The Case for a 4-Day Work Week | Juliet Schor | TED

Translator: C T Reviewer: Thomas Tam

I've been studying work since the 1980s,

我由 80 年代開始研究工作議題，

and I've never seen anything like what's happening today.

但從未見過好似而家發生嘅事。

Pandemic-fueled anxiety is surging around the world.

全球都湧現加劇嘅疫情焦慮，

In the US, more than half of all employees report feeling stressed

响美國，超過一半僱員話 日常工作壓力好大，

a lot of the day.

Job quits are at record levels, running at four million a month.

離職人數創歷史新高， 一個月超過四百萬人，

People are burning out.

由於僱員工作透支。

In response,

作為回應，响維持五天工資安排下，

a growing number of companies are offering a four-day,

32-hour week,

越來越多企業提供每週四天 三十二小時嘅工作。

but with five days of pay.

Now, it's not a new idea,

而家呢啲已經唔係新概念， 但疫情成為催化劑。

but the pandemic has turbocharged it.

Employers are realizing

僱主意識到如果工作地點可以商量，

that if they can rethink where people work,

they can also rethink how many days they're on the job.

工作日數亦都可以啦。

Sounds pretty great, but is it realistic?

聽落去，幾好喔，但實際嗎？

Well, actually, yes.

實際係可行。

Unlike policies in which one party profits at the expense of another,

同一方得益另一方要付出嘅政策唔同；

the four-day week can benefit workers, companies and society,

四天工作係有利於員工、 企業同社會。

and it can even be a gateway for addressing climate change.

甚至係應對氣候變化嘅通道。

But first, let's talk about the workplace.

首先，由職場講起。

For nearly a decade,

近十年嚟，

companies and governments have been experimenting with shorter hours

企業同政府已經開始實驗 相同薪酬，卻縮短工時。

with no cuts in pay.

While the results do vary,

雖然結果有差異，

the research shows that people are less stressed,

响研究度見到員工 所承受嘅壓力減少，

value their jobs more

更重視本身嘅工作，

and have better lives outside of work.

同埋有更好嘅私人生活。

In most cases,

大部分情況，

they are as productive in four days as they are in five.

員工四天嘅生產力同五天一樣。

Companies can also see benefits through lower turnover

企業得益响降低員工流失率，

and a higher-quality applicant pool.

同有高質量人才資源。

Less burnout reduces health care costs, mistakes and poor service.

由於減低咗員工過度疲勞， 醫療成本、錯誤同劣質服務。

With colleagues,

我哋研究四天工作先導計劃嘅進度，

I'm studying four-day week trials now in progress in the United States

目前响美國同愛爾蘭，

and Ireland,

with summer start dates for the UK, New Zealand and Australia.

夏天就會响英國、 新西蘭同澳洲進行。

We have thousands of employees participating.

有幾千個僱員參與計劃。

Healthwise, an education company, didn't wait for our trial to begin.

Healthwise，呢間教育機構 急不及待就開始咗。

In June, their employees were quitting in droves.

六月嗰陣，佢哋有大量員工離職。

By August, they'd implemented a four-day week.

八月，佢哋開始咗四天工作制。

Six months later,

半年後，總裁 Adm Husney 告知， 員工明顯開心咗，

CEO Adam Husney reports that people are dramatically happier

and have never been more productive.

同生產力係有史以嚟最高。

Resignations and sick days are down,

辭職同攞病假都減少咗， 收入就上升。

revenue has grown

and customer satisfaction scores are outstanding.

客戶滿意度評分非常高。

Healthwise employees are spending their Fridays off

Healthwise 僱員 利用星期五休息時間，

doing family activities like sports or errands.

進行家庭活動， 比如運動或者其他事項。

One mother of young children reported that now she can occasionally manage

有個小朋友嘅媽咪話， 而家可以間唔中

a guilt-free pedicure.

做腳部護理，而無須自責。

The four-day week can help with self-care

四天工作制有利於自我照顧，

and managing the daily stresses of systemic racism,

同管理系統性嘅種族主義， 性別同階級歧視嘅日常壓力。

sexism and classism.

Now a key part of the model

模式重要嘅部分係

is that in return for the gift of a day off,

大家願意用四天時間 發揮全部嘅生產力，

people are willing to squeeze all their productivity into four days.

以回報額外嘅一日假。

So while they may be spending less time at work,

所以，工作時間可能少咗，

they're not necessarily doing less work.

但工作內容並冇減少。

The secret sauce is work reorganization,

秘訣就係重組工作，

cutting out the least productive activities.

減少生產力最低嘅環節。

Meetings are a prime target.

會議係首當其衝。

係呀，我見到大家响度岌頭。

Yes, I see everyone nodding.

Most companies reduce their frequency and length

絕大部分企業減少咗會議嘅頻率、 長度同出席人數。

and the number of attendees.

At Healthwise,

响 Healthwise，

people save time by messaging colleagues rather than making phone calls,

員工通過 message 同事 去節省時間，

which inevitably includes some social chatting.

而响電話度 就會有閒話家常啦。

They shifted personal tasks, like doctor's appointments,

佢哋私人嘅事

例如睇醫生，就安排喺休息日。

to the off-day.

