Lavorare meno! Lavorare tutti!

[eridani]

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17784/labor_feminism_climate

Fair enough. But where does that leave us in terms of jobs?

The crucial idea is work-sharing. Instead of an employer hiring one worker for 40 or 50 hours a week, the employer should hire more workers for fewer hours. We should be aiming for a 35- or even a 30-hour week.

This would mean a little less money and less consumption. But if the jobs offer security, health, and pension benefits, then the evidence shows that once people get used to working fewer hours they come to love it and don’t want to go back to longer hours.

Work-time reduction has not been so prevalent in North America, but it has been pursued with success in Europe. Unions in France fought for and successfully won a 35-hour work week. Unions in the Netherlands have been at the forefront of creating lots of part-time jobs.

And unlike here, those part-time jobs are actually good jobs. They have roughly the same hourly pay as full-time work and similar benefits and security. That’s made a big difference.

The average American works about 1,900 hours per year, while the average Dutch person works about 1,350 hours per year—about 30 percent less. My current research investigates those best practices in Europe that might serve as a model for North America.