| Pagina's in het onderwerp: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you think reducing workdays to six hours with full salary could work well in your region? De persoon die dit onderwerp heeft geplaatst: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you think reducing workdays to six hours with full salary could work well in your region?".
View the poll results »
| | | | | Too global poll topic. | Feb 3 |
This poll is too global and general. Not sufficiently focused on translation.
| | | | Philip Lees 
Griekenland
Local time: 17:21
Grieks naar Engels
| Dan Lucas
Verenigd Koninkrijk
Local time: 15:21
Lid 2014
Japans naar Engels
| I just don't understand this | Feb 3 |
So employees do less work for the same money?
Or employees do the same amount of work by being more efficient?
If the latter, why are they not already doing it?
If the former, they will be getting more money for the same work, which - putting aside issues of whether that is considered ethical or not - would be an increase not backed by productivity gains, which would presumably be inflationary.
I'm not sure if the person who proposed the poll has not... See more So employees do less work for the same money?
Or employees do the same amount of work by being more efficient?
If the latter, why are they not already doing it?
If the former, they will be getting more money for the same work, which - putting aside issues of whether that is considered ethical or not - would be an increase not backed by productivity gains, which would presumably be inflationary.
I'm not sure if the person who proposed the poll has noticed the devastation caused by inflation and the resulting increases in the cost of living over the past few years since Russia invaded Ukraine. Do we want more of that?
More pipe dreams...
Dan ▲ Collapse
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Liena Vijupe
Letland
Local time: 17:21
Lid 2014
Frans naar Lets
+ ...
As far as I know, some countries in northern Europe are already doing this, but not in all professions perhaps. As for translators, most of us are freelancers and even those who work in-house would probably still depend on volumes meaning they might have to work overtime or just sit at work with nothing much to do.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italië
Local time: 16:21
Lid 2009
Engels naar Duits
+ ...
| rather 4 instead of 5 workdays | Feb 3 |
I don't know if there are countries experimenting with a six-hour model, but I do know that there are regions and countries and individual companies experimenting with a four-day week and it seems to be working quite well (in terms of people being more satisfied = more engaged = increased productivity).
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Does it make sense to ask this question to people who don’t work 9 to 5 and don’t have a fixed salary? I suppose many workers would be very happy working less hours for the same salary, but I’m afraid this doesn’t apply to freelancers.
I worked for 20 years in-house (retired in 2006) and in the 5 last years we had a flexible work time (even before Covid). I had a well-paid job, but no payment for extra hours (just once a month during the sessions). Now some of my colleagues... See more Does it make sense to ask this question to people who don’t work 9 to 5 and don’t have a fixed salary? I suppose many workers would be very happy working less hours for the same salary, but I’m afraid this doesn’t apply to freelancers.
I worked for 20 years in-house (retired in 2006) and in the 5 last years we had a flexible work time (even before Covid). I had a well-paid job, but no payment for extra hours (just once a month during the sessions). Now some of my colleagues (who are still there) can choose working at home for a part of the week and the remaining at the office. ▲ Collapse
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From full-life slavery to 4-day-paid-7 work weeks, we're doubtlessly getting there.
As an advocate of a work-free life since my infancy, this poll resonates. Because the human being took the wrong route tens of thousand years ago, it is my duty to blow the whistle. Work is something that no other mammals or amphibians adhere to, and anyway, humans as a whole should be clever enough to rid us all from trivial chores like work to make a living in order to buy things and services that ... See more From full-life slavery to 4-day-paid-7 work weeks, we're doubtlessly getting there.
As an advocate of a work-free life since my infancy, this poll resonates. Because the human being took the wrong route tens of thousand years ago, it is my duty to blow the whistle. Work is something that no other mammals or amphibians adhere to, and anyway, humans as a whole should be clever enough to rid us all from trivial chores like work to make a living in order to buy things and services that require work from other humans to ensure they can be sold.
In a nutshell, I believe we should have had machines working for us for everything (including translation, of course) long ago.
The massive wealth that they would generate by themselves through thorough and responsible self-managed use of quasi-limitless energy resources and raw material from the solar system and beyond, thanks to revered visionaries pioneering space exploration for the better good of mankind, would be redistributed to everybody according to their needs and wants.
