From the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli – 11 December

There is a growing groundswell for Australians to embrace a four-day working week. In the event, is this the answer to the societal conundrums which are plaguing us, and the world?

THE former Prime Minister, the late Bob Hawke, said of Australia’s success in the America’s Cup yacht race, “Any boss who sacks anyone today for not turning-up is a bum.” It might be amusing if the underlying ramifications were not so pernicious.

For the most part, Australians are hard workers; equally, apocryphal, or not, we have a reputation for ‘chucking a sickie’ on the day before, or after, a long weekend. Long service leave is peculiar to Australia.

We are living in the most difficult and uncertain of times. The fragility of existence has never been more apparent. Many feel disenfranchised, hesitant about their worth and place in an erratic, modern society.

When first a 48, a 40, and then a 37-and-half-hour working week were mooted, employers were contemptuous. They argued productivity would drop and we would all go to hell in a handbasket. Obviously, that did not come to pass; however, today there is a different prevailing zeitgeist.

Through the prism of 2022, it could be contended, not all from the past, which was so summarily discarded, was obsolete. Reflectively, it could be claimed Australia’s post-war, reconstruction period was a more cohesive, more functional society, a time of prosperity and security. At its epicentre was the family unit, dominated by the woman of the house.

Shops closed at midday on Saturday (no-one starved to death without 24-hour supermarkets) and opened Monday morning. The weekend was given over to sport, entertainment, and family.

Nationally, Saturday afternoon basketball, tennis, cricket, football, swimming, and surfing dominated.  Saturday night was time for the cinema, restaurants, or dancing.

Sunday morning meant church for some; mowing of the lawn for others; their followed the midday family gathering. Sunday dinner – roast chook or leg of lamb – was a ritual. Married couples alternated between in-laws, “My mother this week, your mother next week!”

There was time for backyard cricket, Sunday drives, and visiting; cold meat and salad for Sunday tea, followed by the Sunday night television movie. It was not a perfect society, but it could be argued it was, comparatively, less dysfunctional, and more encompassing.

Conversely, social scientists would argue the ethos was stiflingly patriarchal. Women were relegated to the home and housework; denied opportunity, regardless of intellectual capacity and academic achievement. It was a highly structured, often inflexible, methodology.

Our significant societal problems are not necessarily the direct consequence of over-working. Today’s challenges are many and varied.

We live in a less agreeable, more nuanced world. Politics are unkind. Proven mores have been forsaken for less tested and more destructive notions. The family nucleus has altered; undeniably, some complications are, categorically, the effect of a pervasive 24-hour news cycle, social media, text messaging, and the countless hours spent staring mindlessly at mobile telephones.

We are seemingly less tolerant. Morality and spirituality have been abandoned. There is a willingness to follow the line of least resistance. The problems besetting society are overwhelming. The cost of living and housing has increased beyond supposing. People are pressurised.

We are tribal. Work is vital. It is the rent you pay for the space you occupy on earth.

Is a four-day working week the answer? We must think seriously before reducing and possibly diminishing the undeniable physical and mental health benefits derived from the workplace discipline and interaction.

Roland can be contacted via [email protected].