And yes, the pace of work at the office does go up.

當然，office 嘅工作節奏會快咗。

"Let's be honest," one explained,

「老實講，」有一位解釋，

"I'm not goofing off or looking at Facebook,

「而家唔會好似以前咁偷懶 或者上 facebook。」

which I was."

But people have adapted

員工已經自我調節，

and they prefer getting their downtime as a whole day off

佢哋寧願休息時間係一整日，

rather than in snippets.

而唔係分段噉休息。

Government initiatives have similar findings.

政府計劃都有類似嘅發現。

In 2015, the city of Reykjavik

2015 年，雷克雅維克市同冰島國家政府，

and then the National Government of Iceland

started offering 36 and 35-hour weeks,

開始咗每週三十五同三十六小時工作計劃，

eventually enrolling more than 2,500 employees.

最終參加嘅僱員超過 2,500 人，

The results have been remarkable.

成績非凡。

Physical and mental stress went down

身體同精神壓力下降。

while work ethic, job satisfaction,

職業道德、工作滿足感、

work-life balance, energy levels, all improved.

工作生活之間平衡 同活力水平，全部改善。

Productivity and service quality stayed the same or got better,

生產力同服務質量， 保持不變或者更好。

and the trial was revenue-neutral.

而試行結果係收入中性。

Today, roughly 85 percent of all Icelandic employees

目前，冰島大概有 85% 嘅僱員

are either on or eligible for these schedules.

已經或者合資格參加計劃。

The governments of Spain and Scotland have announced four-day week trials

西班牙同蘇格蘭都宣佈咗 四天工作嘅先導計劃，

in which they'll be subsidizing the fifth day's pay.

並會對第五天嘅人工提供資助。

Now one reason for these successes

成功嘅原因係

is that with reduced work time,

隨著減少工作時間，

each hour typically becomes more productive.

每個鐘嘅生產力得以提升。

Norway and Denmark,

挪威同丹麥，

the two European countries with the shortest average hours of work

係兩個平均工時最短嘅歐洲國家，

at about 1,380,

大概 1,380 小時。

have outsized productivity.

而且生產力超出標準。

France and Germany are similar.

法國同德國情況類似。

In contrast,

相反，工時長嘅國家， 例如英國同意大利，

the long-hours countries like the UK and Italy

have much, much lower productivity.

生產力低好多。

The US historically led the world in productivity

响歷史上，美國嘅生產力領導全球。

and would likely do better now if its work time weren't so high.

而家如果可以縮短工時， 就會做得更好。

While tech firms comprise the biggest group

雖然科技公司係最多採用 四天工作嘅群體。

adopting four-day reduced hours schedules,

companies are also making the switch in banking,

進入嘅其他行業包括有銀行、

PR, marketing and design,

公關、市場營銷及設計、

nonprofits, consumer goods, even a restaurant chain.

非牟利組織、消費產品、甚至連鎖餐廳。

But it's also true

無可否認，

that doing 100 percent of the work in 80 percent of the time

用八成時間做十足嘅工作

isn't feasible everywhere.

唔係度度都適合。

Manufacturing was sped up decades ago.

製造業過去幾十年不斷加速。

Many teachers and flight attendants need to slow down, not intensify.

好多老師、空中少爺同小姐 都需要慢落嚟，而唔係加速。

And of course, health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic

當然，疫情前線嘅醫護人員

need to work less, not more.

係需要做少啲，而唔係做多啲。

(Applause)

(掌聲)

Thank you, health care workers.

多謝醫護人員。

Here, another government effort is instructive.

跟住介紹政府有個啟發性嘅作為。

In 2014, the city of Gothenburg in Sweden

2014 年，瑞典嘅哥德堡市政府

gave nurses at one of its facilities a six-hour day.

喺其中一個醫療設施 俾護士每天工作六小時。

As expected, the nurses' health and overall well-being improved,

正如所料，護士健康 同身體狀況都改善咗。

as did productivity and patient care.

生產力同照顧病人方面無改變。

But in this trial,

呢個先導計劃，請咗替工 填補減少咗嘅工作時段。

they hired new staff for the hours that weren't being covered.

The striking finding was how much lower sick pay

驚人嘅發現係病假支出 同失業資助嘅減少

and unemployment benefits helped offset those additional salaries.

抵消咗額外嘅薪酬支出。

Now the Swedish case raises a bigger, more existential question.

而瑞典嘅情況帶出咗個更大、 更根本性嘅問題。

How much time should we be dedicating to work?

究竟我哋要擺幾多時間喺工作度？

In many countries,

响好多國家，

jobs are getting more, not less demanding.

工作越來越多，要求越來越高。

And scarcity thinking,

同時稀缺性思維，

the idea that even rich countries need to tighten their belts,

即係越富有國家 應該慳啲用資源，

has taken hold.

係主流想法。

But really,

但其實，我哋應該採取相反嘅方向。

we should be heading in the opposite direction

as digitization and artificial intelligence

因為數碼化同 AI 可以實現減少工時。

offer the chance to reduce work time.

