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Rhona Pavis

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3-day (24-hour) work week and 4-day weekend to reflect productivity and to increase productivity, creativity and human happiness.

It's been a long time since the labor unions caused employers to switch from grossly excessive hours of work to the 40-hour work week standard. It's time for another leap. A 24-hour work week would reflect the past changes in productivity and cause greater improvements in productivity, creativity and human happiness and well-being. During the 4-day weekend, people would increase consumption, thereby helping the economy, and productivity and creativity would increase as human beings get to retain more of their own lives to live in their own way. The wages/salaries should remain the same as they are for the 40-hour work week or increase.

Topics: creativity economy employment happiness productivity social change
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  • Lillian Mackie

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    Mar 28 2012: The scenario can work if the salary ratios of CEO's to employees was not so off side. I am sure the extra money would be found. As well if prices increased to somewhat compensate, people would maybe think twice about their purchases. Maybe we could go back to producing products that last longer and people would be willing to pay a bit more. We live in a throw away society where consumption has become an epidemic. Enjoying the simpler things in life instead of the type of car we drive and how many TV's we have are more fulfilling. Consumption only makes us happy for a short period of time. I see many people who get trapped financially because they are constantly chasing happiness with needless consumption.

    • Rhona Pavis 50+

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      Mar 28 2012: Lillian, I am very grateful for your input to this conversation. You seem to appreciate the idea and it's ramifications. Glad to know you and perhaps others want people to be able to use their own lifetimes in their own way while living at a humane standard with dignity and sufficient freedom to be who they really are and to make and create and co-create goods and services that they value and that will be of great value to others, enrichening society in infinite ways. Onward to implementation. .

      • Lillian Mackie

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        Mar 28 2012: I am a manager of people and find it difficult at times to deliver the messages that come down the pipe. I am very disillusioned with how employees are treated and taken advantage of and how employees are afraid to say anything because they fear for their jobs. I believe that it is time to be free from the chains of those large corporations and padding the pockets of their CEO's. The people who do all the work and make money for these corporations need to be compensated fairly and have time to spend with their families and become the people they were meant to be. So how do we implement such a strategy. I believe the whole world is crying out for change. Things don't seem to be working right anymore so we cannot continue to do the same thing. The credit crisis in the US and Europe are prime examples of our broken system. I am all for all people living in humanely and with dignity this is something I am very passionate about.

        • Rhona Pavis 50+

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          Mar 31 2012: Lillian, Seems as though we are in complete agreement on this issue. I'm thinking that along with the 24-hour/3-day work week, a $30.00-per-hour minimum wage makes sense. I think this would create greater prosperity and well-being for everyone including the 1% who are not probably very happy since they live in fear of all sorts of things and people. Yup, we are on the right track. Now we must come up with a means of translating our plan into action. Let's see. Words are powerful. We could write letters to editors, Senators and Congresspeople, the President, labor unions. Perhaps we can start a petition. I heard something about, if you get one million signatures on a petition, the matter has to come up for a vote. I feel confident that this plan would work to elevate the well-being of everyone, so I think we should be able to accomplish it. Let's come up with some practical plans. Maybe some ted.com people know how to do stuff like that.....translate ideas into action. Anything positive is possible.

      • Lillian Mackie

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        Mar 31 2012: I think that maybe a petition might be a way to start because that would show the amount of people that feel the same way. Once that information is gathered we would have the necessary information to proceed from there to governments, labour unions etc. I believe that this needs to be a global issue for all economies to thrive. I believe that it would put all on a more level playing field. For example goods are produced in China and India very cheaply because of the low cost of labour. If all things were equalized we wouldn't have to be competing with other countries for products and services. Maybe we could all focus on what we do best and share with eachother rather than compete.

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