Billionaires and Bernie Sanders agree on at least one thing: They see a four-day workweek in America’s future.
The first question is what a “four-day workweek” means. Sometimes it means working 40 hours in four days instead of five, though this tends to be less efficient. Or it may mean working an eight-hour day four days a week, which is what Sanders has in mind. Both kinds of arrangements have become more common over the years in the U.S. and elsewhere — though much of the increase is among people who work fewer than 40 hours.
That is a remarkable burden to impose on the economy . Perhaps some very profitable companies will be able to accommodate such a big pay increase. Advocates insist that people will be so happy and productive, companies won’t notice any difference. But a 20% productivity increase just from being happier and more engaged? And for many firms — in, say, manufacturing, or industries where face time is necessary — the productivity gains from higher morale are more limited.