Working Saturday
Encyclopedia
In some countries which have a 5-day workweek
with Saturday
and Sunday
being days off, on some occasions some Saturdays may be declared working Saturdays.
are very popular in the US corporate culture. Often, employees are even getting paid for working for a local NGO that cooks food for the homeless, etc.
, and Hungary the Friday following a public holiday that falls on Thursday and the Monday before one that falls on Tuesday are transferred to Saturdays to make longer runs of consecutive nonworking days. In this case the "Bridge" Monday or Friday is treated as a Saturday in terms of time tables and working hours and the related "Working Saturday" is treated as a normal work day. Over the two work weeks concerned, work is done on 9 days with one work week running for 6 days and the other one for 3. Employees always have the option of taking a day from their personal vacation allowance and using it to avoid working on the "Working Saturday".
For example, in 1997, in Russia April 28, June 9, and December 29 are working Saturdays in lieu of April 30, June 11, and December 31, respectively.
This practice requires work on Saturday which is forbidden in Jewish law (Shabbat
). For this reason, Jews are sometimes offered the alternative of taking the "Working Saturday" off as an unpaid day. In reality the working Saturday is a day of low productivity due to a tired and resentful workforce. Thus it is often used for corporate team building activities and people often go home in the mid afternoon.
, there was six-day workweek till 1970s. In 1972, the communist government started a long-term process of switching to five-days workweek. It started with one Vacant Saturday per month and citizens were promised to be given more. The delays in introducing more Vacant Saturdays were one of many sources of 1980 unrest in Poland leading to creation of Solidarity movement.
After the fall of communist regime in 1989 there was still one Working Saturday per month accompanied by roughly three Vacant Saturdays. It wasn't until late 1990s, when a 5-day workweek was finally declared.
Workweek
The workweek and weekend are those complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest respectively. The legal working week , or workweek , is the part of the seven-day week devoted to labor. In most Western countries it is Monday to Friday. The weekend comprises the two traditionally...
with Saturday
Saturday
Saturday is the day of the week following Friday and preceding Sunday.Saturday is the last day of the week on many calendars and in conventions that consider the week as beginning on Sunday, or the sixth day of the week according to international standard ISO 8601 which was first published in...
and Sunday
Sunday
Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. For most Christians, Sunday is observed as a day for worship of God and rest, due to the belief that it is Lord's Day, the day of Christ's resurrection....
being days off, on some occasions some Saturdays may be declared working Saturdays.
Community Service Day
Community service daysCommunity service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
are very popular in the US corporate culture. Often, employees are even getting paid for working for a local NGO that cooks food for the homeless, etc.
Transferred working day
In the Soviet Union, modern RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and Hungary the Friday following a public holiday that falls on Thursday and the Monday before one that falls on Tuesday are transferred to Saturdays to make longer runs of consecutive nonworking days. In this case the "Bridge" Monday or Friday is treated as a Saturday in terms of time tables and working hours and the related "Working Saturday" is treated as a normal work day. Over the two work weeks concerned, work is done on 9 days with one work week running for 6 days and the other one for 3. Employees always have the option of taking a day from their personal vacation allowance and using it to avoid working on the "Working Saturday".
For example, in 1997, in Russia April 28, June 9, and December 29 are working Saturdays in lieu of April 30, June 11, and December 31, respectively.
This practice requires work on Saturday which is forbidden in Jewish law (Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
). For this reason, Jews are sometimes offered the alternative of taking the "Working Saturday" off as an unpaid day. In reality the working Saturday is a day of low productivity due to a tired and resentful workforce. Thus it is often used for corporate team building activities and people often go home in the mid afternoon.
Poland
In PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, there was six-day workweek till 1970s. In 1972, the communist government started a long-term process of switching to five-days workweek. It started with one Vacant Saturday per month and citizens were promised to be given more. The delays in introducing more Vacant Saturdays were one of many sources of 1980 unrest in Poland leading to creation of Solidarity movement.
After the fall of communist regime in 1989 there was still one Working Saturday per month accompanied by roughly three Vacant Saturdays. It wasn't until late 1990s, when a 5-day workweek was finally declared.