Should the workforce transition to a three-day work week?

Over the weekend, Mexican billionaire tycoon Carlos Slim delivered a speech in Paraguay where he opined on the economy and education. When he discussed business-related matters, he averred on a potential three-day work week that would eliminate the current age-old five-day work week.

In his oration, Slim suggested a three-day work week that would come with working around 11 hours per day. However, workers would have to work longer and delay their retirement until the age of 70 or 75. Slim thinks this would increase productivity, improve the health of workers and allow individuals to lead a quality life.

The 74-year-old self-made man, who is worth at around $80 billion, has worked on a new contract with workers at Telemex, his Mexican telecommunications corporation located in Mexico City. The new agreement permits workers who start working at the firm in their late teens to be eligible to retire at the age of 50.

Here are Slim’s entire remarks on a three-day work week:

“People are going to have to work for more years, until they are 70 or 75, and just work three days a week – perhaps 11 hours a day. With three work days a week, we would have more time to relax; for quality of life. Having four days [off] would be very important to generate new entertainment activities and other ways of being occupied.”

When it comes to a business standpoint, it isn’t so much a case of how much work you do, but how much work you can do effectively. In today’s labor market, it’s more important to work smarter than it is to work yourself to the bone.

Indeed, the workforce is changing amid technological advancements and the desires of the current and incoming generations. Rather than staring at a cubicle wall from 9 to 5 Monday to Friday, younger workers want flexibility, the ability to work wherever they please and to work in a laid back office setting.

Since the Great Recession, there have been numerous articles and discourse over a four-day work week that would require employees to work 10-hour days. Many people have listed the benefits of such a move and studies have shown corporate executives are in favor of these measures as long as it enhances the workflow.