By Editorial Staff, Pinkston News Service
WASHINGTON, DC—(Pinkston News Service)—The traditional 40-hour work week, which has been in existence for more than 80 years, is now being called into question, thanks to pandemic induced worker stress and burnout as well as a competitive hiring environment.
The chorus advocating for change to the current model includes Kizen CEO John Winner, who believes that while a 40-hour week can work in some form, a 25-hour one is a better way forward.
Winner, the co-founder and CEO of Kizen, creators of a no-code business software for workflow automation, discussed this issue and the future of work on a recent episode of Pinkston’s Coffee with Closers podcast.
“Fundamentally, the reason why the 40-hour work week should be evolved is because when we think about the overall life plan in building really happy people and employees and civilizations, which I think should be our goal, not to say you need to be at your desk 40 hours a week, it should be we are building a happier ecosystem across all of our stakeholders. We should be asking how can we get people to have a more balanced, healthier, happier life,” said Winner.
“And when I just build a time budget and I imagine all of the commitments someone with a family and hobbies and all the different parts of their life that creates a really happy life, and fitness and health, it’s difficult to accomplish all of that in a week,” added Winner.
Winner credits advancements in intelligent automation as driving the move to a shorter work week. “This isn’t something we are thinking about in 2040 or 2050. This is a 2020’s reality thing, where we are already seeing processes in place where people are becoming one and a half to two and a half times more efficient at their day to day work.”
But not everyone is buying the argument. Last month, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk told his workforce at both companies that they must work a minimum of 40 hours per week in the office, or face repercussions. Winner said in response: “Elon has a unique ability to evangelize and build that workforce. I think it’s going to be incredibly interesting to see the reaction towards this.”
In a sign that a move to a shorter work week could gain more steam, the United Kingdom recently announced the world’s biggest four-day work week trial for some 3,300 workers from large and small companies to take place over six months. And, in California, a group of state legislators have been pushing for a four-day work week bill for hourly workers at companies with more than 500 employees. That effort has stalled in the Legislature.
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