Longer weekends or flexibility? My trip to Monasterio de Montserrat

Monasterio de Montserrat hike, view from San Jeroni

Yes, weekends are usually Saturday and Sunday in the west world, and having a Friday or Monday add up to that has an immense appeal to it.

But… what does this entail? Would you have a salary reduction to have more time off? Would you work longer hours to have that time off? Would you keep it the same and work less everyday?

Don’t know about you… but... I think we already work too many hours a day. Specially in countries such as Chile, where I come from, the regulation defines 45 hour weeks. That is more than the average in europe.

Beautiful, no?

I read @galenkp suggestions on topics to post during the weekend and the suggestion to comment on a “three day weekend” sounded like a perfect thing to talk about for me. Being a work psychologist this topic kinda' triggered me. I felt like “YASSSS. I want to say something!!!”

If you consider Oxford research or that of a non profit called “80.000 hours” (that helps orient your career to roles with purpose), the amount of time you work in your career is more or less 80.000 hours. This calculation is based on a 40 hour week (less than Chile already, and many countries other countries), 50 weeks per year, for 40 years.

The FFFFFFF### … no?!?!

So… I don’t know about you, but I think we already work too much to think about chipping in more hours a day to get free time at the end of a week.

Not only do I feel tired about even thinking of this, but it is actually not healthy or productive to keep such long hours of work. You lose concentration and grit over your job (specially in those that require you to think a ton or are to demanding physically) AND you will have a hard time keeping work-life balance. Forget about a nice family life. Additionally, other issues related to health and physical and mental wellbeing may arise.

Some parts are actual staircases so it is veery easy! For all levels and mobility possibilities.

Some companies, in some places, have opted to reduce the ammount of days worked.. even by consulting their workers. Such is the case of the Desigual clothing brand in Spain. Workers were asked if this is something they wanted and over 85% said yes. This reduction is accompanied by a 6% reduction of salary though.

Not all are the same. Some have reduced the days without reducing the pay. In the UK are some of the emblematic examples.

As you see, these working days reductions are aligned with reducing the overall amount of time a person is working. Because working longer is not viable or sustainable. Not in the long run. Not even mid term.

And.. If we want to be bold about the things we wish for our near future… Why stop at a rigid three day weekend? Let's aim for flexibility!

Took a different way down, that was connected to the funicular, so much easier to walk in with lots of stairs.

Our life passions and desires, restrictions and needs vary from person to person. Maybe some of you are parents, maybe you are an avid camper, maybe you like shopping without too many people around, maybe you are at a period of your life when you are writing a lot of hive posts, etc, etc..

Maybe what would be best for you is not the best for somebody else. And maybe what is best for you today, because of the things happening in your life at the moment, may not be the same next year... Not a three day weekend but a free additional day during a week.

If we could manage our working time, based on goals and not on time (necessarily), or if we could arrange our working time for it to adapt to the rest of our lives, maybe we would be happier, healthier and more productive. What do you think?

The same happens to arrangements to work from home that the pandemic has pushed forward. No? Do you feel more comfortable with a rigid schedule to when to work from home and when coming to the office? Set the number of days? Which days? Or would you rather choose when you do what?

Some jobs (more than ever) allow for a lot of flexibility and many companies have seen this and encouraged their employees to do so. As knowledge work takes over this will be ever more possible for so many people.

So? Why dream of three day long weekend when you can have that some weeks AND a free week day every other week?

What would you do with a day free during your week once in a while? Vent, rest, get up to date with doctor or other appointments, go shopping when there is little people, visit a small place like the Monasterio de Montserrat?

Hike up the San Jeroni

This place is easily accessible from Barcelona, and visited by a lot of people during the weekends. So I went there on a weekday and got some quality time to recharge in the middle of my exam week.

You take a train and then a funicular (or tram) up to the monastery itself. Dont take the Aeri (Cable car)! As it is a little harder to get a hold of later when you need ot return. It takes an hour to get there and it is very well connected. From there you have a lot of trails to walk on. The place is great because you can go many times (as there are many trails available) or with people of different ages or “fitness levels”. Additional elevators are in place for those with reduced mobility.

View of the monastery once we started the hike.

The most typical trail is the San Jeroni peak, which is the one I did. I walked up! But you have easier access with the funicular too. When hiking, the views are breathtaking as you can see in the pics, and the Monastery (and church) are open to visitors. The last one for free! You have small shops and cafes to stop for a bite or a drink and beautiful views of Cataluña.

It got clouded that day, though it started nice and sunny.

Had to put some extra layers on when coming back down.

When I went there, the day started sunny, and ended up being a bit chilly and clouded. I would totally recommend you do this day trip if you ever are around barcelona (or live there) and have not done it yet!

Talk to you soon!