When this is all over, if it leads to flexible working, working from home, the widespread choice to work longer or shorter hours, radical remote working (ie from abroad) etc etc - could this be the shock to the entrenched and stultifying 5 day working week grind that we've desperately needed?
I've been a long term proponent of a 4 day week, but the problem has always been one of coordination: how do you make the change on a large enough scale that individual companies (and even individual countries) don't unduly suffer from separating themselves from the pack?
It seems like this could be the opportunity to circumvent that. If there's a general attitude change that means that companies no longer feel the pressure to abide by normal business hours in order to present a professional image, the cost of having more flexible opening times and availability of staff (to respond to phone calls etc) could be greatly reduced - because that would just be the new normal.
Personally I can't think of anything that could have such a general benefit to quality of life for lots of people than to be able to work (say) a 4 day week, and for much of that to be done remotely.
I've been a long term proponent of a 4 day week, but the problem has always been one of coordination: how do you make the change on a large enough scale that individual companies (and even individual countries) don't unduly suffer from separating themselves from the pack?
It seems like this could be the opportunity to circumvent that. If there's a general attitude change that means that companies no longer feel the pressure to abide by normal business hours in order to present a professional image, the cost of having more flexible opening times and availability of staff (to respond to phone calls etc) could be greatly reduced - because that would just be the new normal.
Personally I can't think of anything that could have such a general benefit to quality of life for lots of people than to be able to work (say) a 4 day week, and for much of that to be done remotely.