Amid pandemic fatigue,

响抗疫疲勞底下，

we should be doubling down on restoring the quality of life and our social fabric,

我哋應該加倍努力 恢復生活質量同社會結構，

especially in wealthy countries where we already produce enough

特別係富有國家。

因為响呢啲國家，

for everyone to have a good standard of living.

已經有足夠生產， 同時每個人擁有良好生活水平。

And this path has the added benefit of addressing the climate crisis.

而呢個途徑嘅附加得益 係可以應對氣候危機。

"How so," you may ask.

你可能會問：「係點樣㗎？」

Well, with the four-day week,

四天工作嘅明顯影響

there's the obvious impact of less commuting.

係減少咗每個人嘅交通日數。

But if we use productivity growth to continue to reduce hours of work

如果維持生產力增加 去減少工時，

just by a couple of percent a year,

就算每年只係幾個百分點 ，

we can create a longer-term dynamic of decarbonization.

都可以創造出長期動態減碳效果。

Research by me and others has shown this time and again

我哋嘅研究多次發現，

across countries, across states, across households.

適用範圍係遍及 各個國家、州、及家庭。

One reason is that when people are time-stressed,

一個原因係當人有時間壓力嘅時候，

they tend to choose faster and more polluting modes of travel

會傾向選擇更快、更高污染嘅交通模式

and daily life activities.

同日常生活方式。

In contrast,

相反，

when people get time rather than money,

當人有更多時間，而唔係金錢，

they tend to have a lower carbon footprint.

佢哋傾向低碳嘅選擇。

But the bigger reason has to do with the size of the economy.

更大嘅原因係同經濟體大小有關。

By opting to work less,

當選擇減少工作，

countries are choosing not to expand production to its max,

其實國家選擇嘅係非最大化發展，

thereby avoiding additional emissions.

從而避免額外嘅排放。

Carbon success stories like Germany and Denmark

成功減碳嘅國家，例如：德國同丹麥，

tend to have low annual hours.

往往會有偏低嘅每年工時。

France and the Netherlands are also low on both carbon and work time.

法國同荷蘭亦都係低碳、 低工時嘅地方。

The four-day week is a down payment on a new way to live and work.

四天工作制係新工作生活模式嘅首期。

And yes, we're going to need government help

科技公司已經睇到咗好處。

if we're going to move beyond the innovative companies

如果要擴展到更多行業，

that already see its virtues.

當然需要政府嘅支持。

But as the three-day weekend spreads,

隨著三天週末嘅延伸，

we can realize everyone deserves a right to free time.

我哋認識到每個人都有 私人時間嘅權利。

And that brings the logic of a universal basic income squarely into view.

响眼前係全民基本收入嘅邏輯。

Because without financial support,

因為冇咗財務嘅支持，

low-earners can't afford to take that fifth day off.

低收入人士無法負擔 第五天嘅休息。

There's a lot of talk these days about the future of work

最近有好多有關未來工作嘅話題，

and the opportunities that it offers.

同埋隨之而來嘅機會。

But there's more at stake here than opportunity.

比較機會，其實更多牽涉利害關係。

We have an imperative.

對我哋來講，好迫切

An imperative to face the challenges of our current moment.

要面對眼前嘅挑戰。

The pandemic, burnout and depression,

疫情、過勞同抑鬱，

inequalities of race and income,

種族同收入唔平等，

the climate crisis.

及氣候危機。

A four-day week addresses each one of these.

四天工作制可以應對每個挑戰。

For now, we're starting company by company.

而家，係逐間逐間公司開始。

〔問答環節即將開始〕

But as momentum builds and it becomes universal,

隨著持續推動，將變成全面覆蓋，

we'll have made the transition from scarcity thinking

稀缺性思維將轉變為

to appreciating the true wealth that we possess.

珍惜真正擁有嘅財富。

Our ingenuity,

我哋嘅創造力、

our compassion

同情心、

and our humanity.

同人性化。

Thank you.

多謝。

(Applause)

(掌聲)

Helen Walters: Juliet, thank you so much.

Helen Walters: Juliet, 多謝曬。

I have a very practical question for you.

我有個實際問題。

So you mentioned in the talk that people were taking Friday off.

妳頭先講到第五天休息。

Is the recommendation that people all take the same day off,

有冇建議所有人一齊放假，

or is this something that people can take, kind of, any day they want off?

定係，例如，自己揀一日放假。

What's the ideal mechanism to have in place here?

最理想嘅執行機制係點樣㗎？

JS: Every company does it the way that works for them.

JS: 每個企業各適其適。

And that's one of the things in our trial.

亦都係先導計劃嘅內容。

We do coaching, and we work with the companies before they start

我哋輔導嘅企業，

to figure out are they a company that can shut down for one day?

同佢哋攪清楚公司可否休息一日？

Do they need to have 24/7, you know, customer service available?

係唔係需要二十四小時營運， 例如：客戶服務？

So really, it depends, and we're seeing every type.

實際取決於， 我哋都見過每種情況。

HW: Juliet, thank you so much.

HW：Juliet，非常感謝。

(Applause)

(掌聲)