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

譯者: 至磊Zi Le 黃Ng 審譯者: Thomas Tam

I've been studying work since the 1980s,

我從 1980 年代 就開始研究工作制度了，

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

但我從沒看過現今正在發生的狀況。

Pandemic-fueled anxiety is surging around the world.

疫情激起的焦慮在全世界都在惡化。

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

在美國，超過半數的受僱者表示 一天中很多時候會感受到壓力；

a lot of the day.

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

辭職量達到破紀錄的高峰， 每個月有 400 萬；

People are burning out.

人們筋疲力盡。

In response,

作為回應，

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

越來越多企業主動提出每週四天、 共 32 小時的工作，

32-hour week,

but with five days of pay.

但支付五天的薪水。

Now, it's not a new idea,

這不是一個新點子，

but the pandemic has turbocharged it.

但疫情加速了它的實現。

Employers are realizing

雇主發覺如果他們可以 重新思考人們工作的場所，

that if they can rethink where people work,

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

那他們也能重新思考需要工作幾天。

Sounds pretty great, but is it realistic?

聽起來很好，但這務實嗎？

Well, actually, yes.

其實，是務實的。

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

與一些需要一方犧牲 另一方才能受益的政策不同，

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

四天工作制對於 員工、企業和社會都有好處，

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

它甚至可以成為 應對氣候變遷的方式。

But first, let's talk about the workplace.

但首先，我們來談工作場所。

For nearly a decade,

最近十年，

companies and governments have been experimenting with shorter hours

企業和政府實驗 縮短工時，但不減薪。

with no cuts in pay.

While the results do vary,

儘管結果有些差異，

the research shows that people are less stressed,

但研究顯示人們壓力減輕，

value their jobs more

更看重自己的工作，

and have better lives outside of work.

在工作之外有更好的生活。

In most cases,

多數情況下，

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

人們在四天內的生產力跟五天相當。

Companies can also see benefits through lower turnover

企業也可以從更低的轉職率 和更高品質的應徵者群體中獲益。

and a higher-quality applicant pool.

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

減少工作過勞降低了健康照護的 開支、錯誤、低品質服務。

With colleagues,

我和同事正在研究美國和愛爾蘭 四天工作制的實驗進行情況，

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

and Ireland,

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

英國、紐西蘭、澳洲的實驗 夏季就要開始。

We have thousands of employees participating.

我們的研究有數千名受僱者參與。

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

教育公司 Healthwise 沒有等我們開始實驗。

In June, their employees were quitting in droves.

六月時，他們的員工成群地辭職；

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

八月時，他們實行了四天工作制。

Six months later,

六個月後，

CEO Adam Husney reports that people are dramatically happier

執行長亞當．哈斯尼報告， 員工快樂程度大幅增加，

and have never been more productive.

生產力是前所未有地高，

Resignations and sick days are down,

辭職和病假數目都減少了，

revenue has grown

營收有所成長，

and customer satisfaction scores are outstanding.

顧客滿意度表現優異。

Healthwise employees are spending their Fridays off

Healthwise 的員工利用星期五的休假

doing family activities like sports or errands.

從事運動和家務等家庭活動。

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

一個小朋友的母親說，

她現在偶爾可以享有 沒有罪惡感的足部護理。

a guilt-free pedicure.

The four-day week can help with self-care

四天工作制有助於自我照護，

and managing the daily stresses of systemic racism,

處理根本性種族、性別、階級歧視 每天造成的壓力。

sexism and classism.

Now a key part of the model

這個模型一個關鍵之處是

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

作為對多一天休假的回應，

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

人們願意在四天內發揮所有生產力。

So while they may be spending less time at work,

因此，雖然他們可能 花比較少時間在工作，

they're not necessarily doing less work.

完成的工作量卻不見得會減少。

The secret sauce is work reorganization,

祕訣就在於工作重整，

cutting out the least productive activities.

去除最沒有生產力的活動，

Meetings are a prime target.

而會議是最主要的目標。

Yes, I see everyone nodding.

沒錯，所有人都在點頭。

Most companies reduce their frequency and length

多數企業減少了 會議次數、長度、參加人數。

and the number of attendees.

At Healthwise,

在 Healthwise ，

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

大家為了節省時間， 選擇私訊而非打電話給同事，

which inevitably includes some social chatting.

