Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by gymbeaux 1247 days ago
In MOST other first-world countries, the working class has the RIGHT to elect to work less than 40 hours/5 days per week (in exchange for a proportional reduction in salary). In some cases, you must be a parent to be eligible for this.. but yeah, in places like New Zealand and The Netherlands, if you don't want to work 5 days a week, you don't have to.
2 comments
refurb 1247 days ago
That doesn’t seem to contradict “people spend their majority of lives working”
link
gymbeaux 1247 days ago
Fair enough, but unless the other guy was just being tongue-in-cheek, I took the spirit of his question to be more like "where in the world is it different from the US?"
link
mythhouse 1247 days ago
> In MOST other first-world countries, the working class has the RIGHT to elect to work less than 40 hours/5 days per week (in exchange for a proportional reduction in salary)

I work for a large swedish company in USA. None of my coworkers in sweden work less than 40 hrs, like not even one.

So is having that choice really relevant and does it really make it different than USA.

link
gymbeaux 1247 days ago
I'm not familiar with the laws of Sweden, but a quick Google search suggests there is a law on the books limiting the workweek to 40 hours. Even if that is only marginally-heeded, it's leaps and bounds ahead of the United States.

If Swedish residents can work fewer than 40 hours at their discretion, why is it you think most in your circle do not take advantage of this?

Qualtrics released the results of a survey recently stating that 92% of Americans are in favor of a 4-day workweek (that's not necessarily 32-hours)[1]

[1]https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/four-day-work-week/

link
mythhouse 1247 days ago
> If Swedish residents can work fewer than 40 hours at their discretion, why is it you think most in your circle do not take advantage of this?

Maybe because they want the money and working 40hrs isn't so bad? But i really have no idea.

That survey isn't directly related to your original point about working less than 40hrs.

If you are claming that its much different in other countries mere existence of some law isn't enough, it would be a stronger point if you had quoted how many people are actually taking a paycut in those countries in exchange for a day off.

Also sounds like you haven't really looked into laws of MOST first world countries ( whatever that means) yet you made that claim without any proof.

link