Bernie Sanders wants the US to adopt a 32-hour workweek. Could workers and companies benefit?

[dutch777]

2. Won't work for all jobs, but if there are good productivity metrics I bet there are some 40/wk jobs that could be 32/wk

The job I last worked before retirement was administrative with few consistent repetitive tasks and hard to measure productivity. But if you work something that makes or does 800 of the same something in a 40 hrs/week, and you could in fact manage that in 32 hrs/week thru closer focus, increased automation or other process improvement that should be supported. I would worry that there is danger in the details. I worked jobs where your level of some benefits-- vacation, retirement funding, seniority and others were based on actual hours worked, not weeks/months/years on the job. So you work 40 years but now your retirement is defunded by 20% as an example in a 32 vs 40 hour week.

If 32 vs 40 means less productivity, and we remain in a labor shortage, I am sure businesses would worry that just makes their hiring challenge that much greater. Obviously it would be great for the individual worker's work/life balance if they had an extra day off per week with no loss in pay, benefits and job security but somehow feels there could be unintended consequences for many.