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Henry Ford brought the five-day week to the US. Might Toyota, through expediency rather than design, now be bringing the three-day weekend to Europe?
Henry Ford is credited with introducing the five-day week to the US , and is often cited as the man who created the American middle class. Might Toyota, through expediency rather than design, be bringing us the four-day week?
The Japanese car company, facing a 40% collapse in many markets, is considering putting its European factories on to a four- or even three-day week.
It's grim news for the income of workers at its Burnaston factory in Derby*shire, who could lose 20% or more of their pay. But it's rather better than sacking one-fifth of the labour force or cutting pay rates.
We have a lot to learn from the Japanese, who have coped with a two-decade-long economic downturn and deflation. Despite near-zero economic growth, unemployment has stayed far below western levels. Japan has chosen social cohesion over the quick-fix cures popular among Anglo-American economists.
We have a choice. We can sack millions of workers and widen the already severe social gulf between the haves and the have-nots. We can fortify our homes against the inevitable spike in crime as joblessness soars. Or we can share the pain, reducing our hours – and total pay – to "rightsize" output.
Importantly, we should not accept lower pay rates but lower pay through shorter hours.
Is this utopianism? Critics will point to the "failed" 35-hour week experiment in France. But is it really so outlandish? Factory workers used to work a five-and-a-half-day week – one reason why football matches traditionally kick off at 3pm on a Saturday.
Nobody despairs that we have lost Saturday morning working. And who should despair a move towards a three-day weekend?
Interestingly, we have tried this before – albeit in 1974, during even more calamitous economic times. The three-day working week lasted from 1 January to 7 March in 1974, as Ted Heath's government battled with striking miners.
What happened to our national output as a result? According to Hansard, the index of UK industrial production fell from 109.2 in the fourth quarter of 1973 to 103 in the first quarter of 1974 – ie a drop of just 5.7%. So we worked 40% less but produced only 5.7% less. Seems like we are wasting our time going to work for almost half the week.
Of course, that's facile: during the three-day week, many workers remained on full time. And some industries might suffer disproportionately from extended weekend leave.
But imagine what an extra 52 days off each year would do to your work-life balance.
A three-day closure would mean reduced greenhouse gas emissions, lower childcare bills, lower commuting costs and less congestion. Studies show that it promotes higher productivity. Absenteeism would drop as employees make appointments for doctors and dentists on their extra day off.
Loss of pay is the rather large hurdle to get over. For some people it would be mitigated by the fact that the additional earnings of the fifth day are being taxed at 40% anyway.
The five-day week is a relatively modern concept. Maybe our grandchildren will regard it as oddly as we regard six-day-a-week factory working. What is the point in economic growth if it does not offer us more leisure?
State employees in Utah have already shifted to a four-day week, albeit on compressed five-day hours. So far, it seems to be working.
Let's make Thursday the new Friday. And save the global economy to boot.
p.collinson@guardian.co.uk
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