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"Interview: How Shorter Work Hours Can Help the Climate and Women’s Equality"

AndrewLevin

March 24, 2015

9 upvotes

/r/MensRights

http://labornotes.org/2015/03/interview-how-shorter-work-hours-can-help-climate-womens-equality

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Post Information

Title	"Interview: How Shorter Work Hours Can Help the Climate and Women’s Equality"
Author	AndrewLevin
Upvotes	9
Comments	13
Date	March 24, 2015 7:46 AM UTC (11 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/303zh7/interview_how_shorter_work_hours_can_help_the/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/interview-how-shorter-work-hours-can-help-the.985025 https://theredarchive.com/post/985025

Comments

[–]xNOM 4 points5 points6 points 11 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]namae_nanka 1 point2 points3 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[+][deleted] 11 years ago (11 children) | Copy Link

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[–]elebrin 1 point2 points3 points 11 years ago (5 children) | Copy Link

The main problem that I have with shorter workweeks is inconsistent schedules.

I work in two fields where it is necessary to schedule things weekly. I meet with my students one day a week, for a half hour. I meet with my clients for one (approximately) 15 minute call three times a week for progress updates. I like to keep the times and days of these meetings as stable as possible from week to week.

Whenever I have to work with a parent with a non-regular schedule (the most obvious one right now is a nurse) who doesn't work the same days and times every week, scheduling MY time becomes challenging. I can manage it right now only because I work my ass off to have everything ELSE consistent.

And I know that striving for that sort of consistency sounds stupid, until you realize that I have a lot going on and if everything happens at the same times and days for the most part and I can plan for it, I can still schedule other stuff and have a social life while being available to the people I'm working for. I also find that I am less stressed and more likely to know the answer to "What are your plans for today?" without having to look at my calendar.

If people do choose to have a shorter work week, I would highly recommend that they try to keep their schedule as consistent as possible. Working 3 days on and 2 off or working reduced hours that jump around week to week may seem nice, but that sort of schedule can really clash with other things that are going on. Also, my personal experience says that people who work this way are more likely to have a problem with being on time to work and being prepared for work, just because their schedule isn't as deeply ingrained.

When I'm teaching music lessons, I'm also dealing with younger teenagers: 12 and 13 year olds. They DEFINITELY do better at their lessons if their lesson is at the same time every week, if they are 5 to 10 minutes early, and if they have had a short "break" between school and their lesson (a half hour is plenty). I suspect that a regular weekly schedule is really good for these kids for more than just lessons... but then, I don't have kids of my own and I only have limited experience.

For those reasons, I'm not against people working fewer hours, but I am in favor of people keeping regular schedules which reduced work schedules often seem to make more challenging.

[+][deleted] 11 years ago (4 children) | Copy Link

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[–]elebrin 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (3 children) | Copy Link

[+][deleted] 11 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

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[–]elebrin 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]guywithaccount -1 points0 points1 point 11 years ago (4 children) | Copy Link

[+][deleted] 11 years ago (3 children) | Copy Link

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[–]guywithaccount 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[+][deleted] 11 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

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[–]guywithaccount 0 points1 point2 points 11 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

I'm not really seeing how you'd plan to motivate "They should pay people more for working less." via non-authoritatian route

Oh, it would definitely be authoritarian, at least in the short term. I mean, you don't give a disobedient kid a stick and tell him to beat himself, it doesn't work. You have to use the stick. Likewise, you can't just tell employers that they have to pay more. Direct intervention is needed.

Of course, raising the minimum wage is an easy fix. You don't need special auditors, you don't have to come up with fee schedules for every conceivable occupation, you just enforce it using the same institutions we already have.

Actually, I'm not sure why conservatives are opposed to raising the minimum wage. I mean, yes, many Americans are functionally innumerate and think that they'll have to spend $12 for a fast food cheeseburger. Whatever. We can safely dismiss the predictions of idiots... at least until election time.

But the basic function of a business is to generate wealth. Any business that can't generate enough wealth to pay its workers a fair wage is a failure. Protecting that business by allowing it to underpay its workers actually hurts our economy by ensuring that productive capital remains bound up in wasteful, inefficient businesses. Why would you want that?

Long-term, I would expect to see more worker-owned co-ops, which have a built-in incentive to pay their workers fair wages, and stronger union protections so that workers can bargain with employers on level ground, and some kind of basic income scheme so that people can better afford to leave the market.

And, uh, oh yeah, hail Satan. ;)