One advantage is that the year would consist of a stablethree-decimal number of weeks-- 45.625 -- instead of the current irregular 52.142... ? ? ? ? ?

With an 8 day week, there would be approximately 45.65500 weeks per year, but only if the current practice of occasional "leap-second" corrections is maintained to correct for orbit variations. To keep a whole number of days in each years, a leap year every 2d year could be used to "regularize the calendar," omitted for regularly spaced years "when the year number is divisible by n." I'll leave the calculation of "n" as a homework questions, since I'm not all that wild about integer math trivia.

On general principles, I'd have to suggest that messing with the established practice is probably not a really good idea.

The US Navy has done, and published, a lot of research on attempts to find/justify odd work cycles, and have fairly conclusively shown that efficiency, safety, and "quality of life" are adversely affected for almost any deviation outside the 8 hour shifts, three shifts per day, five days on - two days off that is mostly "traditional" (in the US).

In the submarine service, especially, I believe the current practice is 8 hours on, 8 hours off, no such thing as a weekend, with two crews providing 24/7 manning, because it minimizes the number of crewmembers that have to be carried; but they admit that all the "good things in life" suffer, with the crew members taking the hit for the "convenience of the service."

Although it's common to pay "overtime" for work over 8 hours per shift, the practice of 10-hour days 5 days per week with 6 on Saturday is - or has been fairly recently - almost "standard" in some US industry segments. Paying an overtime premium (often but not always time-and-a-half since only a very small percentage of US workers are actually incuded in the overtime pay requirement fiction) is much cheaper than hiring additonal workers, since you buy one health insurance policy, pay one retirement plan contribution, make one unemployment compensation system payment, and give the same holidays and vacation days off per person hired; and none of these "other costs of employment" change when the one you have works overtime, but would have to be paid if you hired another employee.

Not too far obsolete figures indicated the "total cost of employing" a worker who is paid $20 per hour was about $180 per hour - the "burden rate" chargeable on audited contracts. Working that person another overtime hour cost you an additional $30. Working a new employee the same hour cost you $180 (not counting recruiting/hire-in costs, moving allowance, temporary housing and training, etc., which were common in that particular industry for that kind of employee).

Similar "corporate savings" apply to the use of "Temps" a.k.a. Contract Workers a.k.a. Job-Shoppers a.k.a. "hired pencils."

"Interesting" research results - persuasive but not conclusive - were reported within recent days indicating that "working night shifts may cause cancer." The researches report "statistically significant correlation" but have apparently refrained from postulating causality links pending further grant$ tests.

John