TOEFL integrated writing: work a four-day week.

In the lecture, the lecturer casts doubts on the idea that offering employees the option of working a four-day workweek would reap benefits for both employees and companies which was mentioned in the reading passage.

First of all, the lecturer claims that the shortened workweek would increase company costs instead of profits. Specifically, the reading passage argues that since employees would feel rested and alert, they would make fewer errors and it will foster benefits. However, the lecturer suggests that if companies need to hire more people because of the policy, they need to train new employees and provide medical cares. Moreover, companies also should offer office space and computers to new employees. Although it may improve a person’s efficiency, the overall costs to hire new people will be exorbitant, and the costs would override the benefits. Therefore, this policy will cut into companies’ profits.

Secondly, the lecturer contradicts the idea of the reading passage that offering this option to employees would reduce unemployment rate. According to the reading passage, if many full-time workers began working fewer hours, others would work instead of them and it will diminish the unemployment rate. However, the lecturer argues that since hiring new workers is costly, companies would apply other options such as forcing employees to work overtime or raising their expectation on original employees. In this compelling example, the unemployed rate will be hardly declined and employees will be required to finish same amounts of works as they did in the past.

Lastly, the idea of the reading passage that a four-day workweek would be better for individual employees is rebutted by the lecturer. In contrast, it is insisted in the lecture that risks that can reduce their quality of life. If they just work 4 days a week, it is possible that their job stability is diminished, and it would harm their advance career. Moreover, an employee who works only 4 days a week will be the first person to lose one’s position and will be prohibited to promote because companies may want to promote people who work everyday in that they can supervise better.