is a journalist with a master's degree in philosophy from the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, France, where he also graduated from the Institute of Political Science. He regularly writes for Philonomist.
Picture: © DR
With all its public holidays, the month of May has become an opportunity to experiment with weeks of just four working days – a set-up that is increasingly attractive to workers, but also employers, some of whom would like to systematise it. But beyond its desirability or feasibility, the change also suggests that we might be able to secularise our professional lives.
The idea of working just four days a week instead of five is attracting more and more people – and what better than the month of May to get a feel for it, and see how it changes us? From the United Kingdom to Germany, as well as in France and Japan, it has been hypothesised – and sometimes put to the test – that such a measure could reduce mass unemployment, kick-start the green transition, and help employees find a better work-life balance. Whether it takes the form of a condensation of the same number of working hours over four days, or a reduced, 32-hour week (with or without a pay cut), the shift wouldn’t be without consequences on the way we perceive our social time.
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