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        <title><![CDATA[Andrew Yang calls for US to ‘seriously consider’ four-day workweek]]></title>
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            <media:title type="html">Andrew Yang calls for US to ‘seriously consider’ four-day workweek</media:title>
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        <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Andrew Yang thinks every weekend should be a long one.</p><p>The former Democratic presidential candidate urged the US to &#8220;seriously consider&#8221; adopting a four-day workweek, arguing it would benefit the economy and public health.</p><p>&#8220;3-Day weekends are better than 2-Day weekends,&#8221; Yang <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1264998501471092736" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said on Twitter</a> Monday at the end of the long Memorial Day weekend. &#8220;Studies show that we would be just as productive. It would create jobs at the margins and improve mental health.&#8221;</p><p>The coronavirus pandemic could spur a faster shift to a shorter workweek, according to a <strong>Washington Post article</strong> Yang included in his tweet. One UK study cited in the story found that almost two-thirds of businesses with four-day weeks saw staff productivity increase and more than three quarters of workers associated the change with a better quality of life.</p><p>&#8220;It used to be that flexible work arrangements were a bit stigmatized,&#8221; organizational behavior researcher Karen Jansen told the Washington Post. &#8220;Those negatives I think are going away. Covid has had a leveling effect.&#8221;</p><p>New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern recently urged companies to <strong>consider shifting to a four-day week</strong>, saying it could help revitalize the country&#8217;s economy and boost domestic tourism.</p><p>New Zealand is also home to Perpetual Guardian, an estate-planning company that shortened its workweek in 2018. Yang shared <a href="https://twitter.com/ValaAfshar/status/1265118599326433280" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">another tweet</a> noting that researchers studying the firm found <strong>productivity increased</strong> 20 percent and employee stress levels fell during an eight-week trial of the policy.</p><p><span >The four-day week is &#8220;not just having a day off a week — it’s about delivering productivity, and meeting customer service standards, meeting personal and team business goals and objectives,&#8221; Perpetual Guardian founder Andrew Barnes </span><strong>said on the company&#8217;s website</strong><span >.</span></p><p>Yang — an entrepreneur who has also advocated for a universal basic income&nbsp; — made the push as the coronavirus pandemic upends workplaces around the world by forcing many people to do their jobs at home. Big tech companies <strong>Facebook</strong> and <strong>Twitter</strong> plan to make the switch permanent in some capacity.</p><p>But it&#8217;s uncertain how quickly the US will move to a four-day week. Just 17 percent of companies in North America offered a &#8220;compressed&#8221; workweek even though about two thirds of workers wanted one, <strong>according to a 2018 survey</strong> by human-resources consulting firm Robert Half.</p>]]></content:encoded>
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