American Morning
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April 2nd, 2009
09:40 AM ET
Shorter work weeks?
Some businesses are having shorter work weeks instead of layoffs. CNN's Alina Cho reports.
Some say Americans are crazy... and Europeans are lazy.
But what if we as a nation worked less and played more?
What do you think? Should U.S. employers consider shorter work weeks?
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nice, really nice!
Thank you for featuring us this morning. I'm one of the staff who took the reduced workweek option at Sigma and can't express enough how pleased I am with it. Of course I miss the full income I used to have, but the ROQ (return on quality-of-life) outweighs the monetary decrease. As a working mom, I am able to better balance family/work, which fuels me to be much happier and more productive (and I used to think it was 'more' income that would deliver this).
For our company, the reduced workweek definitely helped save jobs as well as all the great points Dennis Masciotra noted above. More specific details on how it benefited our agency can be found at: http://www.sigmagroup.com/wordpress/archives/956
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A very good idea. Too many employer think they own their employees, to the point they would stop all breaks and lunch times. If they only realized that an overwork employee is not a happy employee and not as productive. More employers need to express their appreciation to and of their employees. They would get more production and less grumbling.
I am not an eight hour a day 40/hour a week employee. I am an RN and I work 12 hour shifts 3 days a week so.....how will it effect me and others like me?
Considering the current economic situation, it's probably a fantastic idea because:
-companies can reduce labor costs
-less people would lose jobs (labor cost cuts spread more evenly)
-employees would have more job security, more time with family, less stress and therefore better lives
-companies would retain more of their workforce, their TALENT, so when the economy picks up again, they still have their employee base and do not need to start from scratch, leading to quicker economic recovery.
I believe if the work work was shorter that there would be less stress and anxiety.
I think it is a great idea! More time with the kids means a better future for us all!