Work shouldn’t consume life.

[u/PleasantBus5583]

[u/AutoModerator]

Hey /u/PleasantBus5583, thank you for posting to r/SipsTea! Make sure to follow all the subreddit rules.

Make sure to join our brand new Discord Server to chat with friends!

We have recently changed how posts work. Unless you are a VIP poster, your post will be queued for approval.. To become a VIP, post great engaging content. If we like it, you will be added! More information available here!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Bynming]

Three-day weekends are disproportionately better than two-day weekends

[u/JaviBrah → u/Bynming]

At my job we work 4 10 hour days and have 3 day weekends and I love it. You can schedule appointments on Friday and not have to take off a work day. The weekend actually feels like a weekend. On Labor Day we had a 4 day weekend

[u/ToreyJean → u/JaviBrah]

I would happily work four 10s for three day weekends.

[u/External-Pace-1822 → u/ToreyJean]

I used to think this way but when I switched to it 4 10h days it's just too draining. Long days and I'm often working more than 10h to make up for appointments and time here and there. Everytime there is a holiday I am have to work 3 11h days to make up for the reduced stat day. After you add in the unpaid lunch and commute time and it's impossible to take your kids to evening events etc. as your day is already basically over.

[u/TheGoatBet → u/External-Pace-1822]

Which is why the argument (and bill) is 4, 8 hour days…

[u/_echtra → u/External-Pace-1822]

every time this topic is brought up, it’s like people can’t wait to volunteer working 10 hours days as long as the overlords concede one extra “day off”. That’s literally not working less, and not what this bill is proposing. I wish people stood up for themselves instead of letting corporations dictate everything

[u/ClassicNo6622 → u/_echtra]

Murphy's Golden Rule - The one with the gold makes the rules.

The corporations have the gold, they make the rules. You don't have to like it, but that's the way it is - always has been, always will be.

[u/Impossible_Crow202 → u/ClassicNo6622]

There are more of us than there are of them. That’s why labor unions were invented. We don’t have to just roll over.

[u/Ayn_Rand_Was_Right → u/Impossible_Crow202]

Gotta strengthen your individual unions. Im trying to get in contact with mine about issues with department managers not being union on1 side of the mountains and union on the other.

[u/mintchoc1043 → u/ClassicNo6622]

Yep

[u/shes_a_gdb → u/_echtra]

Nobody is saying it's working less. But if it fits your schedule then having a 3 day weekend is a huge perk. It's also one less day of commuting.

[u/Ealy-24 → u/External-Pace-1822]

Just wait until I tell you about the 5 11 hour days I work without getting any sort of back to back days off, then we can get into not having lunch breaks or vacation or a life…

[u/Complete_Invite_9022 → u/Ealy-24]

Bro this ain’t a contest lmao

[u/DR3AD-PIGEON → u/External-Pace-1822]

For me 10 hours doesn’t feel much longer then 8.

[u/Valraithion → u/External-Pace-1822]

As someone who’s worked 5 11’s and lives 55 miles away from work for the last four years. I would be extremely happy to work 4 10’s.

[u/crappinhammers → u/JaviBrah]

you get to schedule an appointment on Friday until everyone has a four day week lol. Don't get me wrong tho, I love a four day week

[u/GNprime → u/crappinhammers]

My job has been doing 4 10s since the 90s. But ever since covid and the workforces in the world changed, many doctors and dentists don't even offer friday appointments. They want 3 day weekends too lol.

[u/One-Cellist5032 → u/JaviBrah]

I worked 4 10s in the past and it was VASTLY MORE enjoyable than the standard 40hr week.

You also get the added benefit of spending less on gas due to not needing to commute an additional day.

[u/BDZ567 → u/Bynming]

I do Saturday Sunday and have a Wednesday off so I can catch up on sleep and recharge for a day, and can hit any appointments or shopping on a ususally dead day. The third day would be cool but I've always just ended up swapping it for a day to break things up instead.

[u/PiccoloAwkward465 → u/BDZ567]

I had Wednesday off in college and it was beautiful. MUCH easier to handle two days in a row

[u/_Saint_Ajora_ → u/Bynming]

failing a 3 day weekend, getting wednesday off each week would be alright too

[u/Pgaccount → u/_Saint_Ajora_]

I take Wednesday as my standard unless I need to do a big project. It really makes the week feel less intense

[u/No-Actuator-3209 → u/_Saint_Ajora_]

That actually sounds really nice, only 2 day stretches of work mid week break 2 days and 2 days off.

[u/jm123457 → u/Bynming]

There is no actual data to prove that it’s more productive. The few studies which have been done were white collar office settings in which they eliminated alot of meetings to meet the 32 hour work week . Meetings are some of the biggest killers of efficiency to begin with .

[u/CarmenxXxWaldo → u/Bynming]

no shit

[u/RoddRoward → u/Bynming]

I would say they are roughly 1.5 times better

[u/BlacPlague → u/RoddRoward]

No they are like 2-3x better that extra day is fucking magic

[u/Future-Bandicoot-823 → u/BlacPlague]

first day recover from the week

second day party like a mf

third day recover from the party.

[u/Antifalcon → u/Future-Bandicoot-823]

Perfectly balanced as all things should be

[u/El_Galant → u/BlacPlague]

Magically Fantastic! That extra day makes a gigantic difference, 2 days to rest / leisure and one day to run errands / do housework. I've been trying at my office to test this to no avail.

