There is a rising argument that workers should be entitled to more off days and in turn, a shortened working week. This essay will argue that longer weekends are not a major necessity for workers in contemporary times, and it will reduce consistency and efficiency of a company’s workforce.
Many workers fight for their right to have a break beyond the weekends which they are already given. One of the main reasons for me to oppose to this is the fact that workers are only required to work fourty to fourty five hours a week. Not only are they are entitled to 48 hours of complete leave, they also get the rest of their eight-hour working day to themselves. Conversely, employees are entitled to other leaves such as annual, medical, or even public holidays. Therefore, I believe that a longer weekend is not a necessity that they require. For instance, there are much more dire needs and issues that need to be addresed urgently. These issues include but are not limited to – fair pay, workplace harrassment and burnout. Fighting for a shorter working week may divert the attention from the said serious matters.
Furthermore, a longer break could lead workers to have gaps in their consistency and improvement. For instance, studies suggest workers are much more efficient on the last 3 days of a week (wednesday, Thursday, and friday) compared to monday or tuesday. This suggests that the weekend slows down their routine and practice, consequently slowing down their work efficency. A longer break each week means that efficiency rates will decrease dramatically, and business targets will be hard to meet.
Some may argue that a longer weekend could help reduce people’s burnout or stress caused by work, which most companies struggle with. On the contrary, a longer weekend could mean an increased workload throughout the rest of the working period. This could cause burnout and the stress of meeting deadlines, and could negatively affect people. Not only this, companies would also suffer if their clients are left in the dark for three consistant days. This would lead to loss of valuable clientel and reduction of revenue.
In conclusion, I strongly disagree with the idea that the working period should be shorter and people should get more off days. This essay successfully demonstrates that not only is this not a major necessity, but also could lead to workers being less efficient. A balanced approach of companies approving the leaves workers are already entitled to, and reducing their workload, overtime hours, and stress would suffice for workers who are burnt out from the five day working week.