Google co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin have uploaded a video to YouTube along with Vinod Khosla, promoting the idea of a shorter work week.
In a rare joint video, the Google co founders meet to discuss the current work lifestyle of many people in the Western world, along with billionaire, Vinod Khosta.
Their view: we should work less and spend more time with our families.
“If you really think about the things you need to make yourself happy — housing, security, opportunity for your kids … it’s not that hard for us to provide those things,” Page said. “The idea that everyone needs to work frantically to meet peoples’ needs is not true.”
Page explained that people’s need to feel desired, wanted and productive often lead them to work in industries that the world doesn’t necessarily need, leading to the destruction of the environment and more.
“I was talking to Richard Branson about this,” Page said of the founder of the Virgin Group. “They don’t have enough jobs in the U.K. He’s been trying to get people to hire two part-time people instead of one full-time, so at least the young people can have a half-time job rather than no job.”
Page and Brin continued to state that the 40 hour work week is an outdated concept that should be abandoned.
“Most people, if I ask them, ‘Would you like an extra week of vacation?’ They raise their hands, 100% of the people. ‘Two weeks vacation, or a four-day work week?’ Everyone will raise their hand. Most people like working, but they’d also like to have more time with their family or to pursue their own interests. So that would be one way to deal with the problem, is if you had a coordinated way to just reduce the workweek. And then, if you add slightly less employment, you can adjust and people will still have jobs,” concluded Page.
Does this mean that Google employees are going to be encouraged to ditch the 40 hour work week?