‘I need time to just play’: Six-year-old launches passionate protest against two-day weekends

A very cute six-year-old is making his voice heard at a young age. He’s demanding another day off from school each week to play, stay home, and generally do ‘whatever I want.’

In an impassioned plea that appears to have been made from his car seat, Brodie Kenyon of Georgia calmly presents a case to the ‘government’ that a two-day weekend is simply not enough time for him to destress from life at school.

‘Hey, um, I’m Brodie and this is for the government and I’m protesting,’ the young, blonde child began.

The video has racked up 1.3 million likes on TikTok. 

‘I want three days off of school, ’cause I’ve been tired of school lately and I’ve been dreaming for three days off,’ he continued, getting to the crux of his argument.

‘Two days is not enough from school, I need three days off. 

‘I need time to just play, and go with Nay Nay (granny) and stay home and do whatever I want outside,’ he concluded, voicing a complaint likely shared by millions of American school-children and some adults.

‘Sending this to my boss,’ wrote one viewer. ‘I’m a teacher & I approve this message,’ wrote another.

Brodie’s mother, Jessica, also posted the video to Instagram, where it’s amassed nearly 175,000 likes, and wrote that her son ‘asked me if I sent this yet and if we have 3 day weekends now.’

In fact, an increasing number of companies are switching their adult workers over to four-day work weeks, for several of the reasons succinctly outlined by Brodie.

Late last year, 100 British companies began instituting a four-day work week with no loss of pay for the impacted workers.

The argument is that the four-dayweek will drive companies to improve productivity, hoping they will be able to create the same amount of output in fewer hours.

A previous trial in France found that workers were putting in the same number of number of hours even with one fewer day and companies had to pay overtime for the work.

Adam Ross, the CEO of Awim – one of the largest British companies to implement the change – said the shift was ‘one of the most transformative initiatives we’ve seen in the history of the company.’

‘Over the course of the last year and a half, we have not only seen a tremendous increase in employee wellness and wellbeing but concurrently, our customer service and relations, as well as talent relations and retention also have benefited.’

In September, 88 per cent of those companies in a survey in the middle of the trial said the four-day week was working ‘well’ for their business at that stage of the trial.

About 95 per cent of the companies surveyed said productivity had either stayed the same or improved since the introduction.

However, only around half of those taking part responded to a survey canvassing opinion at the halfway point, with nearly nine in ten of the respondents saying that they would keep the scheme in place beyond the trial period.

An increasing number of companies are switching their adult workers over to four-day work weeks, for several of the reasons succinctly outlined by Brodie Kenyon, 6

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15% surveyed claimed that productivity had surged dramatically – while the remainder recorded either no change or only a ‘slight improvement’ in output.

Companies previously said they had struggled with scheduling chaos and staff confusion after rolling out the four-day week, with bosses admitting that they doubted the policy could survive the trial period.

Samantha Losey, boss of communications firm Unity, told The Telegraph last month: ‘It’s more likely that we won’t carry on now. One of the things that has struck me is whether or not we are a mature enough business to be able to handle the four-day week.

‘The rest of the world not doing four-day weeks makes it challenging. We agreed we’d go all the way through the pilot, but I’m questioning whether this is the right thing for us long-term. It’s been bumpy for sure.’

However, toward the end of the trial, it seems that despite the ‘rough times’ she acknowledged during the changeover process, her attitude towards the concept was a much more positive one:

‘Ultimately, the outcomes we’re experiencing, such as better, higher, and a positive team culture shift are reassuring that the bumps in the road are exponentially worth it.’