Thousands Are Agreeing With This Guy Saying We Deserve To Have A 3-Day Weekend
Interview With Author
Taking rest after working hard is essential to one’s mental health and productivity. That is why we have weekends off and vacations from time to time. And that goes for both mental and physical jobs, because the mind gets equally as tired as the body.
Workweek lengths have been decreasing in the developed world as new technology is introduced and people can invest more time for themselves instead of their work. But maybe we could shorten the workweek even more? Twitter user Kyle Shevlin thinks that that’s what we deserve. His thought vent viral and people got into a discussion over whether it could be possible.
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Twitter user Kyle Shevlin voiced his opinion that people deserve a 3-day weekend and the tweet went viral
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Kyle Shevlin is a software engineer and writer from Portland, Oregon, USA. Recently he posted a tweet saying that we deserve a 3-day weekend. The tweet went viral with nearly 250k people liking it and almost 800 people joined the discussion.
Bored Panda reached out to Kyle to ask what was his reaction when he saw the likes growing and growing. He said that he had posted some tweets previously that had 5-digit numbers of likes, but not quite like this. He told us that it was incredible to see the response it got as it was shared on some very popular meme accounts.
For him, it is hard to tell if a tweet will get much attention, but when this one got hundreds of likes in the first five minutes, Kyle had a hunch that it could get quite big. But he has a habit of turning off notifications when a tweet is getting popular, so he can control when he interacts with it, and it took some time before he realized how many people were liking it.
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Kyle breaks down why specifically 3 days and what they could be used for
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Why 3 days? In the tweet Kyle expressed that the 3 days could be used like this: one day would be dedicated for doing just nothing and recharging after the week. For the second day, you could do all those things that need to be done and there’s no helping with that. And of course, one day should be spent doing something fun and enjoyable.
Kyle told us that he wrote the tweet on a Saturday morning, which is the time he spends drinking coffee, watching videos on YouTube or playing video games, nothing too serious, until he can no longer put off doing chores and other work around the house.
But the thought about a 3-day weekend didn’t come out of the blue. “I have been thinking about 3-day weekends and a sub-40-hour work week for a long time. I am someone who loves learning, reading, or listening to whatever I can about economics and the social sciences. I frequently think about how my economic activity intersects with other disciplines, like anthropology or neuroscience. For example, as a software engineer, most of my work involves thinking about problems and synthesizing information into a solution. I find that there are better times during the day than others for me to do this work optimally. Why is this the case? It turns out that there’s a good amount of research about circadian rhythms and their effects on our productivity. What can I learn from that? For me, I have come to realize that I have about 6 good hours in me each day where I’m working at my best. Working beyond that means I’m not working at my best.”
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People in the comments who have experienced this kind of working routine say that they couldn’t go back
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He also adds that it’s not just him and there are studies to support this. Kyle isn’t wrong. For example, Sweden is one of those countries that has experimented with a six-hour workday. In the city of Gothenburg, 70 nurses got their workday shortened from eight to six hours. At the end, it was found that their health was better than those who worked eight-hour shifts, they took significantly less sick days, they had more energy, and were equally productive.
Steve Glaveski conducted a two-week experiment with his team at Collective Campus, an innovation accelerator based in Melbourne, Australia. It turned out that the team was forced to prioritize more effectively and limit interruptions, but they maintained the quantity and quality of their work. What is more, employees reported that they felt better mentally and had more time to spend with family and friends.
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Kyle said that a longer weekend is possible and there are various studies that conclude that it is more beneficial to the employee and employers don’t suffer from it that much
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We asked if Kyle thinks that people would still get the work that is expected from them done in time if they worked less time. Kyle didn’t hesitate: “I think we expect an unreasonable amount of productivity out of people. I think this is a systemic problem with many variables and a lot of people’s political and personal identities are tied up into it. You can see this just by looking at the responses to my tweet. There’s a subgroup of people who tie their personal self-worth so strongly to their ability to work and produce that they can’t fathom that we can create a world where we don’t need to produce so much.”