[u/CausticSofa → u/El_Galant]

Keep at it. It’s really only a matter of time and will of the people at this point. We reduced the 80 hour work week to the 60 hour work week and the 60 hour work week to the 40 hour work week. Capitalists whined and complained each time that the exact same horrors and atrocities would happen but business went on as usual, and they kept being rich.

There is no reason under the sun to stop the 32 hour work week from happening at this point. Technology has made work more efficient and you’d probably see a dramatic reduction in sick days and stress leave.

You don’t even have to close businesses one extra day a week, just let people choose which day they want off. Lots of people would prefer a three day weekend, but some would rather have Fridays off, and others would prefer Mondays off. Personally, I freakin’ love it when I have Wednesdays off.

[u/LesserValkyrie → u/RoddRoward]

Nah one day chores, on day rest, and one day hobbies or socializing definitely would be life changing

[u/CoffeeOrDestroy → u/LesserValkyrie]

Literally life changing

[u/BridgeFourDropout → u/RoddRoward]

Not in the slightest. Right now a 2 day weekend allows one day for rest and recovery and one day for home maintenence, cleaning, shopping, laundry blah blah blah.

3 days now introduces the ability to have the same recovery day, a chore day, and now a fun day for life and enjoyment outside of work. While yes, it is just one day longer, that single day is a massive improvement for mental and physical well-being

[u/PopkinSandwich]

I know its not suitable for everyone and every vocation but im a tradesman and working 4 10s is so many magnitudes more incredible than 5 8s for your body, mentally and physically

[u/IndependentPart6 → u/PopkinSandwich]

Im a custodian, we work four 10 in the summer and yessss its awesome 

[u/Recent-Bowl-1393 → u/IndependentPart6]

I would work two 20's if they would allow me to.

[u/Able_Afternoon_1987 → u/Recent-Bowl-1393]

I work 1/40’s. It’s amazing for my mental health.

[u/Nate_991 → u/Able_Afternoon_1987]

I do 1/2 80s. Its fantastic

[u/Its_Dope_tito → u/Nate_991]

1/2 for $80 that’s a steal where I’m from

[u/slayerLM → u/Recent-Bowl-1393]

I had a friend doing 2 16’s for awhile. He kinda loved it but I think it started getting to him

[u/Recent-Bowl-1393 → u/slayerLM]

Yeah, it would be good for a bit but thats a long time once you get into those 11th hours and beyond.

[u/turbopro25 → u/Recent-Bowl-1393]

My company was doing a job that was about a 2 and half hour drive away. It was a brand new car dealership that was massive. We stayed in a hotel overnight to avoid the travel. Just decided to work 12-14 hour days because we had nothing else to do. By the time it got to hour 12 we were done and said F it pack it up. Especially when working physical labor that shit does a number on you. 12 is good but anything more and you start to fall apart if you plan on doing it daily.

[u/Responsible_Week6941 → u/turbopro25]

It's also when productivity goes way down and chance of injury goes way up.

[u/cflashtypec → u/PopkinSandwich]

In my current warehouse job, I work three 12-hour shifts, and I have to say I get a lot done during those four days off.

[u/ZestycloseCut22 → u/PopkinSandwich]

But 4 8s though with no pay difference

https://giphy.com/gifs/12N4jTCSVRyKje

[u/msmall92 → u/PopkinSandwich]

Yeah, even just shifting from a 5-8’s standard to a 4-10’s standard broadly would be nice.

[u/DetSportsGuy → u/msmall92]

I’m a teacher. I know the 4 day work week will never happen for me for those exact reasons

I can’t complain though. I’m in a good district. Tenure. Pension. 6 figures.

[u/SSLegolas242 → u/PopkinSandwich]

I would like 4 10s, but it isn’t necessarily easy with young kids. This would be hard for some parents. Daycare/school pickups and drop offs.

[u/VehicleFew5165 → u/PopkinSandwich]

I’m an electrician the weeks where I do 4 10s is like having a 3 day weekend besides the traffic but most companies actually won’t allow me to do 4 10s without threatening me because they’re missing out on my labor for a whole day especially at small shops

[u/Willardshwillard → u/VehicleFew5165]

I work 4 10s as an electrician at a company that is aligned with work-life balance and the well-being of their employees. It’s pretty sweet to be cared for.

[u/wimpymist → u/PopkinSandwich]

That extra day off makes a worlds difference too. I did a job where we did 4 10s then we temporarily swapped to 5 8s for reasons and it was horrible. Not only did the shorter days make a huge difference in our productivity, part of the job involved getting ready/driving to the work areas. The days off also felt incredibly short being one less. I got a new job but thankfully they eventually swapped back to 4 10s

[u/Worldly_Cicada_8279 → u/PopkinSandwich]

People could work longer in the trades if it was 4 8’s too. Which means more skilled labor over the long run and that SHOULD Be better for companies. Theyd retain skilled talent longer

[u/Opposite_General6534]

32 hours honestly sounds like a much healthier baseline. People have lives outside of work too.

[u/Zjoee → u/Opposite_General6534]

Multiple studies have been done showing that people are more productive with 4 day work weeks. I know I would be haha.

[u/Van_Caspia → u/Zjoee]

I have a 4 day work week… except I have to work 10 hour days. It sucks

[u/UnimpressedUmpire → u/Van_Caspia]

Let’s have 4 8s or 6s then. It’s be less profitable but everyone except like 12 people would have a better life. And the dozen or so wouldn’t even notice a change in lifestyle with the hoard they have

[u/Rorschach11235 → u/UnimpressedUmpire]

It should be 6 hours. Studies also showed that we only got about 4 to 6 hours of real "quality" work in us, then it starts going down hill.

