THE 32 HOUR WORK WEEK IS UNREALISTIC

THE 32 HOUR WORK WEEK MIGHT BE UNREALISTIC

By: Derek Varsalona

I applaud Senator Bernie Sanders for being concerned about people's health.  The 32-hour workweek seems like a noble goal although it might be unrealistic.  The 32-hour week does come with health benefits.  Less pollution, less time on the road and travel with congestion meaning it is better for the environment.  Less health risk of less pressure of heart attack or stroke with less commute time to and from work.  But I do think such a noble effort is unrealistic.  The employer should be the one that sets the time of productivity, not the government.

Senator Bernie Sanders is proposing that the companies cut the time it takes to get the work done but preserve the full-time pay.  No company in their right mind is going to pay the same for less amount of productivity and output in shorter hours on a given day.  Paying people the same amount for fewer hours is not sufficient.  It does not make any business sense.  The better approach is to make every company set the number of hours that they seem fit to get the work done.  A doctor's office, fortune 500 company, and law firm have more hours that need to be filled than the regular office.  Most CEOS and lawyers work longer than 40 hours a week.  The fact of the matter is that the business depends on the number of hours needed in a day to fulfill the work needed.  You can not go with a one-size-fits-all approach which is what Senator Sanders is doing.

Surprisingly, this 32-hour work week has weight in the Senate.  Does that mean we are going to have part-time politicians also?  So, I guess Sleepy Joe Biden is going to work less hours?  Does President Biden get paid for his nap time or is that off the clock?  

This motion is also getting praise from Labor Advocates.  If I was in the Senate I would vote against this bill.  The proposed rule does not look into the effect of the size and scope of a business.  A CEO is going to have to work harder and longer than a day laborer.  A CEO is a 24-hour-a-day job, they are always working even on the golf course, with their cell phone in hand to deal with business and emergencies.  At times they often cut deals on the golf course also.  If you tell a CEO to work fewer hours then they can’t do their job.  

With the rise of AI, there is more assistance in the workplace.  But that means less output from the common worker.  I spoke to a person who works in AI and asked them if AI was going to replace them.  The man responded, “ I honestly, don’t know.”  The 32-hour workweek is going to displace a lot of workers.  AI is possibly going to take over other jobs and reduce work time.

This does have health effects.  Yes, less time working is going to get people more freedom.  But it might not reduce heart attacks.  It might increase stress with people thinking they need to get just as much work done in a shorter amount of time.  That will lead to stress, stroke, and heart attacks but I am not a doctor.   Also, having more output in fewer hours is going to lead to the health effects of heat, which could be detrimental to the body.  The key here is to pace yourself and people are going to have to both physically and mentally adapt which might harm health.

This policy sounds great on paper.  I applaud Senator Bernie Sanders for his effort and concern for workers' health and well-being.  But in a Capitalist system, it is unrealistic, then again the man is a socialist. I would vote for Nay for this in the Senate or House.  As always comments accepted.

32 Hour Work Week is Unrealistic
Image: Senator Bernie Sanders
Twitter.com/BrooklynVegan 
Brooklyn: January 21, 2021

Source: Max Zahn. “ Will Bernie Sander Proposed 32 Hour Work Week Pass Congress.” ABCNews.com Washington, DC: Saturday, March 16, 2024. 

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/bernie-sanders-proposed-32-hour-workweek-pass-congress/story?id=108152411