"argues that if everyone worked fewer hours – say, 20 or so a week [..]"
Except that wouldn't happen. The self employed and those whose hours couldn't be tracked would work more to get a competitive advantage, encouraging widespread disobedience of the law.
It's an absolute nonsense in any case because I don't know anyone who could "share" my job with me. If I were forced into these hours, my stay-at-home-mom wife would be forced to go to work and do something she is neither any good at nor wants to do, or we'd just fall off grid, live off the land and stop contributing to the economy at large.
It seems to me that it would be good if 20 hours a week was already the norm, but for the reasons you highlight, I don't think it's something that's possible to transition to from 40 hours as we have now.
As you say, you certainly can't just say "right everyone, 20 hours only from now on..."
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 20.4 ms ] threadExcept that wouldn't happen. The self employed and those whose hours couldn't be tracked would work more to get a competitive advantage, encouraging widespread disobedience of the law.
It's an absolute nonsense in any case because I don't know anyone who could "share" my job with me. If I were forced into these hours, my stay-at-home-mom wife would be forced to go to work and do something she is neither any good at nor wants to do, or we'd just fall off grid, live off the land and stop contributing to the economy at large.
As you say, you certainly can't just say "right everyone, 20 hours only from now on..."