from Hacker News

Economic Theory and the Five Day Weekend (2007)

by MortenK on 1/14/15, 11:40 AM with 12 comments

• by codyb on 1/14/15, 8:34 PM

  I feel as if even a three day weekend would make me feel so much less stifled by work.

  I love my job. I love what I do. And yet the grind of going day after day, five days a week, every week except for maybe three or four times a year when I take vacation (and I try to take more than I'm allotted believe me...). It's just stifling. It's tiring. It makes me not want to get up for work in the morning. But after a three day weekend and with only four days to work in the week, I always feel better.

  If it doesn't happen at my work here I'll figure a way to make it work somewhere else I hope. But it's not an option for most people, and maybe it should be.

• by adrianN on 1/14/15, 8:33 PM

  There is a similar article in the Orion Magazine:

  https://orionmagazine.org/article/the-gospel-of-consumption/

  that goes a little more in depth into the history of the 40 hour work week.

• by wtracy on 1/14/15, 8:52 PM

  If anyone is hiring for a position that requires <40 hours/week, this would probably be a good place to advertise. :-)

• by stolio on 1/14/15, 11:08 PM

  There's also a system of 9 hour days Monday-Thursday and then every other Friday off. It averages out to 40-hour weeks but you get two 3-day weekends a month.

• by michaelhoney on 1/15/15, 7:27 AM

  My company works a four-day week, and it's excellent. Note that the transition from five to four days has the most pleasure impact (+50% weekend) for the least work cost (-20% work). The next two transitions – 4->3 and 3->2 – would be a lot harder. But I'd love to make it to three days a week, when you work fewer days than you relax.