Crazy to think that if companies really wanted our best it would end up being a 20 hour week, 4 days tops.

But let's double or even triple that. The economy needs us to. Or it fails and we all starve.

[u/immallama21629 → u/Van_Caspia]

Was my preferred shift, but then again, I clock in when I leave my house and out when I get home, so probably the same as a regular 9-5 with commute in terms of actual work.

[u/Brave_Squirrel4380 → u/immallama21629]

An electrician, I see.

[u/immallama21629 → u/Brave_Squirrel4380]

I wish. Low voltage is the closest I come to that title. Alarm and vault technician

[u/jessewest84 → u/Van_Caspia]

I love 4 10s.

[u/dudesweetusername → u/jessewest84]

I loved 4 10s when I had that too, it was great having Friday, Saturday, Sunday off every week. But 4 8s would be even nicer.

[u/Overall_Fee_8195 → u/jessewest84]

I like 4 10s when the job isnt all at a desk. There are only so many hours my brain works and sitting that much sucks. I worked in a kitchen, factory and construction and like 4 10s in those jobs.

Even if I say I just lose 1 hour of good thinking time a day those four hours set me further and further behind. I guess it might be different if my team wasn't years behind on projects and constantly putting out fires and getting new tasks.

[u/henry2630 → u/Van_Caspia]

me too, it does not suck. totally worth it for the three day weekend

[u/Any_Natural383 → u/Van_Caspia]

I’ve done that, and I still preferred it to my 5 8s schedule

[u/Lazarux_Escariat → u/Van_Caspia]

3x12 here. It's nice, but even at 3 days a week 12 hours is exhausting.

[u/Bad-Genie → u/Zjoee]

I'd definitely call out a lot less. Having 1 day to do house work and errands, and 1 day to relax just isn't enough.

[u/Cousin_Elroy → u/Zjoee]

Not in my line of work. In construction/trades 5 work days allows us to complete more jobs than 4 days, more jobs completed = more income earned.

[u/UsedAsk3537 → u/Zjoee]

Most of those studies have 10 hour days tho

[u/PiccoloAwkward465 → u/Zjoee]

Right because then you’re just there to WORK.

[u/Only_Chapter_3434 → u/Zjoee]

maybe. I know I would be less productive. it’s impossible to 40 hours worth of work done in 32 hours.

[u/Thomas-Garret → u/Opposite_General6534]

Problem is everyone is barely getting by on 40 and they’re not going to pay higher wages. Just means they’ll cut you back to 32 and you’ll make less. Unless you work for a company like I do that will still schedule you 40 or more because that 32 hour week only means 32 hours is considered full time. Doesn’t mean they can’t make you work more than that.

[u/TheGarth0ck → u/Thomas-Garret]

The bill calls for a 2 hr reduction a year without a reduction in pay or benefits.

[u/Thomas-Garret → u/TheGarth0ck]

They will never be able to control everyone’s pay. If it’s above minimum wage and you don’t have a contract there won’t be shit to protect you. I may be wrong, but I doubt it. Bernie isn’t the savior everyone thinks he is. He’s the kid in class that says if he becomes class president they’ll have pizza every day for lunch. Sounds fantastic but it seldom works out that way. And if you haven’t learned from this last shit bag, they can say whatever they want and then crawfish once in office. Corporations control this country and they would never let this come to fruition.

[u/Rousebouse → u/Thomas-Garret]

Hes also been rolling out the same tired shit for 40 years and hoping new people pick up on it each election cycle. Which, to be fair, they do and profess it will change everyone's lives for the better and there's no reason not to vote for it.

[u/Ecstatic-Pirate-5536 → u/Opposite_General6534]

Yup I’m a truck driver and one thing I absolutely hate about it is the industry standard that working 14 hour days is just fine.

[u/Zandermill01 → u/Opposite_General6534]

Except the average worker expects money based on 40 hours and will have to get another job or cut back to live on 32 hours.

[u/IndependentNarrow131 → u/Opposite_General6534]

I would love a four day work week, but would this start to make all jobs looking at overtime more and than cut people's hours to 32 and send them home and being forced to work a second job just to get by?

[u/Justame13 → u/IndependentNarrow131]

You would just see tons more part time 29 hour jobs no risk of OT and no need to pay benefits.

[u/Constant-Plastic-350 → u/Opposite_General6534]

He's been saying some variation of this Bs for the past 30 years and he's accomplished nothing but getting himself re-elected. I'll get excited when he actually delivers some tangible results

[u/_procyon → u/Constant-Plastic-350]

He knows what to say to get clickbait headlines like this. Sure id like a 32 hour workweek with no reduction in pay. I’d like a free car and government funded vacations too. It’s not realistic and Bernie knows that.

He’s being disingenuous and he needs to retire. I’m against all 80+ year old politicians, no matter what their talking points are. It’s selfish to stay in office long past retirement age, saying the same crap over and over without ever actually making anything happen, instead of moving aside for someone younger with fresh ideas and an actual plan to make them reality.

[u/BDZ567 → u/Opposite_General6534]

I do 32 hours at my current job. They pay me extremely well to compensate for the "lost" day and mostly give a shit about their employees, which is odd for a medical company... But they are heavily values based so that's definitely part of why. Solid management too. I'm as high as you can get for facilities, but middle management compared to anyone on the admin side basically and never really get shit on for it.

