12 hour work days to reduce energy usage

patience · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1126

Vision-Master,
Because we aren't nomadic hunter-gatherers. I've read that they got by on just a few hours a day for subsistence.

vision-master

No, I'm serious. I'm sure most peeps could do the same amount of work in 5 or 6 hours a day instead of 8+. I mean, many peeps have down / wasted time at work every day. Example: How many posters here are at work right now. Razz

patience · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1126

Vision-Master,
Yeah, I'm sure you're right. People don't work a full day, no matter what the length of it. I think it's a mental regrouping they do when it looks like goofing off. At least in mostly "mental" jobs. Physical jobs is another story.

FiniteQuantity · Coal Joined: May 09, 2008 Posts: 8

Their is a work week called 9 x 80 where you work 9 hour days Monday through Thursday and work 8 hours one Friday and get the next off. That cuts commuting 10%. Not as good as the 20% drop of 4 x 10, but you don't get as much productivity dropoff from 9 hour days versus 10 hour days.

I have thought that companies should start doing this for their employees who are commuting from remote suburbs over an hour away - install "barracks" - places where they can spend the night. Or make it acceptable to have a cot in your cubicle.

Having an Internet connection at your desk has got to have reduced the productivity of the modern office worker. While it would have been unthinkable to read a magazine or newspaper at your desk during the day, now we will browse a newspaper or other web site during working hours.

vision-master

Great! More time off to go to the mall! Razz

mos6507 · Fission Joined: Aug 03, 2007 Posts: 2284

TanksOnEmpty · Coal Joined: May 26, 2008 Posts: 1

I work in a hospital lab. We have a crew that works four 10 hr shifts M-Th and another crew that works three 12 hr shifts F-Sun. I work the three 12 hrs & I love it. I've been doing it for three years, now. After working 8 hr shifts five days a week most of my life, I now have so much time at home, I just about feel semi-retired.

anagami

k_semler

PonyBoy78

When graduating from radiography school, I had been guaranteed a job at the hospital where I currently work. My boss-to-be called me into his office and asked me about what hours I'd like.

"Weekend overnight. Three twelves."

He looked at me like I was nuts. But I'm still here, still getting a huge premium for the hours, still having super-long weekends. What am I doing with my weekends? I go grocery shopping on the way home, arrive home, and then I don't leave. No complaints here.

ReducedToZero

Funny topic because....

Utah goes to 4-day workweek to save energy
Starting next month, thousands of government employees will only work 4 days per week, in an effort aimed at reducing energy costs and commuters' gasoline expenses.

-CNN

Ludi

Byron100

joelcolorado · Heavy Crude Joined: May 25, 2008 Posts: 409

I am on call 24-7 and 365 days a year. Work lots of 80 hour weeks. Wife a doctor and on 84 hour weeks now. We are worn out honestly. We want to live.

She carries 3 phones and a pager and I carry phone and pager too. What a life we have made for ourselves.

County govts in kansas are also going to 4 day weeks. Schools talked of that years ago and I think they will see the light soon. Dont have to heat and cool those blgds. I think its funny, we never had air conditioning in school when I went. Whats with that? We drank water and sweated. Then went home and played outside til bedtime. Now they go home and sit in front of the tv with games etc. No kids outside anymore that I see.

But the push to shorter days is coming except in our industries. THeyare 24 hour a day jobs and will always be. Not enough qualified ppl to do this work so you get hooked into doing it because you are responsible and feel guilty.

The next generation of ppl they are hiring for our jobs tho, wont work like that and move on. My job, there is 8,000 jobs nationwide and we cannot even find a person to go to work now. We have a huge number of men who are close to retirement and the company cannot figure out what they are going to do to staff their trains.