New York Governor Kathy Hochul has echoed a sentiment that has been bubbling to the surface for years: the five day workweek may be dead.
At a recent event in Harlem, Governor Hochul stated that the pandemic has caused the traditional 9 to 5 to become irrelevant.
“It may never be a five-day week again,” said Governor Hochul. “It may be four days with flexibility. It may be three and a half.”
Despite admitting this, the governor said that employees should be encouraged to come into office buildings for a few days a week to stimulate economic recovery and creativity.
She added that employers are becoming concerned over losing workers if they require them to fully return to the office, indicating a need for more flexible work arrangements in the future.
“Gov. Hochul has met with a lot of employers over the past few months and she is accurately reflecting their view of the future of office work,” said Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for the City of New York. “People will be expected back in the office but with some greater flexibility than in the past.”
Politicians have become more insistent that workers return to the office as the US attempts to make a comeback from the most recent Omicron wave. Just this week, President Joe Biden said that “people working from home can feel safe to begin to return to the office” during his State of the Union address.
