What the history tells us how the 'two-day weekly system' that was not taken for granted became a 'natural right'

'The four days a week work system, improvement and corporate spending cuts of productivity, improvement of the well-being of the employee, such as the promotion of gender equality there is merit ' claims and that, the labor of the 'one day a week is a mental health In recent years, there have been increasing calls for a review of labor, such as the claim that 'improve'. On the other hand, it is also pointed out that shortening working hours is unrealistic. Journalist Zoe Williams said that the 'weekend' that was being robbed by labor by looking at the history of how the 'two-day weekly system', which was thought to be unrealistic, was institutionalized. We are requesting a review of the way it should be.

Over nine in ten not working the usual 9-5 week | YouGov
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/economy/articles-reports/2018/08/24/over-nine-ten-not-working-usual-9-5-week

Where did the weekend go? How work stole our Saturdays and Sundays | Money | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/feb/27/where-did-weekend-go-how-work-stole-saturdays-sundays

Things that are considered 'natural rights' in modern times, such as working five days a week, sickness allowances, and paid leave, were not natural until a decade ago.

The cry for workers' rights came from the world's first legal recognition of trade unions in the United Kingdom in 1824. Prior to the birth of trade unions, worker holidays were defined by the Factory Act. The Factory Act did not define Saturday as a holiday, but defined it as 'a day when working hours are shortened' from 11-hour work on weekdays to 9-hour work.

Then, by 1879, the concept of a 'weekend' was created, which considers Saturday and Sunday as time for leisure. However, it took a lot of time for the concept to be legalized, and it was in 1930 that 48 hours on weekends was the first legal holiday. It is a little later in Japan, and the legal basis for the two-day weekly system is the Labor Standards Law revised in 1988, and it was around 1980 that companies adopted the two-day weekly system.

The implementation of the two-day work week is due to the movement of trade unions and radical people around the world. In this era, there are increasing claims that the two-day work week has a better effect on people, and the private organization 'Early Closing Association' says that shortening working hours brings 'mental and physical improvement'. Insisted.

However, the '48-hour weekend' that people have acquired at the end of their hardships is about to be robbed in recent years. A survey conducted by the British government in 2018 showed that only 6% of people work 5 days a week from 9am to 5pm. This means that the remaining 94% work more hours or have a more flexible working system. In addition, more than 5 million workers have not been paid for overtime work, and many have not received extra wages for overtime work. And for freelancers and on-call workers , the concept of weekends doesn't make sense. Resting on the weekends simply means that you don't have to pay for it and that you have more work to do the next day.

Another problem is that the perception of 'weekends' is culturally suppressed. For example, Matt Cole, a postdoctoral fellow at Reed College, feels guilty if he doesn't work on weekends. Mr. Cole is conducting research on the ' right to disconnect ' as a side project to counter this culture. Mr. Cole considers the future where people can't afford to have leisure time as a 'dystopia', and by using the 'right to disconnect' idea that it is okay to reject non-business hours emails originating in France. I am trying to restore my work-life balance.

In France, the 'Overtime Email Prohibition Law' was enacted, but some point out that this is 'extra stress'.

'Prohibiting the exchange of emails outside working hours' is not always good for the mental health of employees --GIGAZINE

Of course, the evolution of technology is depriving people of their leisure time, but that doesn't explain everything. As a result of interviewing a variety of people, from delivery drivers to corporate managers, many people said that the labor market was unstable. In addition, 'how to spend leisure time' has come to shape the brand of myself, and the mentality of thinking that even leisure time is a part of work is becoming widespread. Cole analyzes that the intertwining of these two factors with 'technological development' has taken away weekends from work.

From this point of view, it makes sense to think that the first step in getting the weekend back is to 'disconnect yourself from work.'

Self-employed and freelance flexibility gives you a huge advantage in the market. However, (PDF file) A study by the University of Sheffield found that without financial incentives, people working on weekends would be less happy. It was also shown that the freedom to decide whether to work on weekends does not affect well-being.

A spokeswoman for the National Union of General Workers (GMB) in the United Kingdom pointed out that the importance of weekends is not limited to weekends themselves. Culturally and historically, the root of the importance of weekends is the right to 'leisure' and the fight for workers for work-life balance. However, you should be careful about how you think of 'leisure as a weekend'. Many women have been responsible for doing household chores to create 'fun time' for others. Some women who do household chores feel that they don't like it because they have to keep cooking for the whole family on Sundays. It's important to keep in mind that it doesn't create an 'ideal Sunday for the family' that would make someone restless.

Many people act as individuals on a daily basis and do not think much at the community level. However, Williams argues that more organization than the union movement is needed to distinguish between 'work' and 'leisure.' Unions are effective in competing with one company, but the problem in modern times when technology has developed is not limited to one company, but 'innovation' common to multiple companies. The New Economics Foundation proposed working four days a week in 2019, and was heavily criticized by employers for being 'crazy.' However, the 'two-day weekly system' that is commonplace in modern times was not a natural right until several decades ago. Williams suggested that workers need to always remember 'what is the right' to realize what seems impossible.