Nowadays, with the increase of the pressure, some people suggest that the working week should be shorter and the weekend should be longer. Although there are two sides to this plan, from my point of view, I agree with this idea.
In the first place, there are some negative impacts that cannot be ignored. With the four-day work week generalized, people’s lives will become inconvenient, because the weekend was extended. For example, when someone is in a rush to book an appointment with an accounting firm, they will find that the schedule is full and they need to wait for 3 weeks. The cutoff of the workdays slows down the processing of problems in various industries. In addition, since the workdays become shorter, people need to solve the problems for 4 days in 3 days, that is to say, the tasks and daily agenda of employees will become tighter. Overview, the longer weekend assumption may lead to a lower societal operation speed and a tighter schedule.
On the other hand, there are many strengths to have a longer weekend. People are motivated to balance their lives and work. To illustrate it, employees will have one more day to travel with their families per week, and spend time with their children instead of formal tasks. In addition, more relaxation time will encourage people to work more productively. For instance, one of the studies in Iceland showed that people are becoming 20% more productive in a four-day work week than a normal week. Meanwhile, the assumption about a longer weekend is reasonable, because it releases people’s pressure, and therefore helps people prevent mental issues. Overall, a shorter working week and a longer weekend not only balances employees’ lives and work, motivates them to be more productive, but also releases their pressure and protects their mental health.
From my perspective, although a longer weekend has some disadvantages, its strengths are more valuable and meaningful. Hence, I agreed with the idea, and consequently, the society is encouraged to promote this idea.