其中當然也會有一些社交對話。

They shifted personal tasks, like doctor's appointments,

他們把門診預約等個人事務 改成在假日去做。

to the off-day.

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

確實，辦公室裡的工作步調加快了。

"Let's be honest," one explained,

「老實說，」一位員工解釋說：

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

「我現在不會摸魚或看臉書，

which I was."

但以前我會。」

But people have adapted

人們已經適應了，

and they prefer getting their downtime as a whole day off

他們偏好有一整天的休息時間，

rather than in snippets.

而不是忙裡偷閒。

Government initiatives have similar findings.

政府的新措施有同樣的發現。

In 2015, the city of Reykjavik

2015 年，雷克雅維克市、

and then the National Government of Iceland

隨後冰島國家政府也跟進，

started offering 36 and 35-hour weeks,

提供每週 36 和 35 工時的選擇，

eventually enrolling more than 2,500 employees.

最後吸引到超過 2,500 位職員。

The results have been remarkable.

結果令人驚豔：

Physical and mental stress went down

身體心理壓力減少，

while work ethic, job satisfaction,

職業道德、工作滿意度、

work-life balance, energy levels, all improved.

工作與生活的平衡、 體力強度都變好了；

Productivity and service quality stayed the same or got better,

生產力和服務品質持平或上升，

and the trial was revenue-neutral.

而且這項實驗沒有損害利益。

Today, roughly 85 percent of all Icelandic employees

今天，冰島大約 85% 的受僱者

are either on or eligible for these schedules.

正在採用或可以選擇這種工作制。

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

西班牙和蘇格蘭政府 宣布開始實驗四天工作制，

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

在實驗中政府會補貼第五天的薪水。

Now one reason for these successes

這些成功案例的一個原因 是因為在減少工時的狀況下，

is that with reduced work time,

each hour typically becomes more productive.

一般而言，每小時變得更有生產力。

Norway and Denmark,

挪威和丹麥這兩個歐洲國家 擁有最短的平均工時，

the two European countries with the shortest average hours of work

at about 1,380,

每年約 1380 小時，

have outsized productivity.

卻有最高的生產力；

France and Germany are similar.

法國和德國也是如此。

In contrast,

相較之下，

the long-hours countries like the UK and Italy

工時較長的國家， 例如英國和義大利，

have much, much lower productivity.

生產力卻低落非常多。

The US historically led the world in productivity

在歷史上美國的生產力領先世界，

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

如果工時不要那麼高， 就可能會做得更好。

While tech firms comprise the biggest group

科技公司是四天低工時工作制 最大的採用群體，

adopting four-day reduced hours schedules,

companies are also making the switch in banking,

但其他企業也開始轉變，

例如銀行業、公關、行銷、設計、

PR, marketing and design,

nonprofits, consumer goods, even a restaurant chain.

非營利組織、民生用品， 甚至是連鎖餐飲店。

But it's also true

不過的確，

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

用 80% 的時間做 100% 的工作 在有些地方行不通。

isn't feasible everywhere.

Manufacturing was sped up decades ago.

製造業在幾十年前就已經加速；

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

許多教師和空服員 需要慢下來，而非更密集；

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

當然，疫情前線的醫事人員

need to work less, not more.

需要減少而非增加工作。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Thank you, health care workers.

謝謝你們，醫事人員。

Here, another government effort is instructive.

在這方面，政府有 另一項有啟發性的措施。

In 2014, the city of Gothenburg in Sweden

2014 年，瑞典的哥特堡市

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

讓一間機構的護理師 一天工作六個小時。

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

不出所料，護理師的健康 和整體幸福感都增加了，

as did productivity and patient care.

生產力和病患照護品質也一樣。

But in this trial,

但在這個實驗中，

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

他們聘請新的職員 填補沒有人負責的時間。

The striking finding was how much lower sick pay

驚人的發現是

較低的有薪病假和失業補貼 可以抵銷多出來的薪資。

and unemployment benefits helped offset those additional salaries.

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

瑞典的案例引起一個 更大、更存在主義的問題：

How much time should we be dedicating to work?

我們應該花多少時間工作？

In many countries,

很多國家工作日漸艱辛，沒有減輕。

jobs are getting more, not less demanding.

And scarcity thinking,

而缺乏性思維——

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

即使是富國也要勒緊褲帶的想法——

has taken hold.

