The Government’s latest announcement detailing a proposed roadmap out of Covid-19 restrictions suggests freedom for the UK from 21 June 2021. SSPSSR Reader Dr Heejung Chung, an expert in flexible working and work-life balance, has commented on how the UK needs a collective holiday following the Covid-19 pandemic and how 21 June could be an ideal time to introduce a four-day week to make up for the time poverty faced by many. She said:
‘I would not be alone to say I immediately started planning drinks in the garden, and trips back home to meet up with my parents after the announcement by the Prime Minister setting out the “one-way road to freedom”. One humorous post on social media sets out this four-step plan out of lockdown as step one a: get drunk with one friend in a park, step one b: get drunk with five other people in your garden, all the way to the final step four on June 21: We all book the week off work and get really drunk inside or outside, hug everyone and tell them you love them.
‘This is all for a laugh, but there is some truth in this. We have all missed out on quite essential social interaction in the past year, and many during this time have been firing on all fronts, trying to juggle work, housework, childcare, home-learning. And this all the while with the background stress and anxiety of the global pandemic and its economic impact including its effect on one’s own job and income security. We have seen alarming levels of stress, anxiety, isolation/loneliness, and burn out among the population. Easing the lockdown will help these problems somewhat, but it won’t be enough for most to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels.
‘What the country really needs right now is a collective holiday. Many workers have been unable to take up their holidays as their roles as key workers, or possibly because their holiday plans have been cancelled and they wanted to save these days for proper time off with family and friends. More alarmingly, there were signs that workers were working even longer during the pandemic than before.
‘A collective holiday will help workers press a reset button in terms of mental health, providing us with time to reflect on what has happened the past year, and heal. It can also help rejuvenate the hospitality, tourism and the creative industries that have been hit hardest during the numerous lockdowns. ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ is great, but what people need is time. Time is critical for people to meet friends in restaurants and pubs, go watch movies, and experience live music events, all of which are on the brink of collapse during this pandemic without much support from the Government.
‘So how do we implement a collective holiday? Many governments such as Spain, India, New Zealand, and other countries are considering the idea of introducing a four-day week to help rebuild the economy and its population after the impact of Covid-19. The four-day week is already wildly popular in the UK among workers and business leaders, and will be able to pay its own way by reducing mental health outcomes which are costly for companies (costing up to £45billion a year) and society, by increasing productivity, and by helping the economy by giving people time to spend their money.
‘We need large scale blue sky thinking to truly not miss the opportunity of re-building our economy and society after such a large crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic. We absolutely need to address the issues of families facing destitution due to economic insecurity, but we also need to acknowledge the time poverty faced by many by enabling them to use the one limited resource we all need right now – time.’