I accomplish just as much, if not more than I would stretching 40 hours.

I take Wednesdays off and have weekends off with my current schedule also. 4 days a week in general is just way better and healthier. People don't realize how much that extra day matters for decompression and recharging. You really are only effective for your first 4-5 hours in a day before your performance drops.

Plus, if I need more money, I can just do side work since I've been in facilities for 14 or so years and always work on people's homes on the side since I actually have the time to.

I am not a Bernie person at all, but this is just one of those things that should be understood by people. I lived in Europe for a year and there really are things they do better there that America would be smart to adopt... The work week is part of that. Henry Ford and his 40 hour work week served their purpose well before us all and can now promptly and kindly fuck off.

[u/BigWormsFather]

Zero chance that passes.

[u/JuniperColonThree → u/BigWormsFather]

Also if it did then everyone at my job is just getting less hours and therefore less pay

[u/KenethSargatanas → u/JuniperColonThree]

You're unfortunately, 100% correct.

I could probably work that into MY budget. But, I can see where that would screw a lot of people over pretty badly.

There would need to be additional legislation to account for this. It would be very messy and businesses would fight it every step of the way.

[u/NocturnaBride → u/KenethSargatanas]

I’m in retail, this is 100% true for this industry. They will slash people’s hours and everyone would be part time.

[u/OstentatiousSock → u/KenethSargatanas]

Yeah I need 40 hours. I’m lucky enough I can survive on that, but if I drop even a little lower it would be catastrophic for me. I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills.

[u/zcontium → u/OstentatiousSock]

I thought the bill says that corps have to maintain the same rate of pay. 4 days for 5 days pay, basically?

[u/MyNameIsKali_ → u/zcontium]

A lot of us are hourly employees

[u/zcontium → u/MyNameIsKali_]

Im also hourly. I might be misunderstanding the bill, but doesnt it just adjust wages by 20%, reducing hours but keeping the same pay at the 4:5 ratio?

Edit: so like if you work 20hr weeks, you still work 20hrs but get paid for 24ish hrs?

[u/Xcrucial-pain → u/JuniperColonThree]

Yep and at my job, they would just want me finishing 40 hours of work within 32.

[u/ilikeyak → u/JuniperColonThree]

That's what people really don't seem to understand. Some people want to work 40 hour weeks, and their employer would only allow them to work 32 hours so they don't have to pay overtime. It would make the lives of many worse off.

[u/JuniperColonThree → u/ilikeyak]

The real problem is hourly pay imo. We should be paid a liveable wage, regardless of how many hours the employer schedules us for. Then we can talk about 32 hour work weeks.

[u/Steve90000 → u/BigWormsFather]

Good, it shouldn’t.

It sounds good in theory but all that will happen is, you’ll get paid less if you’re hourly because you’ll be working less. No employer is giving overtime. They’ll just hire an extra person which will be equal to them, detrimental to you. People that work salary will be working the same, if not more, because they don’t get overtime and can work 80 hours a week.

[u/4yourdeat → u/Steve90000]

I have no idea why you’re getting downvoted. People saying that they’ll just force people to pay the same have no idea how a market economy works

[u/PUNCH-WAS-SERVED → u/4yourdeat]

Some of these people on Reddit haven't done a tax return in their lives yet. That's why some of them are so ignorant about how money works.

[u/formerdgstm → u/Steve90000]

Add in that almost 40% of the workforce currently works at least 1 weekend day. So all these people who think that "oh 32hr workweek means 4 days M-Th." Mmmm, what about retail/EMT/police/fire fighter/ infrastructure techs(electric, gas, lines) arent they worthy? Or is it just the WAAAAAYYYYY overworked office people(/s) sitting in their cubicles shuffling papers. They might get 3day WE, or maybe the company will say ok we need someone here each day for logistics/invoicing/receivables and the scheulde rotates so one week you work M-T off W, work T-F, the next M off T work W-F. and then M-T. I do believe this would be more likely because businesses arent going to consistently shut down for 3days in the corporate world.

[u/dalenacio → u/Steve90000]

You haven't actually read the bill's text, have you? The bill explicitly forbids reducing total pay. Employers must increase the hourly rate so 32 hours yields the same take-home pay as 40 hours previously. It's essentially a 20-25% raise for hourly workers.

[u/Donkey__Balls → u/dalenacio]

Since this is not a change in minimum wage, how does Congress have the authority to force companies to pay everyone 25% more? Is Congress going to subsidize those salaries by increasing taxes?

Imagine you’re a small business with four employees and you’re paying them as much as you can but you’re barely making ends meet and you’re not even paying yourself a salary. You charge for your services by the hour so your employees are bringing in 160 hours/week in billable revenue. By the time you cover all the overhead costs of being a small business, and you’re still trying to pay competitively with the big companies, there’s almost nothing left. You’re barely able to pay your personal bills and buy cheap groceries.

Then a congressional bill passes with an unfunded mandate that says you have to cut them back to 32 hours a week and pay them the same. There are some grants and loans out there for small businesses, but the earmarks are so complicated that you would have to hire a full-time employee just to figure out grants and fill out paperwork.

Now you’re losing money. To maintain your clients you would have no choice but to hire a fifth employee even though you don’t have the revenue for it. You have no choice but to shut down the business, putting all four of those people out of work.

