The global movement toward a 32-hour workweek is gaining traction in the United States with an endorsement by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). Last Wednesday, Sanders introduced the Senate companion bill to Rep. Mark Takano’s (D-Calif.) Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act that would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, reducing the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32, and lower the maximum hours threshold for overtime pay for non-exempt employees.
In a Zoom interview, Takano, a senior member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, talked about how the push for an abbreviated workweek is gaining ground due to the ascendancy of AI. He cited “public openness” from major public figures and business leaders, like former President Barack Obama, JPMorgan CEO and MicrosoftMSFT founder Bill Gates.
“Technology has brought humanity to a place where we can ask the question, ‘How much time does everyone need to work?’” Takano said about harnessing technological advancements. “The shorter workweek is about the greater happiness of humankind. We have choices to make as a society about whether we are going to allow technology to put us in the service of it or whether it really serves all of us, and I mean all of us.”
According to the California congressman, the people who are exempt from the FLSA are the ones who are benefiting the most from AI, automation and other technological advancements—not the factory or service workers who are subject to the FLSA, which says you can’t work more than 40 hours a week without getting overtime pay.
Takano suggests that the abbreviated workweek could have a positive impact on the overall economy, despite objections from corporate leaders who believe it will pose operational or business challenges.
“If Thursday becomes the new Friday, what does that do to the hospitality industry? What does that do to consumerism?” he added. With an extended weekend, there is the potential for an additional day where Americans can participate in the stimulation of the U.S. economy.
Takano first introduced his 32-hour workweek legislation in 2021, believing it would benefit employers and employees alike.
“Pilot programs run by governments and businesses across the globe have shown promising results, as productivity climbed and workers reported better work-life balance, less need to take sick days, heightened morale and lower childcare expenses because they had more time with their family and children,” he stated when he initially proposed the bill. “Shorter workweeks have also been shown to further reduce healthcare premiums for employers, lower operational costs for businesses and have a positive environmental impact in some of these studies.”
The bill will not alter or hinder the number of hours that an employee may work in a standard workweek, but rather modify the definition of the workweek in federal law.
The workers who will be primarily impacted would be non-exempt, hourly workers, although some salaried workers could fall under the scope of the legislation’s provisions.
This bill has the potential to boost wage-earning opportunities for a large segment of workers by limiting the number of hours required to reach the full-time threshold, as well as enhance work-life balance and overall individualized health. Sanders agrees.
“Today in America, 28.5 million Americans—18% of our workforce—now work over 60 hours a week, and 40% of employees in America now work at least 50 hours a week,” said Sanders in his opening remarks. “We were talking about a 40-hour workweek 80 years ago, and that’s what people today, despite the explosion of technology, are working. The sad reality is that Americans now work more hours than the people of any other wealthy nation.”
The Vermont senator added that although American workers are 400% more productive today, “the average worker in America makes almost $50 a week less than he or she did 50 years ago, after adjusting for inflation.”
“The financial gains from the major advancements in artificial intelligence, automation and new technology must benefit the working class, not just corporate CEOs and wealthy stockholders on Wall Street. It is time to reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life. It is time for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay,” Sanders said in a statement.
Source: Forbes
