Is The 40-Hour Work Week Too Long?
How consumed are you with what you do for a living? Many of us seem to claim that ‘who we are and what we do are two different things,’ but do we practice this theory?
In a new paper published by the New Economics Foundation, the argument is that we work way too much. That argument is supported greatly by statistics, which show that the average American works 46 hours a week, and that a plurality of 38% of all Americans work over 50 hours a week.
Given the time frame that most of us generally work (8 or 9 until 5 or 6), the best hours of the day are gone by the time we’re done. There isn’t much left to do but eat and sleep. This can’t be life, right?
The NEF paper argues that working 21 hours a week instead of 40 would solve a great deal of societal problems, such as unemployment, over-consumption, and sustainability.
The idea is that working less would cause us to earn less, thus reeling back carbon emissions, depletion of fossil fuels and allowing more people to have jobs than the current numbers show. Of course, there would have to be a cultural shift from “more, more, more” to “less is more” for this to work, and I’m a bit skeptical about that.
On the other hand, there are quite a few upsides that a shorter work week would produce: more leisure time, time with family, lower stress levels, better sleep patterns, and thus better overall health and possibly an improved quality of life.
However, it is probably best to structure work around achievement instead of putting it on an hourly system at all, and in many cases this has already worked, as the video below suggests.
What do you think? Can a time management overhaul improve quality of life in America? Even if it could, is such an overhaul likely to take place any time soon?
Source: NewEconomics.org
Harper's Bazaar" class="left" width="80px" height="80px" />
YES, BRING IN THE 21 HOUR WEEK. NO ONE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO START WORK BEFORE 1PM. SO PEOPLE CAN SLEEP IN AND GET ENOUGH SLEEP THAT THEIR BODY DESPERATELY NEEDS. HEAPS OF PEOPLE ARE SLEEP DEPRIVED WRECKS WALKING ABOUT. YOU CANNOT ENJOY LIVE WHEN YOU ARE TIRED ALL OF THE TIME. PLEASE CUT 40 HOURS WEEK JOBS IN HALF OR HAVE 21 HOUR WEEK JOBS OR EVEN 4 X 10 HOUR WEEK JOBS FOR PART-TIMERS. That would help with the unemployment problem.
I wholeheartedly agree. People are working so many hours because of their need to collect “stuff.” Moms go back to work and the babies have barely lost their umbilical cords. Why have a child just to give him over to be raised by daycare? What’s the point of being married simply to see your spouse for two hours a day? I think that because of our consumer-driven culture, we would be unable to have a wholesale overhaul of the American work week standard. I work for myself as a speaker and writer, and I never work 30 hours or more a week. I actually earn more than I did when I worked 40+ hours! This is a great post and I think more people should wake up and see what they’re trading for money.
I’ve just started my adult life and I can’t imagine working 40 hours a week, I do now but after 4 months I’m really tired and already sleep deprived, I know people just get used to it but I can’t, won’t, I’ll rather commit a suicide than work like that for 40+ years.
Were robotic drones trained by our corporate masters
40 workhours a week is way too much. I recently started working fulltime and this is my view on my new worklife. You stay up early in the morning – 6 or 7am, then shower, eat, commute, work, commute home and by the time you come home it’s already 6pm. Assuming 8 hours of sleep is necessary to preserve good mental health, there’s only 3 or 4 hours left in the evening to do grocery shopping, errands, exercise and cook yourself a dinner. Only weekends are for pursuing hobbies, socialize with friends or family, or maybe crossing something overdue off from todo list, maybe fixing that front door or cleaning a fishtank. I don’t even have a girlfriend or family to take care of. This life consuming horror must die as soon as possible.
It’s Sunday today.I’m sorry, these 2 books are 3 days overdue.I see.Most of the earth’s surface is covered by water.He covered himself with a quilt.This is a good example of his poetry.I found him seated on the bench.She likes Mike a lot, but she doesn’t want to get married so early.I meet the boss himself.No one knows the location of the hidden treasure.
Are you kidding? The 40-hour work week is VERY reasonable. What was unreasonable is the working conditions in the 1900s. I swear, give proletariats an inch and they’ll demand a mile.