Encouraging. However, there seems to be a question missing in the discussion: why aren’t more people taking the reduced hour offerings?
According to the report itself, after the first stage of trial, 86% of the working population started to negotiate for reduced hours, of the people surveyed, 51% were offered reduced hours and only 14% took them. It’s an unprecedented large proportion, but still less than one would expect given the benefits. There are other factors preventing people to do so. I hope there will be a follow-up research to find out why.
I think it’s probably like the other commenter said, just money. I think it may be “the other thing”? Where you can have whatever rules and policies in place at the govt level, but if there’s a “work hard / sacrifice for dumb reasons” culture solidly entrenched at work…well, writing’s on the wall. Do that or be soft-ostracized.
I do think the rules make an impact anywhere there’s a functioning government, just by slowly shifting what people see (accept?) as “normal”.
[Dreaming in American]
So they can choose to take the 36 hour week, right? Guess that means they earn less if they do?
Reduced from 40 to 36 hours is in the right direction, but it’s still a 5 day work week.