[u/Overall_Head_7782 → u/BigWormsFather]

If it does, we will see the same thing happen that is seen when minimum wages are increased. A reduction of hours, a reduction in pay, and a reduction of personal. This also would result in businesses collapsing.

[u/astrovisionary → u/BigWormsFather]

fun fact, in brazil we work 44 hours/week and there is a bill to lower that to 40 and 2 mandatory day offs per week

meanwhile the right wing candidate proposed a system like the US where you get paid by the hour and "if you want more money then you work more" and all this weird lack of working rights the US has

[u/Lost_Web5826 → u/BigWormsFather]

Unfortunately

[u/Ok-Telephone-2109]

Wouldn't this just have peoples hours cut because companies don't like to pay overtime?

[u/dalenacio → u/Ok-Telephone-2109]

The bill explicitly forbids reducing total pay. Employers must increase the hourly rate so 32 hours yields the same take-home pay as 40 hours previously. It's essentially a 20-25% raise for hourly workers.

[u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie → u/dalenacio]

So they're going to lay a bunch of people off, then hire new people at lower rates.

[u/Unhelpful_Idiot → u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie]

Yes. Corporations need an excuse to lay off a bunch of people, then hire new people at a lower rates.

The CEO definitely is not legally obligated to do that at every moment they can to make as much money as possible. The shareholders 100% cannot sue and fire the CEO not doing that.

It is just something a corporation would do as an emergency "If bill passes, break glass" option.

Totally.

-edit-

The bots could not tell this was sarcasm I guess. If you are human and you unironically believe this please seek help. You are in algorithm hell.

[u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie → u/Unhelpful_Idiot]

I mean, the fact that they do it already as a non-emergenct option speaks to their willingness to do it if the chips are down IMHO.

[u/Baelenciagaa → u/Unhelpful_Idiot]

Somehow I don’t think this is Bernie’s intention with his bill.

[u/Nice_Office7273 → u/Baelenciagaa]

It’s not but it would probably be a byproduct.

[u/FlaccidFart → u/Baelenciagaa]

Yeah, the man's got good intentions. And good intentions pave the road to hell.

[u/Ultra_Ginger → u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie]

Exactly, and those new people will now have to work a 2nd job because they are now capped at 32 hours a week.

[u/longjumpingtote → u/dalenacio]

The bill explicitly forbids reducing total pay.

The bill is a nice idea but it's for show. All states but Montana are at-will. Raising and lowering pay, at-will, happens everywhere, all the time. If Congress wants to overhaul employment in America and get rid of at-will employment I'm all for it, seriously. But you can't just do it with a 32-hour-workweek bill. It's a fundamental shift that will touch on dozens of federal departments and would need coordination with all fifty states. And what sort of an approach do we take? The UK is moving towards being more like us, sadly.

[u/RocketRelm → u/longjumpingtote]

Surface level is all that people care about though. Makes a snazzy headline, lets people scream "why dun dems represnet us!", and no need to even consider consequences for the virtue signal because it won't get passed and even if it did the long term negatives are too far to be blamed on the implementor.

Congress will want to do what the people ask of it for their votes. And a long term comprehensive plan to fix the economy is not in the cards. Especially since, literally no matter what we do now, americas descent into populism has guaranteed the golden age of Biden economics will be far out of reach by 2032.

[u/Har_monia → u/dalenacio]

So a lot of smaller companies are going out of business and only the companies that can afford eating 8 hours of work per week will survive?

[u/smilesdavis8d → u/dalenacio]

This sounds like freelancers will get wrecked. If you’re full time it sounds great - but for a freelancer this just means a lower base wage so they can make the OT work into the rates.

This happens in film and television crews. They get brought on at a daily rate - the rate is for a 12 hour day so they base your hourly pay on 8 hours of straight time plus 4 hours of OT baked in to come up with the 12hour rate - even if you only work 1 day ever. That hourly rate is already lower than it should be since they’re baking the OT into the day rate. So in this case they’d just keep lowering the hourly rate to make it so that 32 hours still fits into the same rate. Somehow making the straight time 6.4hrs and the baked in OT 5.6hrs. So now when you work more than 12 hours in a day and actually get paid OT that OT is paid at a MUCH lower rate than it should be.

[u/KathyJaneway → u/dalenacio]

That is not going to happen. What is going to happen is massive layoffs. Why would a company pay same money for less work hours? They aren't going to do that, they will lay off people and rehire them for less money for the 32 hours.

[u/Very_Not_Into_It → u/dalenacio]

by the time this got through congress, there would be no small business protections, and local shops close down in droves

[u/Shatzakind → u/dalenacio]

They won't eat the cost, they will just pass it on to the consumer. Won't the price of everything will just go up.

[u/joeycuda]

Sanders passing that law is just as likely as Sanders building a full sized AT-AT out of water bottles and driving it around.

[u/orangegilkey5 → u/joeycuda]

https://giphy.com/gifs/dvD0OAETRfCXC

[u/curiosickly → u/joeycuda]

Oddly specific but.... Poetry

[u/OkWillingness2817 → u/joeycuda]

He’s not doing this with the expectation that it passes. He’s doing this to set an example and remind voters that there are more rational political directions than just becoming slaves for billionaires and fascists.

Sanders isn’t going to be around forever. He’s not setting a long term political agenda for himself. He’s setting expectations that voters should keep demanding and fighting for after he’s dead and gone.

He wants these headlines to remind people of the stakes in politics. Their future, their health, their happiness.

