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Bernie Sanders says that if AI makes us so productive, we should get a 4-day work week
(techcrunch.com)
this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2025
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
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I think that in some domains (for example, software development) one person working 40 hours is significantly more productive than two people working 20 hours each. Coordination adds a lot of overhead. There's also the difficulty of finding a second qualified employee.
But that's all moot anyway. Someone working 4 days is always going to earn less than someone working 5, and I'm pretty sure most Americans would choose to work more and get more money even if they could afford to work only 4. (Especially since positional goods won't become easier to afford.)
I have a 7-hour work day and a 5-day work week. I make less than I did at my previous (8.5-hour/5-day) job, but I'm much, much happier. Highly recommend working less if you can swing it.
I do agree that coordination is a PITA. But, 7 hours is doable and it's not like I'd be actually productive for an extra hour a day. My brain goes to mush.
Some of my coworkers work longer days and take every a day off every other week. As long as they work 70 hours a biweek they're good.
I don't mean to say that no-one would choose to work less, or that doing so is a bad idea. Heck, I'm unemployed and not actively looking for work right now myself.
I'll go one further, often in software development, one person working 40 hours is significantly more productive than two people working 40 hours each.
I guarantee that an executive working 4 days a week will make more than the fast food worker doing 6 days a week. I get your sentiment but I don't think that even pans out for software developers. Most software developers are salaried, and whether they work 3 or 6 days in a week they get the same (just more likely to get fired if they work 3 while everyone else works 5, but their work can trump that deficit). In fact a role that is micromanaging hours of a software developer is in my experience more likely to be stingy with pay and pay less despite trying to demand perpetual unpaid overtime.
Good luck making a bigger project like that (even a small project).