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Also, in Kyle’s opinion, expectations from the workers should get lower and he believes that they will, whether we want it or not
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He also added, “The economist John Maynard Keynes believed we could increase productivity to a degree that we would achieve a 30-hour work week. Economists believed that computers would revolutionize productivity to the point it cut our work week in half. All of these economists were partly right. You can have a shorter work week, if you’re willing to reduce the rate of innovation, maintain a ‘lower’ quality of life, and more importantly, our consumerist need for everything to constantly improve.”
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Kyle predicts that the workweek will get shorter and while humans will be replaced by machines, universal basic income will become a thing
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Continuing about the expectations employers have from their employees, Kyle thinks that they will change whether we want it or not. “I’m not sure we will ever change our expectations willingly, but with how disruptive automation is likely to be over the next 50 years to our workforce, I think you may see expectations change drastically whether we want them to or not.”
He predicts that in the future, people will be replaced by machines and they will not have new sectors to go to work in. So in his opinion, it could lead to “a 20-hour work week and universal basic income simply as a means for all of us to survive or participate in economic life together.”
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Kyle, who loves learning about economics and the social sciences, observes that the world is in a place where reducing onus on the laborers is the next step
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Kyle repeats what he said in the tweet that people deserve more time off to enjoy their lives. And he thinks that is completely possible, “There is more than enough wealth and resources in the world to reduce the onus on the laborers of the world to produce. Accomplishing this requires fairer distribution of wealth and resources. Some will argue that competition is fair and there has to be winners and losers, but I think the next socio-economic era for humans recognizes that we are a global society and our actions and expectations must match that recognition.”
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Some companies are already considering shortening the workweek or the workday, and some are conducting experiments and are getting positive results. Also, we came a long way from working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, so maybe it could be that the time has come to make a change again.
What do you think of this topic and do you agree with Kyle? Maybe you already have experience with reduced work time and can give us some personal insight? Let us know in the comments!
And if you would like to see more from Kyle, his Twitter account is @kyleshevlin. He has a professional page, kyleshevlin, if you’re interested in software engineering.
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This post actually gave me an idea. I work a 5 days week, off on weekends. If I negotiate for the Friday off, I wouldn't get paid for it...but I can start investing time into my woodworking hobby. Which eventually will start making money.
That's a really great idea. Best of luck on the hobby. Hope it yields great stuff for you. :)
Load More Replies...
A global agency I worked years for had a summer hours scheme where for two months the entire agency closed at lunchtime on Fridays. Our clients, partners and suppliers were notified that these were official hours which helped manage out of office expectations. So Per the post above I would use the Friday afternoon for all the chores that I would usually do at leisure on a Saturday. It made SUCH a difference to have two clear uninterrupted days of personal time. Tried and tested and approved!
Our company does this, too. Paid half-day Fridays in June, July, and August. Pretty cool of them.
Load More Replies... Most of my prof career (mechanical engineering) has been 4-10s. I agree, one needs 3 days off in a row (most weeks) to have sufficient non-work activity time for quality of life.
Because of COVID's economic crunch, I was given the choice to furlough or go from 80 hours per week to 72 hours per week. Both are considered full time and I wouldn't lose any benefits. I choose 72 hours. This means every other week I get a 4 day weekend. I am never going back to 80 hours.
I've heard of one company where you start you the traditional 9-5, 5 days a week. Once you know the job and your interested, they will let you have a 4 day week. On the condition that you still get all your work done. The interview was with one of the participants and she said for a period when she went back to the traditional schedule, she finished all her work and didn't know what to do with herself. So she began doing busy work.
I have been saying this for years! And for the exact same reasons as Kyle - a day to do nothing, a day to get chores done and a day to have fun. Besides, we should be evaluated on how well we do our jobs, whatever they might be, not on how much clock time we put in. Some of us are just more productive than others. A two day weekend just isn't very refreshing and I find myself taking vacation days to have long weekends every now and then just so I can stay sane.
I once worked at a company that had a 4.5 work week -- 9 hour days M-T, and 4 hours on Friday. It was great, I could catch up on chores like going to the bank (this was so long ago you still had to go to the bank for most things), grocery shopping, haircuts, etc on Friday afternoon when most people were at work, then relax before Friday night party night (this was so long ago that I actually partied or went out to the clubs on the weekends).