站穩腳跟。

But really,

但實際上，

we should be heading in the opposite direction

我們應該往反方向前進，

as digitization and artificial intelligence

因為數位化和人工智慧 創造了減少工作時間的機會。

offer the chance to reduce work time.

Amid pandemic fatigue,

在防疫疲勞中，

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

我們更應該加倍努力 恢復生活品質和社會結構，

especially in wealthy countries where we already produce enough

尤其是富裕的國家，

我們已經有足夠的生產， 人人都能享有不錯的生活水準。

for everyone to have a good standard of living.

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

縮減工時還附帶 應對氣候危機的好處，

"How so," you may ask.

「怎麼做？」你也許會問。

Well, with the four-day week,

隨著四天工作制的施行，

there's the obvious impact of less commuting.

很明顯的影響是通勤量變少了。

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

但如果我們利用生產力的增長 繼續減少工作時數，

just by a couple of percent a year,

每年只要少幾個百分點，

we can create a longer-term dynamic of decarbonization.

就可以達成長期的動態脫碳。

Research by me and others has shown this time and again

我和其他人的研究 屢屢顯示同樣的結果，

across countries, across states, across households.

橫跨各國、各州、各個家戶。

One reason is that when people are time-stressed,

其中一個原因是當人有時間壓力，

they tend to choose faster and more polluting modes of travel

就會傾向於選擇更快、更汙染的 交通方式和日常生活活動。

and daily life activities.

In contrast,

相較之下，

when people get time rather than money,

如果擁有的是時間而非金錢，

they tend to have a lower carbon footprint.

人就會傾向於減少碳足跡。

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

但更大的原因和經濟規模有關：

By opting to work less,

藉由選擇少工作一點，

countries are choosing not to expand production to its max,

國家也是在選擇 不要把生產擴充到極限，

thereby avoiding additional emissions.

從而避免額外的碳排放。

Carbon success stories like Germany and Denmark

像德國和丹麥這些減碳成功的國家

tend to have low annual hours.

通常有較低的全年平均工時；

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

法國和荷蘭也有低的碳排放和工時。

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

四天工作制是通往 新生活與工作方式的首付。

And yes, we're going to need government help

沒錯，我們會需要政府的幫助，

if we're going to move beyond the innovative companies

才能把四天工作制推廣到 已看見它的價值的創新企業以外。

that already see its virtues.

But as the three-day weekend spreads,

然而隨著週休三日的傳播，

we can realize everyone deserves a right to free time.

我們會意識到人人 都應該擁有自由的時間。

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

這讓全民基本收入的理念 直接變得顯而易見，

Because without financial support,

因為如果沒有財務上的支持，

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

低收入者就負擔不起第五天的休假。

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

近期有很多關於工作的未來 和其所提供的機遇的討論，

and the opportunities that it offers.

But there's more at stake here than opportunity.

但還有比機遇更要緊的事情。

We have an imperative.

我們有個當務之急：

An imperative to face the challenges of our current moment.

面對此時此刻的挑戰。

The pandemic, burnout and depression,

疫情、過勞、蕭條、

inequalities of race and income,

種族與所得不平等、氣候危機。

the climate crisis.

A four-day week addresses each one of these.

四天工作制可以處理每一個問題。

For now, we're starting company by company.

目前我們從一間又一間的企業開始，

But as momentum builds and it becomes universal,

但隨著推動力的積累、 四天工作制變得普遍，

we'll have made the transition from scarcity thinking

我們會成功從缺乏性思維

to appreciating the true wealth that we possess.

轉向珍惜我們所擁有的真正財富：

Our ingenuity,

我們的機智、同情心、人性。

our compassion

and our humanity.

Thank you.

謝謝你們。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Helen Walters: Juliet, thank you so much.

海倫．華特斯： 茱麗葉，非常感謝你。

I have a very practical question for you.

我想問您一個很實際的問題：

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

你在演講中提到人們在星期五休假，

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

你建議所有人都在同一天休假，

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

還是每個人可以選擇 想要的日子休假呢？

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

理想的施行制度是什麼？

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

茱：每間企業都會用 適合自己的方式執行，

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

這是我們實驗的變因之一。

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

我們提供訓練， 在實行前與企業合作，

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

以探究這間企業 可不可以多休一天假，

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

顧客服務需不需要 24 小時全年無休。

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

所以其實要看情況， 我們每一種都有遇過。

HW: Juliet, thank you so much.

海：茱麗葉，非常感謝你。

(Applause)

（掌聲）