My Two-Cents: Thirsty Thursdays
It’s Thursday, and I’m thirsty! Or so I’ve heard. Thirsty Thursday is the weekly colligate holiday heard around the world. Some may even say this weekly celebration is what makes the world go round. But what exactly is the meaning behind it? It is far deeper than we seem to assume?
Thirsty Thursday is known commonly known to those who participate as a great reason to start Friday’s festivities a day earlier. If there’s one unanimous truth about college students, it’s that they love to create nonsensical reasons to celebrate. I once had a friend tell me her friends were really urging her to get baptized so they could throw a party after. In the name of Jesus of course. But anyways, if you have any more questions about this weekly endeavor, ask your local 22-year-old. What I’m going to be pressing on are the potential deeper, hidden economic motives we can learn from Thursdays. Is Thirsty Thursday our biggest sign yet to end the 5-day-work week?
Yep. It is. And here’s why.
The five-day workweek is dead. The four-day workweek is in. The main push for the four-day workweek comes from the productivity standpoint. Our time is better measured in quality over quantity. Numerous studies have shown that switching to the 4-day workweek increases productivity by up to 20%, decreases work-stress levels by 27%, and increases work-life balance by 45%. I’ll avoid boring you with more numbers, but the benefits of a 4-day work week can be seen through numerous data; and, chances are you can think of a time where you have experienced the effect of using your time for quality over quantity
How does death to the 5-day work week tie in with Thirsty Thursday, you may ask? Well, as a society, It wouldn’t hurt for us to learn a little bit from college students. This age demographic has relatively few responsibilities in comparison to others – they generally lack the harsh financial burdens and family ties that 25+ ages face. Because of this, they have the most time freedom and have the possibility to organize their schedules and distribute their time to school, jobs, and social life however they choose. And a majority of them choose to utilize the 4-day work week. In my personal experience, I choose to tackle all of my hardest assignments by Thursday, leaving Friday for loose ends and free time. Having an extra-long weekend hypes up my motivation to get stuff done during the week. If the same 4-day strategy was implemented in the office, I think we would see productivity rise in response to the anticipation for the weekend. Work-life balance would also increase simultaneously. In an ideal society striving for productivity (and Thursday night), Friday would be a modified day designated for those who didn’t get their work done Monday-Thursday to come into the office. Incentivizing work by providing employees the opportunity to increase their work-life balance. Incentivizing Thirsty Thursday.