It was once considered routine for those in my industry (utility construction) to work 100+ hours/week. Now I can only bill 50 hours/week max. Same net income and way more relaxed, safe, and happy...
Due to pandemic economic changes, I've had to work 6 days a week for a year now. It... gets tiring.
I agree with those, that actually work, deserve a 3 day weekend. I have worked and I do work with such lazy people that don't even do the bare minimum at their job. And some of us, bust ass all week long and we have to work every other weekend. I get everything done like chores Saturday, and Sunday, I get ready for the week. The majority of the time, I have no time for fun. Things need to be done and I have to be responsible.
7 days is just right. Nobody should have to work. Let's just float around sipping shakes like the utopia of Axiom.
Everyone who is against a 3 day weekend because "the economy would suffer and it will lead to inflation" obviously never looked at Western Europe where 3 days weekends are almost the norm. Noticed how they are economically doing great? Also noticed that people living there belong to the happiest people in the world?
I wish I got a 2 day weekend! I've worked 6 days a week for the last 3 years, and I'm getting tired of it. Hopefully only one more year of this!
4 day week is long enough, the taxman can f**k off and work for his bonus, he ain't getting it from me slaving away.
Having a weekday off would be awesome, you can get stuff done you can't do on weekends. BUT....................4 day/10 hour day work days have been submitted many times over the past few decades and have been denied. Companies don't want to be shut down for three days..........it "cuts into their profit margins"...........which is complete bullshyte!!!
I work 5 12 hour shifts, then I have 4 - 5 days off in between. I still work full time hours per month but I get several days off in between shift blocks which means I can relax, get stuff done I need doing and have time with family. I honestly wouldn't go back to 9 to 5 5 days a week.
Yeah, that would be great if we all worked a Monday-Friday schedule. The reality is, most of us don't.
It's fairly easy to get people to agree with this type of opinion, wouldn't you say?
The best work is always achieved under tight constraints, be it artistic or practical. If you don't have sufficiently tight constraints, complacency will set in. It's better to have a shorter work week that focuses on getting a lot done in that time than a long one that leads to fatigue setting in well before the work week is over. The deadline is a perversion of this concept, naturally...
this doesn't apply to everyone. i do my best writing when i feel like writing, which can be the day after i worked on something or a month later. for many people, deadlines are stressful and anxiety-inducing, and there's no reason to inflict that on people.
Load More Replies... I like the idea and think it could potentially work well for Office workers, but it won't for lots of other sectors
Even some office jobs it won’t universally work. I saw that tweet and was like “when you say ‘we’, who is included and who is excluded? Because the amount of time off someone can afford has never been about who ‘deserves’ it.”
Load More Replies... 
I worked a job where I was 4 x 10 hour days on and 3 off and it was the best thing ever. I loved that shift.
My school needs to do this we start at 7 am and have lunch at 12 where you can go home then we have school until 4 pm almost every day of the week
This post actually gave me an idea. I work a 5 days week, off on weekends. If I negotiate for the Friday off, I wouldn't get paid for it...but I can start investing time into my woodworking hobby. Which eventually will start making money.
That's a really great idea. Best of luck on the hobby. Hope it yields great stuff for you. :)
Load More Replies... A global agency I worked years for had a summer hours scheme where for two months the entire agency closed at lunchtime on Fridays. Our clients, partners and suppliers were notified that these were official hours which helped manage out of office expectations. So Per the post above I would use the Friday afternoon for all the chores that I would usually do at leisure on a Saturday. It made SUCH a difference to have two clear uninterrupted days of personal time. Tried and tested and approved!
Our company does this, too. Paid half-day Fridays in June, July, and August. Pretty cool of them.
Load More Replies... Most of my prof career (mechanical engineering) has been 4-10s. I agree, one needs 3 days off in a row (most weeks) to have sufficient non-work activity time for quality of life.