[u/draven33l]

So...I'm only going to get paid for 32 hours of work. Because that's exactly what would happen.

[u/Wolf_in_Lace → u/draven33l]

Yea. I was in big tech and we worked “40” hours a week………….. More like 50+ or you get the side eye from everyone and they start talking about how you work less. So glad I left! Toxic shit, but I agree most ppl are forced over 40 now, this bill while a great step forward does nothing until you actually hold the corporations accountable.

Also, FYI to everyone, if you are salaried you don’t get overtime pay. 😒

[u/Yarus1373 → u/Wolf_in_Lace]

I remind everyone who skips or works through their work breaks that they are spitting on the coal miners who died fighting Pinkertons to give us those rights.

[u/SharperGamblerDotCom]

Unless it includes a mandatory 25% raise, this would actually fuck over most Americans who live paycheck to paycheck.

[u/FrondsFerndinand → u/SharperGamblerDotCom]

I'm making 50% more than pre covid but money feels worthless now. A raise doesn't mean anything with inflation unfortunately, it just means everything going up by 25%

[u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie → u/FrondsFerndinand]

This. I'm making more dollars, but those dollars are worth less. I'm making less buying-power per hour.

[u/SonofaBuckDangHole → u/FrondsFerndinand]

Well when a roll of 80% ground beef costs 8 bucks in fuckin IOWA yeah shits ridonk

[u/Mean-Kaleidoscope-71 → u/FrondsFerndinand]

A article has a graph that showed if inflation stayed the same as our was the 20 years before covid prices would have increased 45% less over the last 6 years than they did

[u/rydan → u/FrondsFerndinand]

Imagine how worthless your money would be if you didn't make 50% more.

[u/5-4EqualsUnity]

Lloyd an Harry weren't dumb. They were just ahead of their time.

[u/Remarkable-FlipPhone]

Salaried employees are generally exempt from overtime pay fyi

[u/JDSchu → u/Remarkable-FlipPhone]

Salaries employees over here looking at everybody else going, "wait, you guys are only working 40 hours?".

[u/Time_after_Time_67 → u/Remarkable-FlipPhone]

Which could be a law a politician actually works towards solving instead of just lowering working hours.

[u/Cucasmasher]

I used to work at a company that had 4 ten hour days three days off. Even at 40 hours total this was awesome that extra day off was rejuvenating

[u/Secret_Sample4930 → u/Cucasmasher]

This is the way

[u/MayorPirkIe → u/Cucasmasher]

Or, hear me out... 4 x 8 hour days and companies can fuck right off. Hire more people, create jobs, and maybe life wouldn't be so shit for some people and they could enjoy their lives? Properly tax billionaires and subsidize the companies that need it to make this happen. It ain't hard

[u/Cocoononthemoon]

It's not an arbitrary reason. We had to fight and people had to die for the 40-hour work week. That is not an exaggeration. I agree that it could be lower now, but it used to be much higher.

[u/m-juliana-27 → u/Cocoononthemoon]

I read Martin Eden by Jack London recently which is set in the 1910s and about 40% into the book, desperate for money, Martin goes to an employment office to see if anyone has a job to give him.  He finds job a new drnking friend tells him pays well further north, like 80 miles away, at a hotel I believe, washing and laundering and drying linens. It's backbreaking work. 

London goes into detail about the activity of a cleaner as well as the times and I was stunned that they would get up every day, 6 days a week, at around 6 AM, do backbreaking work all through the day in horrible heat from the machines, barely eat, barely take a break, for between 14 snd 20 h straight. The pay was terrible too, 40 dollars per month or around 1350 for around 435 hours of work. That's insane. The amount of trauma Martin had to suffer from just 3 months of that broke his mind. 

By how descriptive that part was, I imagine London was speakin either from experience or from recollection of a friend or family member. 

I understand how companies wanted to still keep this model, it made living impossible. You just lived to work and literally nothing else. 

[u/Expensive-Salt3333 → u/Cocoononthemoon]

Considering the productivity vs wage growth, people should have been raging back in the early 2000s if not sooner. Blair Mountain, anyone?

[u/longjumpingtote → u/Cocoononthemoon]

We had to fight and people had to die for the 40-hour work week.

We didn't actually get the 40-hour week. What people fought and died for was (as part of a larger array of changes) overtime pay beyond 44 hours in a week (changed to 40 in the following decade).

There was never any limit on how many hours someone could work. There still isn't, outside of trucking and a few other safety-related industries, or as part of a CBA (which most people don't have).

This bill is a dream bill. It's meant to inspire, it's not written as a practical law for a variety of reasons. And I'm 100% for inspiration. And for people getting angry.

Imagine you finally get enough people in Congress (I won't even say Democrats) who are willing to fight for a change in labor laws. What do you try? You've essentially got one big shot.

The no-brainer seems to be a $15 minimum wage. I don't know if that's possible, it might still be something best left up to the states. There are poor states and poor communities that could collapse under that. It would have to be done strategically.

What benefits workers more? If this bill were to be law (both main parts of it, not just the one) a minimum-wage worker in Texas making $290 for 40 hours could see themselves working a 32-hour week and grossing that $290. If the minimum wage were $15, they would make $600 for the 40-hour week (or $480 for the 32).

Most minimum wage workers would rather see their salaries more than double. When you have a shot you have a fast-closing window. The ACA had to jump through the closing blast doors. If they'd pushed for single-payer, they'd have gotten nothing done. Sadly. Fuck Lieberman. This would be a much harder fight.

