The past couple of decades have been an anomaly for many people in modern economies where pay has stagnated and working conditions have deteriorated.

Up until the 1980s or thereabouts,the benefits of improved productivity were broadly enjoyed across society.Our standard of living rose exponentially during the post-World War II boom. Jobs were plentiful, unions were strong, wages were rising, working conditions became more humane and working hours were capped.

But something changed in the recent past and the continuous improvement in work / life balance began to erode, slowly but surely.

Work has become more precarious, working from home has often blurred the boundary between our jobs and our home life, and it’s notorious that average wages have flat lined.

In response, momentum is building about a drastic rethink of how we work. Already, countries such as Germany and Portugal have banned employers from contacting staff after-hours about work-related matters.

In Iceland, they’ve conducted a couple of country-wide experiments with a national 4-day work week. They say it was an overwhelming success, but they’re ‘sorta Scandies’ so they would say that.

The fight in the US for better working conditions will be far more fraught, but that hasn’t stopped the Democratic Party Progressive Caucus from introducing a bill into Congress that mandates a 4-day work week.

Leader of the Progressive Caucus, Pramila Jayapal, says that for far too long, US workers have been working ever-longer hours while their wages have barely budged.

While the chances of the bill passing into law are less than zero, together with talk of the Great Resignation,it certainly serves to raise the profile of working conditions as a hot-button issue in 2022.

As we hear in this panel discussion video from leading US politics news service The Hill, Nabilah Islam, political strategist and former Democrat candidate from Georgia, says the 4-day week pays for itself in improved productivity, reduced mental illness and greater overall happiness.

Arguing against the idea, Liz Wolfe, associate editor at libertarian magazine Reason, says it will reduce productivity and exacerbate inflation.

For his part, program host Ryan Grim says he’s all-for a 4-day week. Ryan says the crush of long hours and stagnant wages have forced millions of workers to check-out by retiring early and otherwise withdrawing from the labour force.

From a Switched ON point of view, our sympathies naturally tend towards the flexibility of the 4-day working week.

At a time when labour shortages are hampering the economic rebound from COVID, any inducements that keep people aged over 50 in the paid workforce sound like a very worthwhile win / win.