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On Tuesday,Archpriest V A Chaplin, the Chairman of the MP Synodal Department for the Coordination of Church and Society (OVTsO), told Interfax-Religion that Russians should seriously consider the idea of a four-day workweek, proposed recently by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). “I think that we’d not lose anything if we instituted a four-day workweek, even without increasing the actual hours worked. Of course, we couldn’t apply this to the service sector and other areas where one needs to have someone present in the workplace”. He also pointed up that those who’d have to work more days deserved more pay, but he observed that although the sort of jobs that require mandatory onsite presence are amongst the most well-compensated, the number of such jobs is rapidly declining.
Fr Vsevolod thought that the topic of the four-day workweek requires a multifaceted and serious discussion from individuals, society, and the state. “Now, of course, many will try to turn it into a joke… that Russian people really don’t work when they go to work. Some will say that we only have one full working day in the summer… Wednesday… from mid-Thursday until mid-Tuesday, much of the “working” population is at their dachas outside of Moscow. Some can even afford to keep up such a routine, even in the winter. However, jokes aside, this topic is very important”. He noted that many people have changed the nature of their work. They can work from home, offsite, saying, “It’s better to work offsite than it is to spend three or four hours every day commuting. In this case, we should give priority to the real results of labour; we shouldn’t allow bosses to use it to chain people to the carpet as slaves. Moreover, if there’s some upset in implementing such a scheme, the boss will receive more than he loses, because all relations with subordinates can be much faster and more efficient using modern means of communication than through conversations in the office”.
Fr Vsevolod acknowledged that, sometimes, it’s useful to exchange views at meetings, “to look each other in the eye”, but “e-mail, video conferencing, and offsite texting” are more becoming effective means of carrying out business discussions. “However, the number of different types of meetings, often formal, piles up, especially in Moscow. Daily, I often have to attend five events in different parts of Moscow… we could solve the questions that arise during these events in two or three e-mails. Therefore, the ratio of actual work and hours on the job now is fundamentally different from what it was thirty, twenty, or even ten years ago. Nevertheless, we should approach labour productivity differently; firstly, we should assess who really put in the effort and what it resulted in. in future, we shouldn’t have people who play Solitaire on their office computer for eight hours, but we should look for those who can achieve great results in a short time, and I don’t mean results as measured in roubles or dollars”.
Earlier, the ILO proposed that businesses should think about moving to a four-day workweek, as it believes it’s better than the five-day workweek common today. ILO expert Jon Messenger believed that a shorter week would create more jobs, improve employee health (long hours, too much time at the office, and stress-health cause much ill-health), and improve performance.
7 October 2014
Interfax-Religion
http://interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=56682
Editor:
Pravmir posted a POS “translation” here. American Hard Right konverts infest Pravmir… that translation is typical of their “work”. It has tons of Podmoshensky admirers and Paffhausen fans on the English side. In short, it’s crank all ‘round. Not only is the Pravmir “translation” laughable… it’s distorts Vsevolod Anatolyevich’s intent… after all, he’s friends with G A Zyuganov, not worthless business shits like Khodorkovsky and Prokhorov. Look at how the konverts fucked up Tikhon Shevkunov’s Unholy Sainthood… calling it Everyday Saints! They’re soulless proponents of the worst faction of the US Republican Party. One wonders why they’re Russian Orthodox, when their political idols all hate Russia, Holy Rus, and Russian Orthodoxy. They support Republican asshats who’re thrusting a knife into the Rodina’s back… what a buncha losers…
Yes… one DOES wonder…
BMD
Voices from Russia 
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