Bill on bringing a four-day work week in US Congress
13 Dec 2021
Representative of California's 41st Congressional District, Mark Takano initially proposed the Bill in July 2021, henceforth garnering support of multiple labor unions. He highlighted, "After a nearly two-year-long pandemic that forced millions of people to explore remote work options, it's safe to say that we can't - and shouldn't - simply go back to normal, because normal wasn't working".
The new proposed Bill looks to replace the current typical 40 hour work week with a 32 hour work week that will require employers to pay overtime after the 32 hour mark.
The Bill is supported by the 100 member-strong Congressional Progressive Caucus and noted in a statement that this new Act could move "toward a modern-day business model that prioritizes productivity, fair pay, and an improved quality of life for workers across the country."
The 32 hour work week is supported by experiments run in Iceland, New Zealand and Japan. Iceland's large-scale trial surveys have in-fact shown that work output was not impacted negatively in addition to participants reporting less stress and more time for other things that matter to them. Earlier this year, Spain also announced a USD 60 million pilot project to assess the effects of the four hour work week while the UAE will also implement a 4.5 hour work week starting from 1 January 2022.