Should the Working Week Be Shorter with Longer Weekends?

In Suggested change: contemporary societycontemporary society1the modern era, it is common for people to work excessive hours and lack the required free time to engage in hobbies and other leisure activities. This essay will argue that Suggested change: adopting a shorter working schedule would be beneficialadopting a shorter working schedule would be beneficial2it would be good for this to change. To begin with, the tendency to work Suggested change: prolonged working hoursprolonged working hours3many hours per week is Suggested change: a substantial public health concerna substantial public health concern4something of a modern health crisis that has reached epidemic levels. All across the developed world, people feel it is necessary for their career to Suggested change: work overtimework overtime5do overtime or even be on-call Suggested change: twenty-four hours a daytwenty-four hours a day6twenty-four hours per day. This causes them to Suggested change: suffer from sleep deprivationsuffer from sleep deprivation7lack sleep, Suggested change: remain sedentary at workstationsremain sedentary at workstations8stay at their computer for long periods, and miss out on healthy activities like sport and gentle exercise. Because these are all important for our physical health, the present situation is destroying people’s bodies and causing them to Suggested change: fall ill more frequentlyfall ill more frequently9get sick more and Suggested change: experience reduced life expectancyexperience reduced life expectancy10live shorter lives. If the working week were made shorter and the weekend were made longer, this situation might improve. In addition to the damaging effect that this situation has on people’s physical health, it is also extremely damaging to their mental well-being. Leisure activities afford people a break from the stress and monotony of working life, as well as a chance to socialise with others. When deprived of this, people can begin to get depressed, anxious, or suffer from other mental health problems. For example, a person who engages in sport on the weekend might find himself isolated from his friends after being required to work through the weekend. This loneliness could trigger a psychological breakdown. If people had longer weekends, they would have more time to Suggested change: pursue meaningful personal interestspursue meaningful personal interests11do things that are important to them, thereby improving their mental health. In conclusion, even though it might be difficult to make this happen due to companies’ interest in making profits, it would be beneficial for most people if working weeks were shortened and weekends lengthened.