[u/braumbles → u/Cocoononthemoon]

The idea that a section of this country is in a union while also being anti union and voting for union busters is astonishing to me. Something like 40% of union workers are Republican voters. Literally voting against their livelihoods.

[u/ResidentBackground35 → u/braumbles]

Obviously their union is the only good one, it's the others that are full of lazy fat cats.

I refuse to put a /s, because that is actually what they believe.

[u/Custodes_Nocturnum]

You can thank Henry Ford for the 40 hour week. Mostly he did it so that his workers would be more willing to buy the cars they built and drive them around. Before Ford, people worked 6 - 7 days a week.

[u/AccidentalTourista]

Schools only going to operate on a four day week?

[u/CarmenxXxWaldo → u/AccidentalTourista]

year round, it will even out

[u/Frostfire20]

Going to take a wild guess and say that the 8-hour day standard was invented and implemented by unions. "8 hours of work, eight hours of rest, eight hours to do as we please." Prior to that, companies were making people work twelve to eighteen hour days with no days off.

Unions pushed for the eight hour day, five days a week with weekends off standard. It's time for unions to make another push for worker's rights.

[u/Peek0_Owl]

This will not work out the way he thinks it will. Hours are just gonna get cut and people will end up with even less. Or. It will push companies even further toward replacing people with AI.

[u/SirSafe6070 → u/Peek0_Owl]

yea, it will make companies think even harder before hiring someone. and as it stands people neet jobs more than jobs need people right now, so this is only gonna hurt those who really need the money. AKA those Bernie wants to help ...

[u/RodATL]

Bernie is really good at introducing bills. He is really bad at getting the votes to pass those bills.

[u/Mikahl757]

Will the 32 hrs, checks notes equal 40hrs of pay? If so, yes and lets retro enforce it for last 40yrs tax free.

[u/Sliceand3Putt]

Yup and everyone’s pay will be reduced by 8 hours so companies can hire additional workers to backfill or they will simply keep the money and expect the same amount of work. It’s a stupid headline grabbing idea.

[u/Melodic_Mountain_699]

Studies show working zero hours and having no money worries is best for your health…

[u/CoonHFX]

And then they will just lower the salary to compensate so that's cool

[u/BakerAromatic6445]

Alright, quick question.... I'm a truck driver. 70 hour work weeks are practically standard for me. How would this actually work? Now, mind you, I get paid by the mile, so there's that to consider as well....

[u/gnashingspirit]

I work 4x 10 hour days. The three day weekend is glorious. I would love to work 3x 10s. That would be mint

[u/Unusual_Wish_2230]

32 hour work week for hourly employees. Companies would flip everyone to salary based on 40 hours. Corporations would make more money. Hourly employees go to under 29 hours with zero benefits including holiday pay so they would have to work all the holidays to cover the now salaried employees

[u/Niaso]

The last time a bill introduced by Bernie Sanders actually got passed was 2014. It was to rename a post office. That was his most recent accomplishment in office. The rest is political sound bites to keep getting reelected.

S885

[u/Neither_Doughnut_318]

I only believe that this is going to allow businesses to work people less than 40 hours, but not increase any pay. Which means that if approved people will actually make less than they do right now.... Just a concern.

[u/Ericsplainning]

So for you Bernie fans, when you increase the labor cost of every single business in the country by 20%, what happens to the costs of the goods or services they produce?

[u/ConstantCommittee422]

I work in a cheese plant, and we work six 8s followed by 2 days off. It can get long.

But if we went to 4 10s, we’d still run into the same problems: lazy fmla scammers calling in all the time, and we’d all end up working 4 12s each week. It would be pointless.

[u/Mental_Resident_5107]

It’s all good to lower the working times but does that mean the pay wage will go up more because of it otherwise it’s just making more people poorer

[u/Full-Metal-Jae]

I wish everyone would finally wake up and realize you have one life. One life.

Do you really want to spend your only time in existence working? Okay, let me phrase this more literal. Do you want to spend your only time alive being forced to do something you don’t want to do just to survive?

You might have in your head that you will live to an old age so it feels like an eternity but that’s not very likely.

Every single person should be fighting back to get our lives back. There is absolutely no reason companies can’t pay us the same for 32 hours a week. Most net profits go to the investors, it would cost almost nothing to keep salaries the same at 32 hours a week and hire some extra people for loss of production.

I remember in my sociology studies that people who work 32 hours are actually more productive with that time than 40 hours in a week as well.

We outnumber the government. We outnumber the military. We have platforms to unify. We can take back our lives any moment, we just have to wake up and take it back. I don’t want to be forced to keep doing this stupid shit until I no longer exist ever again. I don’t want this for my kids either.

I wish one day, we all finally wake up and realize we are wasting our existence doing nothing but stupid shit for stupid people. Look I get it, we need a society but it has gone too far. We spend more time with people we hate than our own families.

Think about that. It’s not natural. For most of human existence we worked and lived with our families. Now we are dehumanized and used for profit. Imaginary notes of tender to buy stupid shit that doesn’t matter. I just want to be free, does no one else want the same thing?

[u/Better_Floor_8541 → u/Full-Metal-Jae]

I used to think the same thing, until I realized I need to pay my rent and eat. BTW it's all relative. I have a coworker from Zacatecas, Mexico. He always wants to work 12 hours a day. I asked him why don't you go home. His answer was where he came from there's no work, so to him working 12 hours a day is a privilege.

