U.S. prepares to consider four-day workweek bill

Congress is preparing to consider for the second time a bill to move to a four-day workweek. According to its author Mark Takano, it will lead to significant changes that could “increase people’s happiness. Employees are increasingly rethinking their relationship to work, which requires an appropriate legal framework. Now, the author of the initiative believes, there is every opportunity to reduce working hours.

If the bill passes, overtime will be paid as soon as the number of hours worked by a person exceeds 32 in a week. By doing so, employees would begin to receive a fairer wage and employers would have an incentive to hire more staff. The “four-day workweek” has been under discussion for the past several years. Its proponents believe it will boost productivity and optimize people’s work-life balance.

This approach has already been tested in other countries and has been a resounding success. But there is an important caveat – reduced working hours are best for service and manufacturing personnel, a shortened week is not as good, although it is an important step in the right direction. The details of the new rule need to be worked out so that it does not disadvantage people working in those industries. The passage of this law will be the most important development in labor relations since the uniform 40-hour workweek was introduced.

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