Luke Kirkness: May the long weekend prevail, it's time for the work week to change

The five-day working week isn't worth it, says Luke Kirkness. Photo / George Novak

The argument could be made that people living in the pre-industrial age lived a much simpler life than we do now.

When they were hungry, they found food. When they were thirsty, they sought water. And when they were tired, they slept.

Tell me that doesn't sound like an absolute dream.

Nowadays, people commonly work for at least 40 hours per week across five days - in some industries, even longer.

I'm only relatively new to the working world - five years out of high school and marching up the corporate ladder like so many others before me.

I already loathe the amount of time spent inside each week, arched into my seat and stuck behind the glare of my computer screen.

What I have come to enjoy over those few years is the three-day weekend. They only roll around a couple of times a year but are to be treasured at all costs.

I got thinking over Easter, why don't we all adopt a four day week?

Plenty of companies around the world have already started and I'm imploring my editors, managers, and wage-payers, to do the same.

I haven't a clue where the eight-hour workday came from but I very much doubt it's the optimal amount of hours a human can concentrate for.

And I'm banking on whoever came up with that form of torture also thought only having two days for a break would be a great idea too.

Studies have shown the average employee is only productive for three hours a day, or an average of 12.5 hours per week.

That must be a painful sight if you're an employer.

I suspect productivity would increase over a shortened week, with employees knowing they need to work harder to finish projects within the limited time available.

There would also be other positives such as reducing carbon emissions with fewer people commuting to work each day. Domestic tourism would also flourish with people having an extra day to travel.

There would be difficulties, I admit, with not every business able to pull it off simply like those in health, retail, and manufacturing.

Employers would also expect five days worth of work in four, so if employees weren't firing on all cylinders this might not be possible.

Although, I don't know a person who doesn't love the weekend and I'm sure everyone given the opportunity to work less would try their utmost to be able to manage it.

The sense of freedom that washes over you as you leave the office at the end of each week on a Friday evening is amazing.

Just imagine how good that would feel on a Thursday.