for some people's 'marginal utility' better than our orthodoxies might lead us to believe. This probably goes with the research that indicated that above a certain amount, more money coming in didn't actually improve people's reported happiness. But it's worth looking at the discussion in the comments section of the article page.