Because of COVID's economic crunch, I was given the choice to furlough or go from 80 hours per week to 72 hours per week. Both are considered full time and I wouldn't lose any benefits. I choose 72 hours. This means every other week I get a 4 day weekend. I am never going back to 80 hours.
I've heard of one company where you start you the traditional 9-5, 5 days a week. Once you know the job and your interested, they will let you have a 4 day week. On the condition that you still get all your work done. The interview was with one of the participants and she said for a period when she went back to the traditional schedule, she finished all her work and didn't know what to do with herself. So she began doing busy work.
I have been saying this for years! And for the exact same reasons as Kyle - a day to do nothing, a day to get chores done and a day to have fun. Besides, we should be evaluated on how well we do our jobs, whatever they might be, not on how much clock time we put in. Some of us are just more productive than others. A two day weekend just isn't very refreshing and I find myself taking vacation days to have long weekends every now and then just so I can stay sane.
I once worked at a company that had a 4.5 work week -- 9 hour days M-T, and 4 hours on Friday. It was great, I could catch up on chores like going to the bank (this was so long ago you still had to go to the bank for most things), grocery shopping, haircuts, etc on Friday afternoon when most people were at work, then relax before Friday night party night (this was so long ago that I actually partied or went out to the clubs on the weekends).
It was once considered routine for those in my industry (utility construction) to work 100+ hours/week. Now I can only bill 50 hours/week max. Same net income and way more relaxed, safe, and happy...
Due to pandemic economic changes, I've had to work 6 days a week for a year now. It... gets tiring.
I agree with those, that actually work, deserve a 3 day weekend. I have worked and I do work with such lazy people that don't even do the bare minimum at their job. And some of us, bust ass all week long and we have to work every other weekend. I get everything done like chores Saturday, and Sunday, I get ready for the week. The majority of the time, I have no time for fun. Things need to be done and I have to be responsible.
7 days is just right. Nobody should have to work. Let's just float around sipping shakes like the utopia of Axiom.
Everyone who is against a 3 day weekend because "the economy would suffer and it will lead to inflation" obviously never looked at Western Europe where 3 days weekends are almost the norm. Noticed how they are economically doing great? Also noticed that people living there belong to the happiest people in the world?
I wish I got a 2 day weekend! I've worked 6 days a week for the last 3 years, and I'm getting tired of it. Hopefully only one more year of this!
4 day week is long enough, the taxman can f**k off and work for his bonus, he ain't getting it from me slaving away.
Having a weekday off would be awesome, you can get stuff done you can't do on weekends. BUT....................4 day/10 hour day work days have been submitted many times over the past few decades and have been denied. Companies don't want to be shut down for three days..........it "cuts into their profit margins"...........which is complete bullshyte!!!
I work 5 12 hour shifts, then I have 4 - 5 days off in between. I still work full time hours per month but I get several days off in between shift blocks which means I can relax, get stuff done I need doing and have time with family. I honestly wouldn't go back to 9 to 5 5 days a week.
Yeah, that would be great if we all worked a Monday-Friday schedule. The reality is, most of us don't.
It's fairly easy to get people to agree with this type of opinion, wouldn't you say?
The best work is always achieved under tight constraints, be it artistic or practical. If you don't have sufficiently tight constraints, complacency will set in. It's better to have a shorter work week that focuses on getting a lot done in that time than a long one that leads to fatigue setting in well before the work week is over. The deadline is a perversion of this concept, naturally...
this doesn't apply to everyone. i do my best writing when i feel like writing, which can be the day after i worked on something or a month later. for many people, deadlines are stressful and anxiety-inducing, and there's no reason to inflict that on people.
Load More Replies... I like the idea and think it could potentially work well for Office workers, but it won't for lots of other sectors
Even some office jobs it won’t universally work. I saw that tweet and was like “when you say ‘we’, who is included and who is excluded? Because the amount of time off someone can afford has never been about who ‘deserves’ it.”
Load More Replies... I worked a job where I was 4 x 10 hour days on and 3 off and it was the best thing ever. I loved that shift.
My school needs to do this we start at 7 am and have lunch at 12 where you can go home then we have school until 4 pm almost every day of the week
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