Thank god it’s Friday — one or the other form of this expression exists in more than 78 languages. The relief at the arrival of the last day of the working week appears to be a universal phenomenon. As is the Sunday afternoon slump in the mood — 81% of respondents of a global survey said they experience a rise in anxiety as Monday loomed — exemplifying the collective disappointment at the weekend drawing to a close. There are not enough days in the weekend goes the adage, and now there is scientific evidence to back this claim. Health researchers at the University of South Australia have found that people displayed more active and healthy behaviour when they had a three-day break from work. A healthy life would not be the only benefit of a three-day weekend. The rise in leisure time, which leads to better problem-solving, improved work ethic, and heightened creativity, corresponds to heightened productivity. Should the world chuck TGIF and begin saying ‘thank god it is Thursday’ then?

A three-day weekend would automatically en­sure a four-day work week, an experiment that has already been carried out with much success in several parts of the world. In Iceland, 2,500 public sector workers started working 35- and 36-hour weeks in 2015 with no change in pay. Careful research found positive effects all around. Workers experienced less stress, more energy, and achieved better work-life balance as well as steady or improved productivity. Sweden, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan — the list of countries dabbling with the idea of a four-day workweek is lengthening. There is also a compelling — economic — case for shorter working hours. Improved health benefits would mean that companies would be cutting down expenses on healthcare and attrition rates. There is data to suggest that Indians especially deserve a longer weekend. A 2021 report by the International Labour Organization revealed that Indians are among the most overworked workers globally while earning the lowest minimum statutory wage in the Asia-Pacific region. Coupled with widespread unemployment and the resultant job insecurity, few people have the luxury of leisure in this country. This is not all. Labour laws are tilted against leisure as well. The Factories Act, 1948, for instance, mandates a maximum of 48 hours of work per week, but it does not allow for compressed workweeks. There have been changes to labour codes in India in recent times: but a discussion on lengthening the weekend remains elusive in policy.

The industrial revolution led to an enduring rupture between leisure and productivity. Evaluation of societies increasingly became centred on the quantum of labour and hours of work, leading to a parallel demonisation of leisure and recreation. This resulted in the perpetuation of the myth of leisure being unproductive even though there are anecdotes to suggest that some of humanity’s greatest triumphs were registered by geniuses in a state of repose. Did not Newton discover gravity while idling — reflecting? — under an apple tree?