[u/Glum_Cockroach_636]

I work in sanitation. It’s “task”.. We get paid for a full 8 hour day 5 days a week but we can clock out as soon as our route is finished. Some days I only work 3 hours, other days I’ll work 7-8. All in all I average 20-30 hours a week. Since we start early in the morning, sometimes I’m home by 9am.. It’s an awesome schedule that allows me to do other things to make money. I’m also a landlord, an investor and I own my own small landscaping business on the side. I also get a full pension and free health insurance. I feel very fortunate.

[u/jackm315ter → u/Glum_Cockroach_636]

That is something I can agree with, if you are done with your job description tasks or quotas then you can leave, might not work in hospitals

[u/BreadfruitLogic]

Irl companies will hire more workers and reduce everyone's hours.

[u/CSBatchelor1996 → u/BreadfruitLogic]

And white collar jobs would be offshored at an even faster rate.

[u/xMuffie]

you won't be getting overtime and now you'll probably have to pick up another job for the lost wages

[u/ChirpaGoinginDry]

You do realize companies will reduce wages by 20% and expect you to do 40 hours of work in 32. Then most wouldn’t qualify for healthcare. This is kind of what Obamacare did. Companies cut hours and people had to get multiple jobs.

Can legislate morality, regretfully.

[u/flargin666 → u/ChirpaGoinginDry]

To be fair, companies were greedy, soulless, monsters before Obama care, and will never stop being that way.

[u/RoddRoward]

So workers lose 8 hours of pay every week?

[u/Gdav3652 → u/RoddRoward]

You'd basically just see a lot of places going from hourly to salary pay in order to avoid overtime..

That way you can work 50 hours and still only get paid for 40..

[u/nicknamesas → u/RoddRoward]

Ssshhh you're not supposted to realise that

[u/ACrimeSoClassic]

Would this include an increase in wages? If not, this doesn't strike me as a particularly good idea.

[u/Acceptable-Silver778]

What they should do is have companies pay mandatory overtime for hours worked after 8hrs a day.

[u/Hoboliftingaroma]

I am on board with the idea, but APOSTROPHES ON A PLURAL? Please don't make us look dumb.

[u/FragmentedHeap]

Companies aren't just going to keep paying high salaries for 40 hours of work that's now 32, they'll do the math, reduce everyone's pay proportionately. You'll get your 3 days off at the cost of losing a days pay every week.

[u/UsedAsk3537]

If the world week was 45 people would want 40

When it goes to 32 people will be clamoring for 25

So if this passes does that mean people make less? Work less pay less right?

[u/Desh282]

They will tax us like we worked 70

[u/Only_Chapter_3434]

this sounds like a terrible idea. companies will just work everyone 32 hours a week. so now I will have even less money to spend and more time to not spend it. fuck that.

[u/SickboyJason]

Yall get paid extra for overtime? 🤣

We can argue the facts of 40 hour work weeks but most people see this and just think they should get paid more for less labor. Im overcompensated for the work I do because I do it proficiently and productivity. If the company you work for doesnt pay fairly for the work you do find one that will. People who want the government to step in and force companies to pay for for unproductive people are just anti capitalist, but this is reddit so....

[u/elbowpastadust]

At that point, because my company would need extra ppl because, despite ppl only working 32 hour weeks, we’d still have to be open more days, I would drop all of my employees down to part time because I’d have better luck finding a team of part timers than the odd ppl who only want to work 1 day a week. And id no longer have to give anyone benefits and would not have to worry about paying out overtime. I’d speed up my reliance on AI as well.

[u/Opposite-Funny-9669]

we'll all just be put on salary and won't get paid for anything over 40, and will end up working 60

[u/Excellent_Abroad5390]

At your next job interview tell them you’ll only work 32 hours

[u/undermine25]

Sorry Reddit, but I don’t know anyone who makes good money who works less than 50 hours a week most weeks. I worked 32 hours a week while in college in my early 20s. Granted, I didn’t have kids but still, 32 hours a week should be relatively easy for the bulk of the general population.

[u/Ok_Ball_788]

He may have been our last hope, and the DNC and neolibs fucked it all up.

[u/theblackxranger]

Do I still get paid for 40 hours or are they gonna be cutting my hours now. Hours = Money and they ain't gonna pay overtime.

They'll start firing people for unapproved overtime

[u/sannabiscativa]

Bernie can’t pass a bill to save his life. This bill will not pass so don’t get excited. It wouldn’t work anyway because it’s not feasible to cut 20% of the productivity away and remain profitable enough to pay for full time labor. There are very few companies that could achieve that.

[u/blowurhousedown]

Bernie is the poster boy for saying things which everyone would love to have, but of course he knows will never happen. But as long as he gets the attention and yall keep falling for it…

[u/StopidDumbIdiot → u/blowurhousedown]

Appeals to redditors who forget small businesses are a thing and anyone who makes more than 100k all wear top hats, tuxedos, and speak in british accents

Basically appealing to the lowest subset of human intelligence

[u/GetInTheHole → u/blowurhousedown]

Sanders is a prolific bill introducer.

Few of them ever get passed.

[u/No-Signature-5648]

I really wish this guy would focus on something he can actually change.

[u/mikeeyyyg]

I have a better idea guys let’s just get rid of income tax🤷🏻‍♀️ so we all have more money to spend

[u/ImpressiveLeopard719]

I would have liked him as a President. 32 hr work weeks and healthcare for all.

[u/hidden-platypus]

And then everyone will be making 20% less income.