Should the workday be changed to four days a week?

Should the workday be changed to four days a week?

The reading and listening passage debate on wether to change the working time from five days a week to five days a week and get less payment for doing so. The reading material believes that employees prefer to work a four-day week and are willing to accept less pay in order to do so, which is contradicted in the following lecture.

First, the reading passage contends that working a four-day week four four-fifths of their pay would benefit the economy as a whole. In that way, employees will feel more rested and alert, thus they will make less costly errors and finally increase company profits by doing this. However, the professor points out that this way of working will lead the company to hire more people and spend much more on employees training, office space and medical insurance.

Moreover, despite the statement in the reading passage that a four-day week working way would create more jobs and reduce the unemployment rates, the professor contends that if the employees complete the same workload in four days, then there are no additional jobs for the new employees.

Finally, the author of the reading claims that a four-day week working way would be better for individual employees whereas the professor asserts that it will reduce the work quality and harm the chance for employees’ career. The reading passage points out that employees can spend more time with their families, pursuing private interests, or enjoying leisure activities, while the professor claims that this way of working will cause the economic down.

In conclusion, the professor clearly indentifies three weaknesses in the reading passage, and convincly shows that the central argument in the reading, that a four-day week policy, is incorrect.