The Four-Day Workweek

Man vs. Machine – Job Losses with Technology Advances

Six

Introduction

The thesis of this book is that the time has come for a four-day, 32-hour workweek. This is due to the production capabilities that exist in the world today and the logic that people should think about their use of time among work and other activities, especially since the workweek has been fixed at five days and 40 hours for almost a century. The argument is not that jobs are becoming fewer due to automation or any other factor. Nevertheless, it is instructive to review the recurring argument that has resurfaced over hundreds of years, namely that technology will replace humans and that insufficient jobs will remain for everyone who needs one.

The discussion below provides ...