Predictions for 2012: Will Week Ends Disappear?

The "week end" was invented about 100 years ago. Will it disappear in this century? 

From Downton Abbey, the matriarch in 1912 asks "What's a week end?"  when the term is heard for the first time.

Before the Industrial Age, people worked six days a week, taking off only the Sabath. So there was no work week, and thus no week end. The 8 hour work day and 5 day work week created week ends.

Even in the early 1960s my father, city editor of a daily newspaper, worked Saturday mornings. With telework increasing, there's the possibility that a rainy Saturday could be productive and a sunny Tuesday could be a great day to take-off. What do you think?

Comments

[Louis Vuitton Outlet]

2011 autunno e l'inverno di quest'anno, il nuovo Vuitton Outlet ispirazione di disegno degli uomini proviene da viaggio

[D. P. Lubic]

This could be a mixed bag. On the surface, it sounds good, but in practice, based on what has been happening, it would be another excuse to overwork people.

What might be more usable would be a 4-day work week. I understand the French inaugurated this as a way to absorb more working people and spread out jobs. The most interesting aspect of this is what has been written on what happened in shops and businesses that didn't have the work or income to justify 7-day operations. What happens in those places is that the work that used to be done in five days is now done in four. People who claim those Europeans are "lazy" or "unproductive" haven't heard about how those French guys get to work so they can have that weekend with their families. Seems that time off is something real to work for, as opposed to receiving the dubious and valueless honor of being named "Employee of the Month."

Utah has done this for its state employees, and has found it has saved money. Although the hours worked overall are the same (four 10-hour days), Utah has saved millions per year by not turning on lights, computers, air conditioners, etc. on one day per week. Turned out to be better delivery for customer service, too--shorter lines at DMV vehicle registrations, for instance, and people could work and attend to such business without having to take time off for it.

Unfortunately, nobody else seems too willing to duplicate this.

I wish I could understand why we have mostly turned so dumb in recent years.