Don’t be fooled by the clickbait title, the 6-day work week comes with a 4-day weekend. While years and days have astronomical significance and cannot be changed, weeks and months are human-made and ripe for change. Our current system is archaic with 7 (odd number 🤢) days a week and random amounts of days in each month. If we were making the calendar from scratch today, our current calendar wouldn’t even get past the whiteboard phase.
That is why I am proposing a 10-day week. 3 new days, all of them will be weekends. 10 days per week, 3 weeks per month, 36 weeks in a year. Every single month will be 30 days.
What do we do with the extra 5 days you ask? Great question. This will be our global 5-day siesta month that we throw onto the end of December. The leap day will be added to Siesta month on leap years as well, adding a 6th day of siesta every four years. Siesta month will be an amazing time of relaxation and vacations and extend the winter holiday season even longer. Now you can go eat Christmas dinner in the country and still hit the beach in Cancun before your New Years Eve rager at home. Everybody wins.
You may think this could be bad for the economy. Here’s why it’s not:
The Salaried Office Worker
Office workers will get an extra day of rest when you subtract the added 6th day of work. On top of that, the 4-day weekend will enable them to travel and participate in more fulfilling endeavors like hobbies or further education. This means they’re coming back to work on Monday recharged and more productive.
The 6-day workweek will also provide a better pace of work. The rush for deadline work can be extended, and free up your time for urgent matters. It will make it easier to fight the fires and also help to prevent them from happening. While you’re adding an extra day of work, the entirety of the work week will be less stressful. If shit really hits the fan, you have a 4-day weekend to help you catch up.
Workers will have a more productive day each week, on top of that, they’ll be spending more money in the economy with their additional 2 free days. Since these are typically high-salary roles, that could be a boon for tourism and the service economy.
The Blue-Collar Man
Plain and simple, 4 more days with opportunities for overtime and double-time to. More productivity, more money spent in the economy. The guy who works Saturdays can now work 2 weekend days and still have 2 days off. Since he’s hourly, we are looking at an extra day of regular wages, plus 2 days of overtime, with an additional day to spend that money if he takes 2 days off. Surely the free market will provide him with the opportunity to work 9 or 10 days as well, which is only more money pumping that GDP up.
For service-based roles, they’ll have an extra 4 days of their phones blowing up as people are home more and realize they need work done. The increased spending power will also lead to more work. More cars to be fixed, more lawns to mow, etc.
Let’s compare the math:
John is a carpenter that regularly works 10 hour days, 6 days a week. he makes $30 an hour.
Saturday is optional overtime, but John prefers the extra money. Double time starts at 60hrs/week.
Scenario 1
10 day week: John works 60 hours Mon-Sat and an extra 2 10hr days on the weekend.
40(30) + 20(30)(1.5) + 20(30)(2) = $2800/week
2800*36 = $100,800/year
Total non-work days: 72+ 5-day siesta = 77
Scenario 2
7 day week: John works 10hrs a day Mon-Sat
40(30) + 20(30)(1.5) = $1600/week
1600*52 = $83,200/year
Total non-work days: 52
The Service Professional
Since the previously discussed professions will have more time off and more money to spend on the weekend, this means more money for service workers. More hotel stays, more flights, more restaurant visits, more bar tabs, more car rentals, etc.
While they could certainly enjoy the same benefits as the previously mentioned groups. Their big win will come from tips when they have extra 2 days of weekend crowds.
The math compared to a 4-day work week
The 4-day work-week has been making the rounds lately in the corporate world as the latest fad. There are plenty of pros and cons. Naysayers whine about disruptions to business. Proponents tout an increase in productivity, especially in an office setting. The reason being the longer weekend allows them to recharge and be more productive in their 32hrs than they were in their 40. Even manufacturing and distribution centers have switched to this model with success.
Science has also proven that workers are only productive 12.5hrs a week in our current model.
What if we applied those same concepts to a better system that is actually designed for it?
Work to rest ratio
7 day week 4/3:
32/168 —> 4:21 or 19.05%
10 day week 6/4
48/240 —> 1:5 or 20%
Total work hours in the year
7 day week 4/3
32*52= 1664
10 day week 6/4
48*36=1728
4*52=208
Working days in the year:
7 day week 4/3:
4*52 = 208
10 day week 6/4:
6*36=216
Conclusion:
As the math shows, the 10-day week creates a marginal increase in time spent at work over a year compared to the 4-day work week. However, it is still significantly less time than the current 5-day work week which sits at 260 working days. Once we factor in the 4-day weekend, one can conclude that extra rest and personal time will allow for a more productive 6 days at work.
The 10-day week is a happy medium that will move us away from the atrocities of our current calendar. The lengthened weekends will provide a seamless transition and jumpstart the economy. Workers will have more opportunity to get ahead with extra hours or more time to spend for themselves. Either way, you slice it, everybody wins with the 10-day week.