The Glories of the Nine Day Week.
By Harold Howe II
Comments and feedback:
Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2002 11:17 AM
Howe: Is it possible to live on this scheme on your own, or find any adaptation to allow people wishing to experiment this scheme?, live in this world and take a 9 days-week arrangement?. What about trying it at local level; where endogenous practices in communities, allow certain autonomy to define own patterns of living without un-plouging of globalization?. mayan and other ethnic groups are very keen about timing; there should be a different pattern of timeliness on work-leissure loops, adaptable to every culture!! don´t you think so?
Adrián López
Ford Foundation
Mexico City, Mexico
Email: a.lopez@fordfound.org
The idea certainly has validity. The task of even posing it to the public is daunting merely in thought, much less action. I have trouble imagining any politician risking his tenure to proclaim the benefits of the nine day week. I, for one, would find it fascinating, but I do not possess the same spiritual hang-ups you mentioned, that would cause such resistance. Thank you for putting forth your thoughts, and for saving Dr. Varsavsky's research.
Tony Leo
Hilliard, Ohio
leoa@prodigy.net
Is there a way to get a copy of Dr. Varsavsky's work to read? Is it online anywhere?
Rich Beran, Gretna, NE
rberan@esu3.org
While a very interesting concept, the author is encouraged to consider the workforce implications of this idea. Each week three different "workforces" exist in any reasonably large facility (AB, BC, CA). Individual contributors, like authors or painters, may find this reasonable. However, nobody in the professional human resources business would willingly triple the amount of work required to plan and manage a 5,000 person workforce. The 9/80 work schedule has distributed many workplaces into two "teams", and reduced the number of full productivity days to four out of five, adding a half productivity day each week. Significant scientific measurement in 9/80 workplaces should either support or refute the claimed benefits. I suspect measurement would refute them.
Randy Saunders
Columbia, MD
RSaunders@hti.com
I thank you for your research and presentation of this article. Whilst personally not convinced of the virtues of the 9 day week, I find your writing (and Dr. Varsavsky's idea) a useful example of "thinking outside the square.." as I undertake the task of participating in medium term organisational planning exercises in relation to building a better City.
Melanie Ellis
South Australia
lem@dove.net.au
There are still unexploited posibilities while staying within 7 days week. The fact that 7*4*13=364 is very tempting to suggest 13 months 28 days each. an extra day may be designated as a special New year day. One more leap day could be an "olympic holiday" or whatever...
I guess, with peole still going to church in 21st century the number 13 would have strong objections.
Vadim
Foster City, CA
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