Advances in technology and automation have reduced the need for manual labour. Therefore, working hours should be reduced. To what extent do you agree?

In many production-oriented factories, machinery has evolved to

such

a degree that the demand for physical labour has considerably reduced, leading to the suggestion of a reduced working

week

.

However

, there are several factors that need to be considered. Primarily, the long-term impact of shorter working weeks needs to be considered.

Although

less

time

at work may sound appealing, the reality is that people may find that they have too much free

time

. Fewer working hours would presumably mean less income, so a situation arises where employees have more leisure

time

than their income can support.

This

has the potential to result in feelings of boredom, frustration or anxiety, all of which have possible

side-effects

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side effects

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for society as a whole. Connected with

this

comes the social factor of self-esteem. Being made redundant can have a negative impact on many people, especially if the position is replaced with a robot. To illustrate, a staff member employed for cleaning purposes who is

then

replaced by an automatic cleaning system is unlikely to feel positive about their own sense of worth. A solution that would benefit all those concerned would be to utilize the

time

no longer required for manual labour for something more productive.

Instead

of simply reducing the working

week

, a combination of industry and government support could allow

for

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employees to receive

further

education and training,

such

as management skills or personal development courses. Even automated factories still require technicians, mechanics and designers to maintain and improve production. To summarise, until

such

time

as automation has reduced the working

week

for all types of

employee

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employees

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, it would perhaps be counter-productive to reduce the working

week

of those involved in manual labour without providing an alternative simply because they are replaceable.