The price of your membership is up to you — you decide how much and how often. Our pledge is to keep original, authoritative journalism for Santa Monicans accessible to all, regardless of their means. Your membership helps accomplish that, and powers journalism focused on solutions to improve the city we share.
Prefer to give a one-time contribution? Click here.
Signed into law in 1938 by Franklin Roosevelt, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) currently mandates employees covered by the act to receive overtime pay for over 40 hours worked in a workweek. Unfortunately, the once popular labor slogan “Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest” is no longer accurate since many individuals spend hours commuting and fulfilling responsibilities outside of “recreation.” Social workers, such as myself, continue to see the effects of work burnout on families and individuals across all sectors. To address the widespread 9-5 burnout culture, employers should implement a 32-hour work week, which will help decrease work stress and allow individuals to spend more time focusing on their mental and physical health.
Some progressive lawmakers have already begun to advocate for lowering the work week to 32 hours throughout numerous states. Particularly, advocates in California have cited increased productivity, technology, and the betterment of employees’ lives as central factors towards the push. Unfortunately, dozens of employer’s groups have pushed back hard, claiming that such a move would be costly and discourage employment growth in California. The failed AB 2932 authored by assemblymembers Evan Low and Cristina Garcia requiring companies with more than 500 employees to shift to a 32-hour week is one such example.
California advocates interested in finding other avenues of implementing the shortened workweek should look towards neighboring liberal states who have successfully made the jump. The county of San Juan in Washington for instance, adopted the 32-hour week in October of 2023 to prioritize the well-being of its county employees. A representative supporting the move also cited the county’s motivation to support recruitment and retention efforts as reasons for the big push.
Washington’s county officials are right to point out economic factors as key reasons for implementing labor measures benefiting employees. According to the Economic Policy Institute, since the 1970s the US economy has suffered from wage stagnation and the slow growth of living standards for low- and moderate-income workers while the costs of living have drastically increased. On the flip side, those with the most income, wealth, and power have continued to actively suppress policies that would allow for shared prosperity.
If the private sector is not willing to raise wages or provide other incentives, then it’s up to public officials to improve labor standards.
With the largest county operating budget in the US, LA County is uniquely poised to implement the 32-hour work week. The LA Board of Supervisors approved an amended budget of 46.7 billion for the 2023-24 fiscal year in June 2023. The new budget adds 666 jobs, totaling to more than 115,300 budgeted positions for the county. New positions will largely go to the Department of Mental Health with 167 positions and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) with 123 new positions.
While new positions fulfill staffing concerns, LA County will also need to consider methods addressing retention. Telework and increased number of staff are some helpful avenues, but they cannot replace the mental health benefits of having time off. A shortened work week on the other hand, will provide social workers, such as those working with DCFS, the additional time needed to recuperate from their stressful day-to-day work. From an employer’s perspective, the 32-hour work week will also allow LA County to attract highly qualified candidates and remain as a competitive employer. Since private companies and other public entities have been reluctant to do so, LA County can be the first to utilize this opportunity and set improved labor standards — potentially paving the way for increased labor reform.
Katarina Terzyan, Master of Social Work, University of Southern California
Opinion: It’s time for LA County to introduce the 32-hour work week
Share this:
Signed into law in 1938 by Franklin Roosevelt, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) currently mandates employees covered by the act to receive overtime pay for over 40 hours worked in a workweek. Unfortunately, the once popular labor slogan “Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest” is no longer accurate since many individuals spend hours commuting and fulfilling responsibilities outside of “recreation.” Social workers, such as myself, continue to see the effects of work burnout on families and individuals across all sectors. To address the widespread 9-5 burnout culture, employers should implement a 32-hour work week, which will help decrease work stress and allow individuals to spend more time focusing on their mental and physical health.
Some progressive lawmakers have already begun to advocate for lowering the work week to 32 hours throughout numerous states. Particularly, advocates in California have cited increased productivity, technology, and the betterment of employees’ lives as central factors towards the push. Unfortunately, dozens of employer’s groups have pushed back hard, claiming that such a move would be costly and discourage employment growth in California. The failed AB 2932 authored by assemblymembers Evan Low and Cristina Garcia requiring companies with more than 500 employees to shift to a 32-hour week is one such example.
California advocates interested in finding other avenues of implementing the shortened workweek should look towards neighboring liberal states who have successfully made the jump. The county of San Juan in Washington for instance, adopted the 32-hour week in October of 2023 to prioritize the well-being of its county employees. A representative supporting the move also cited the county’s motivation to support recruitment and retention efforts as reasons for the big push.
Washington’s county officials are right to point out economic factors as key reasons for implementing labor measures benefiting employees. According to the Economic Policy Institute, since the 1970s the US economy has suffered from wage stagnation and the slow growth of living standards for low- and moderate-income workers while the costs of living have drastically increased. On the flip side, those with the most income, wealth, and power have continued to actively suppress policies that would allow for shared prosperity.
If the private sector is not willing to raise wages or provide other incentives, then it’s up to public officials to improve labor standards.
With the largest county operating budget in the US, LA County is uniquely poised to implement the 32-hour work week. The LA Board of Supervisors approved an amended budget of 46.7 billion for the 2023-24 fiscal year in June 2023. The new budget adds 666 jobs, totaling to more than 115,300 budgeted positions for the county. New positions will largely go to the Department of Mental Health with 167 positions and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) with 123 new positions.
While new positions fulfill staffing concerns, LA County will also need to consider methods addressing retention. Telework and increased number of staff are some helpful avenues, but they cannot replace the mental health benefits of having time off. A shortened work week on the other hand, will provide social workers, such as those working with DCFS, the additional time needed to recuperate from their stressful day-to-day work. From an employer’s perspective, the 32-hour work week will also allow LA County to attract highly qualified candidates and remain as a competitive employer. Since private companies and other public entities have been reluctant to do so, LA County can be the first to utilize this opportunity and set improved labor standards — potentially paving the way for increased labor reform.
Katarina Terzyan, Master of Social Work, University of Southern California
Related