I wish all the time that Bernie’s 32 hour work week bill would pass. It would give back just enough leisure and family time that people need to have a healthy lifestyle and work-life balance. It would improve parenting relationships, and allow more time for parents to do their job with teaching their kids basic behavioral and coping skills. There would be a lot less toxic stress in this world. This would also create more jobs and help us manage the AI crisis (people are afraid AI is taking people’s jobs).
I would also appreciate the flexibility of working 5-6 hour days, so that you don’t have to find a ten hour babysitter when your kids are still babies, and when they go to school, if I get off a little early to pick my kids off from school.
OTOH, the 32 hour work week is still controversial. Workers complain that they would lose 8 hours weekly pay. Companies complain about the increase of overhead costs. Even your own link says that Bernie’s bill has only a 8-11% chance of passing.
I have an alternative idea in my proposal, which would give certain full time working parents, in certain situations, the right to request 8 hours unpaid time off, in exchange for the government paying for part of the company’s portion of the health insurance costs. We could set limitations similar to FMLA (for example, the worker must have been employed there for at least one year, and the employer has to have at least 50 employees in a 75 mile radius, something like that).
An alternative idea could help get more support for 32 hour work weeks. It would help give more people access to a 32 hour workweek, while simultaneously encourage fence-sitters to warm up to the idea and consider further legislation on an official 32 hour work week.
Here’s my proposal. It’s probably too liberal, but I just throw this out there because I truly believe in it: