David Goldman

If there’s one thing the pandemic taught us all it’s that work is tiring whether we’re doing it from the office or from home. Unproductive jobs led millions of people to drop out of the workforce altogether and a record number of Americans have quit their jobs because of burnout, low pay, childcare and eldercare. To entice people back into the job market, employers have increased payment. _______, inflation has wiped that away and it hasn’t worked. So here’s a crazy solution: let people work less. I know, it sounds radical, but workers are really into the idea and they are more productive. For the past eight weeks, thousands of people in the United Kindgom have tested a four-day schedule - with no cut to their pay. Unsurprisingly, some workers have said they feel happier, healthier and are doing better in their jobs. In 1930, the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted we would be working 15-hour weeks by 2030, with hours in the office reducing over time. _______, a 9 to 5, Monday to Friday shift became the norm and over time it became hard for businesses and workers to think differently. You can present your boss all the data you want, but it’s unlikely you’re going to have success convincing management that the way to increase productivity and solve the labor shortage is to give everyone Friday off - forever.

Choose the alternative that contains the infinitive form of the verbs in bold in the text.