The 8 hour workday needs to go. I don’t think it should be un-invented, but it definitely needs to go to hell. It just doesn’t make sense anymore and it is not sustainable.
The original 8-hour workday was revolutionary and it worked because there was someone at home taking care of everything while another person was working. That is no longer the way people live so we should no longer work 8h a day or we should at least have shorter work weeks.
When I first started working a job after university, I was still living with my mom so I didn’t feel the impact that hard, but the last 4 years have been difficult. When am I supposed to get everything done? Even if I get everything done, I am completely burnt out and I often have to sacrifice my sleep.
This has to be un-invented. If the 8 hour workday was revolutionary, now we need something that will be revolutionary again because this DOES NOT WORK!
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I’d love to uninvent the stupid notion that there are own jobs instead of scammers just looking for idiots who can’t find work anywhere else. Because there aren’t any jobs and they don’t seem to understand those of us who try to start our own companies and they still ask on stupid applications what do you make an hour you’re working for yourself you make nothing an hour unless you sell something. and this month they started a new insurance UCard which allows you to buy food which is nice because living on $20 a month doesn’t get you any food. yeah but they didn’t send the card to me so I didn’t have money for food. sorry so much I can’t get to town anyway and I can’t get to the post box and see if I have new car there for food. I want to be able to sell my own I want to fix it up I want to sell it or not sell it maybe give it away right now I have others depending on me. Without those depending on me I’m just a useless poet. I guess one of the things I would get rid of is the stupid dictation thing Google has they have no idea what language is because when you dictate a certain thing then you have to go back over because when you weren’t talking about Renee at all there’s a Renee. Why is there a Renee and in what you just said about your life when the only Renee you know is your your cousin and you don’t know she’s alive or dead and why would you tell anybody that you knew already I was talking about my friend Donna who writes here and they had nothing to do with a Renee I would get rid of Google completely but I like to look things up.
If not rid of the 8-hour workday, at least rid of the 5 (or 6!) day work week!
You work because it is necessary to support yourself, your kids, your family members, and if you don’t like it, work to change it. Many people do all the above, plus raise kids, school kids, maintain a home / house and yard, because there is no one else to do it. Add in medical care, caring for sick family members, and caring for yourself. Privilege makes thinking that an 8-hour day is too much, but for some that is not a luxury. Many people work more than 8 hour days for little pay and pick up another job or jobs to care for the rest. This happens, too, while perhaps being enrolled in a program to better one’s education and chances at a better paying job. Those who don’t have jobs may be envious of those who do.
This is true but at what point does the output of your labor become counter productive. If I gave you 6 meals of cookies a day to eat versus three nutritious meals a day you would benefit more from the nutritious meals. Less can be more. Same with work. Humanity is doing a disservice to itself by not reaching its full creative potential through labor. I see a lot of creative solutions to humanities problems wasted on a labor force doing menial work just to support(survive) our existence. Even the way we educate ourselves to move up economically lacks creativity. You move up economically but you don’t grow as a person to find meaningful and creative ways of deeply valuing your existence as a human being.
I personally appreciate the time I have to reflect on my life and experience. It gives me a sense of gratitude and hope to create from. It allows me to not lose my sense of humanity and to be able to connect with other humans and see them as humans even through all their imperfections.
Valid point. My husband works 50 – 60+ hours a week. It can be overwhelming. I’m fortunate to work from home right now. I wish there was more time for adequate rest so people can have the energy and focus for their work.
I completely agree with you. Working hours need to be decreased. 8 hours are too long. It shouldn’t be more than 7 hours. For a single person, it’s become very difficult to work for such long hours.
I think you should read Bob Black’s article. It says everything with regards work. Take care, Julian https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/bob-black-the-abolition-of-work (The Abolition of Work)
Well have gone through it an have come to learn a few things
Though I don’t agree with your opinion except you are one of those single parents out there , apart from that 8 hours work shouldn’t be an issue, here in Africa we work upto 12 hours and we still have all the time in the world to do other things. Just plan ahead
Oh wow! 😯 I’m curious to know how you still have time to do other things if you work 12 hours each work day.
I hate the 5 day work week. What an atrocious concept. Great post!
Work–omg–for so many of us going to a “job” means squelching our humanity–the essential person we feel ourself to be. Some jobs are surely worse than others. Waiting tables made me crazy, secretarial work crushed my spirit, cooking — oy — exhausting. Admin type work had killer responsibilities.
My last real job was teaching at university level, and you’d think that would be perfect. No dress code as such, the freedom to discuss, read, write, question with students and other faculty. But the pressure to publish, the endless faculty meetings with nitpickery at its height, and the constant threat of cutbacks and changes to curriculum and teaching methods were hard to take. It felt great to retire and leave that behind.
The eight hours five days a week schedule eats up a person’s life, and if you don’t like the work itself or the people you work with, it’s tough. My sympathy is with you!
P.S. Thanks for liking my recent blog.
good one
It depends, of course, on your personality, your circumstances and the job itself. If you enjoy the work, the time flies… I worked way more than 8 hours a day (and even many “weekends”) teaching Biology/sports in a private High school for 30 years – only took 4 days off total for illness in all that time. I had a supportive spouse. That was 20 years ago, before the scourge of social media and the smart phone. With apologies to Dickens, those were the best of times… we seem to be entering the worst of times. Still, get a family to give your purpose, count your blessings, keep your head down and do the best job you can for whatever number of hours is needed. Then, in the evenings/weekends/holidays find ways to make extra cash – think, discuss and plan. In other words, show discipline, guts and initiative. Hopefully, you have your health and keep it into your 70s. Never retire (at least in your mind).
As to your title (It isn’t normal anymore), if you are a young woman, judging by the photo shown, you are correct – it was never “normal” for young women to work in the world. Instead, find a good man who truly cares for you, bring home the bacon and make babies. With luck you can stay at home and make happiness, but be warned, it will take more than 8 hours work per day!
Nice
great blog post on how the 8 hour workday is no good anymore – resonates with many, kudos to the author for highlighting this shift in work culture!