Presidents’ Long Weekend & 4 Day Work Week
Hello, the long weekend & a 4 Day Work Week. Thanks to the US Presidents’ holiday next Monday. It’s especially ironic right after Trump’s impeachment. Luckily, 2020 Presidential Election is coming in Nov. Hopefully the next president will be a visionary one, who dares to make the history by taking the first small step toward Universal Basic Income. There are many arguments on unrealistic of the dream. Yes, they are all true. Nevertheless, no hurt to do thought experiments, right? Let me try one today for the sake of Presidents’ long weekend.
4DWW — A Baby Step Toward UBI
What if we reduce the maximum working hours to 32, aka 4 Days. It’s a practical way to give $1K/M — Freedom Dividend to 130M employees. Very roughly: $1K/M = 60K (median household income) * 20%(4/5) / 12 months. So that:
- No more the argument of taking UBI granted = making people lazy. Hard working employees are actually paying 45+% for the Federal revenue. How dares anyone can label them lazy.
- When employees (with skills & working capabilities) have an extra day, they have more time to do something good for their family and communities. One key take away from Google AI Impact Challenge Summit: skills & experience are very rare & needed for all social good programs. Please participate whatever aligns with you passion & whenever possible, even it may seem small.
- Boosting GDP because they consume more even if they just pursue hobbies or simply unplugged, e.g. playing games and watching videos.
- Yep, employers will need to pay more to fill the workforce gap. Which can help to either create more jobs for others or even if employers choose to invest in automation instead, it still creates some jobs. Less jobs for sure, but with a higher skill set. Which’s called industry transformation & upgrade.
To Lead, Or Not To Lead, That Is The Question
Even 4DWW is so great for employees, it may not make the “direct cost” sense to employers imminently. That’s why the Big Tech may lead here. We need visionary employers to kick off the virtuous cycle. In theory, it even makes economic sense too when you look back from the 2030s. Assuming you still want to be a good company by then. So, this is how 4DWW works for Big Tech.
- Boost productivity & creativity for your Smart Creatives. In 2019, Microsoft Japan’s 4DWW trial demonstrated productivity improvements, e.g. +40% sales per employee.
- Attractive Top Guns. You might be confused that Google has not been in The 100 Best Companies to Work For since 2018. Even Google had been the №1 place to work 8 times in 11 years. One reason maybe it does not need that PR anymore. Google’s Great Place To Work Certification expired in Sep. 2017. According to Quartz, “Google made the conscious decision not to participate…” Don’t get me wrong, ranking helps branding all things being equal. But, showing me the “MONEY” is even better.
- Retain the company’s “greatest asset”. I don’t know you, but for me, if my current company has 4DWW, my next one better beats or matches that at least. So instead of setting barriers for the headhunting, how about setting a higher bar.
Dear Big Tech CEOs, 4DWW is not only a good thing/experiment to do, but also making economic sense for the long game. The choice is yours: to be a leader or a follower 😉
Disclaimer
The opinions stated here are my own, not those of my company. Furthermore, considering them are thought experiments because the reality is more complicated & has more factors to be considered.
