Anna Coote - The Case for a Four Day Week

1 Cover

2 Epigraph PRAISE FOR THE CASE FOR A FOUR-DAY WEEK ‘A compelling argument for limiting working hours to the equivalent of a four day week, backed by a range of suggested policy initiatives. Particularly valuable is the demonstration of the beneficial effects of reduced hours on the morale and performance of employees, and the account of case studies in reduction from round the world.’ ROBERT SKIDELSKY, British economic historian, member of UK House of Lords, biographer of John Maynard Keynes ‘Timely and important. A punchy, persuasive analysis of how a shorter working week can boost our collective health and wealth. A must-read for anyone who wants real change at work.’ FRANCES O’GRADY, General Secretary, UK Trades Union Congress ‘Amid the threat of COVID-19, a powerful idea is emerging: the four day workweek. It promotes quality of life, employment, de-carbonization and public health. Based on the latest research and compelling stories of companies and countries that have reduced worktime, this is the go-to book for understanding why it’s time to reject austerity and commit to true sharing – of work, income and planet.’ JULIET SCHOR, Professor of Sociology, Boston College, author of The Overworked American ‘This is a hugely timely and important book. Working long hours takes a heavy toll on people’s mental and physical health, and it’s clearly time to turn our focus towards people’s health and well-being, rather than the relentless pursuit of GDP growth. A shorter working week is a vital step in that process. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, now is the time to re-think how we live our lives and care for our planet – this book sets out, clearly and powerfully, a compelling agenda for change.’ CAROLINE LUCAS, MP, UK Green Party

3 Series Page The Case For series Sam Pizzigati, The Case for a Maximum Wage Louise Haagh, The Case for Universal Basic Income James K. Boyce, The Case for Carbon Dividends Frances Coppola, The Case for People’s Quantitative Easing Joe Guinan & Martin O’Neill, The Case for Community Wealth Building Anna Coote & Andrew Percy, The Case for Universal Basic Services Gerald Friedman, The Case for Medicare for All Pavlina R. Tcherneva, The Case for a Job Guarantee Anna Coote, Aidan Harper & Alfie Stirling, The Case for a Four-Day Week

4 Title Page The Case for a Four-Day Week Anna Coote Aidan Harper Alfie Stirling polity

5 Copyright Copyright © Anna Coote, Aidan Harper and Alfie Stirling 2021 The right of Anna Coote, Aidan Harper and Alfie Stirling to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 2021 by Polity Press Polity Press 65 Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK Polity Press 101 Station Landing Suite 300 Medford, MA 02155, USA All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3966-6 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Coote, Anna, author. | Harper, Aidan, author. | Stirling, Alfie, author. Title: The case for a four-day week / Anna Coote, Aidan Harper, Alfie Stirling. Other titles: Case for a 4 day week Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity Press, 2021. | Series: The case for | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “How a longer weekend can make us happier, healthier and greener”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020026325 (print) | LCCN 2020026326 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509539642 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509539659 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509539666 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Workweek. | Quality of work life. | Work-life balance. | Time management. Classification: LCC HD5106 .C666 2021 (print) | LCC HD5106 (ebook) | DDC 331.25/722--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020026325 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020026326 The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate. Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition. For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

6 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Many thanks to Eda Yazıcı for her extremely helpful additional research. We are also grateful to the Communication Workers’ Union for supporting the New Economics Foundation’s work on a four-day week.

7 1 Introduction Where did ‘normal’ come from? Economic developments Cultural developments We can change what is ‘normal’ Notes

8 2 Why We Need a Shorter Working Week Health and wellbeing Distributions of work and time Paid and unpaid labour Gender relations Transforming childcare Co-producing public services Taking control and enriching democracy Safeguarding the environment Notes

9 3 Some Challenges Will a shorter working week mean that people can’t choose? Is leisure more sustainable? What about pay? Is a shorter working week bad for the economy? Rethinking the goals of the economy Notes

10 4 Learning from Practical Experience State-led interventions Negotiated agreements at sector and workplace levels Employers’ initiatives Learning from practical experience Notes

11 5 A Road Map for Transition Preparing the ground Supporting innovation Strengthening and extending existing entitlements Changing the climate of opinion Embedding change and building momentum Notes

12 In Conclusion

13 Index

14 End User License Agreement

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2 Table of Contents

3 Epigraph PRAISE FOR THE CASE FOR A FOUR-DAY WEEK ‘A compelling argument for limiting working hours to the equivalent of a four day week, backed by a range of suggested policy initiatives. Particularly valuable is the demonstration of the beneficial effects of reduced hours on the morale and performance of employees, and the account of case studies in reduction from round the world.’ ROBERT SKIDELSKY, British economic historian, member of UK House of Lords, biographer of John Maynard Keynes ‘Timely and important. A punchy, persuasive analysis of how a shorter working week can boost our collective health and wealth. A must-read for anyone who wants real change at work.’ FRANCES O’GRADY, General Secretary, UK Trades Union Congress ‘Amid the threat of COVID-19, a powerful idea is emerging: the four day workweek. It promotes quality of life, employment, de-carbonization and public health. Based on the latest research and compelling stories of companies and countries that have reduced worktime, this is the go-to book for understanding why it’s time to reject austerity and commit to true sharing – of work, income and planet.’ JULIET SCHOR, Professor of Sociology, Boston College, author of The Overworked American ‘This is a hugely timely and important book. Working long hours takes a heavy toll on people’s mental and physical health, and it’s clearly time to turn our focus towards people’s health and well-being, rather than the relentless pursuit of GDP growth. A shorter working week is a vital step in that process. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, now is the time to re-think how we live our lives and care for our planet – this book sets out, clearly and powerfully, a compelling agenda for change.’ CAROLINE LUCAS, MP, UK Green Party