Weekends too short? How Singaporeans feel about a 4-day work week
In a Jun 8 (Sunday) thread on r/askSingapore, u/Adventurous_sushii asked if others on the platform would feel more well-rested if the working week were one day shorter.
With the current set-up, having only a two-day weekend is insufficient, since the post author wants ' to rest + do the things I want + catch up on admin and household chores at home.'
However, they were uncertain whether others felt the same way, but added that last year, when more three-day weekends allowed them to take Mondays off, they found that they felt 'better mentally' when they returned to work.
By far, the top comment is one where a Reddit user wrote, 'Only if it's really a 4-day work week.'
In workaholic Singapore, it's not unusual for people to engage in work-related activities even when they're out of the office, such as taking calls, responding to emails, and writing reports.
Other countries, meanwhile, such as Australia, have introduced the 'right to disconnect,' which means workers are allowed to let work calls or emails go unanswered. Moreover, employers who breach the law may potentially be subject to fines.
In 2020, Member of Parliament Melvin Yong (Radin Mas) called for the government to consider a similar 'Right to Disconnect' legislation.
'Let me reassure critics that I am not calling for rigid laws that specify working hours, nor am I calling for Singaporeans to be less productive, and certainly not for Singapore to be any less competitive,' he said at the time, adding, 'It is simply about ensuring that our workers have protected time to rest.'
On Reddit, one commenter wrote, 'I had the arrangement for a 4-day work week, but my customers kept contacting me on the 5th day, and I couldn't ignore it. Ended up returning to a five-day work week.'
'As a teacher, much of my weekends are currently dedicated to marking assignments, doing lesson prep for the following week, and other miscellaneous odds and ends. We had a couple of extra Monday holidays in May, and I can vouch that the extra day has been invaluable in letting me get my work done, while still having more time to myself. The three days don't even need to be back-to-back. Just a little added break from the daily grind would be much appreciated,' another weighed in.
'Totally agree. I feel that life is more balanced with a four-day work week, honestly. With two days of rest, the first day, I would need to spend half a day doing housework and still recovering from the five work days. Sunday is the only actual day I feel like an off day, but yet you think of tomorrow, needing to work again, spoils it all, and being tired again, but if Monday is off, you feel like you got a real full two days to recover,' a commenter added. /TISG
Read also: The four-day work week dream
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