Ultimately, everybody would live a life of leisure and gin-and-tonic or alcohol-free squeezed fruit juice, far away from the burden of responsibility and obligations, apart from those edicted by unbiased, multilingual law enforcement machines, whose behaviour and precepts would be continuously monitored by a committee of humans assisted by AI-enhanced machines developed by humans based on predictive foundation models trained on the historical information of the Earth itself from the past 4.5 billion years.
I therefore think that reducing workdays to zero hours and well machine-designed machines to do the needful would work well, at least for me. But until then, I still have to assist them in understanding English properly.
Philippe ▲ Collapse
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Lingua 5B
Bosnië en Herzegovina
Local time: 16:21
Lid 2009
Engels naar Kroatisch
+ ...
In my country, in the public sector, it’s an 8-hour shift, but they work effectively at 4 hours max, so this is already a reality, in a way. Excess coffee breaks and all sorts of avoidances.
On the other hand, in the private sector, they wouldn’t experiment with any sort of work reduction unless it’s followed by a cut in salary.
There’s a local saying: In the public sector, 5 people do 1 job, while in the private sector, 1 person does 5 jobs.
[Edit... See more In my country, in the public sector, it’s an 8-hour shift, but they work effectively at 4 hours max, so this is already a reality, in a way. Excess coffee breaks and all sorts of avoidances.
On the other hand, in the private sector, they wouldn’t experiment with any sort of work reduction unless it’s followed by a cut in salary.
There’s a local saying: In the public sector, 5 people do 1 job, while in the private sector, 1 person does 5 jobs.
[Edited at 2025-02-03 18:27 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I find it utterly offensive to pose this question to freelance translators | Feb 3 |
To rephrase it:
"Should people in other jobs have an easier life, less work, and more money, at the direct expense of freelance translators?"
| | | | Liena Vijupe
Letland
Local time: 17:21
Lid 2014
Frans naar Lets
+ ...
The question is somewhat irrelevant for freelance translators (although most have friends and family in other jobs), but those offended by it are probably in the wrong profession. Other people having an "easy life" spending a couple hours less at their place of work doesn't bother me at all as long as I remain my own boss. And chances are I may have to change my job long before I am old enough to retire, I don't want to be singing a different tune then.
| | | | Dan Lucas
Verenigd Koninkrijk
Local time: 15:21
Lid 2014
Japans naar Engels
Astrid Elke Witte wrote:
"at the direct expense of freelance translators?"
Not sure that this interpretation/assertion is correct, to be honest. We'd need more information from the person who proposed the poll on what the situation they (thought they) had in mind. As other posters have said, the questions are too general.
Dan
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Lingua 5B
Bosnië en Herzegovina
Local time: 16:21
Lid 2009
Engels naar Kroatisch
+ ...
Dan Lucas wrote:
Astrid Elke Witte wrote:
"at the direct expense of freelance translators?"
Not sure that this interpretation/assertion is correct, to be honest. We'd need more information from the person who proposed the poll on what the situation they (thought they) had in mind. As other posters have said, the questions are too general.
Dan
In some companies, employees take a pile of documentation/work and say “we’ll leave this for freelancers”, just to go for a coffee break or watch YT videos. That’s what they had in mind. I saw this first-hand when I worked in-house, while we had some external freelancers.
| | | | Dan Lucas
Verenigd Koninkrijk
Local time: 15:21
Lid 2014
Japans naar Engels
| That is interesting | Feb 4 |
Lingua 5B wrote:
In some companies, employees take a pile of documentation/work and say “we’ll leave this for freelancers”, just to go for a coffee break or watch YT videos. That’s what they had in mind.
Thanks for sharing that. In the companies in which I worked that sort of thing would not have happened - managers were quite keen on cost control. As an example (which I think I have mentioned before) the firm at which I was employed simply stopped translating non-essential output when profits came under pressure.
It just goes to show that the cultures and mindsets of companies are nearly as diverse as the people of which they are composed (which is no surprise, I guess).
Regards,
Dan
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Dan Lucas wrote:
Astrid Elke Witte wrote:
"at the direct expense of freelance translators?"
Not sure that this interpretation/assertion is correct, to be honest. We'd need more information from the person who proposed the poll on what the situation they (thought they) had in mind. As other posters have said, the questions are too general.
Dan
...correct and I don't feel ashamed to confess that while I enjoy a four days week only in my job as a service technician, I also steal others freelance work at the weekends.
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