Work Times Work You

                David Cain’s article Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed, on his blog about being human, covers his observation on work hours in America compared to those abroad and how it affects society. Focused on why we have a 40 hour work week and its effects the article covers the economic benefits, social issues, and history of American work hours.

                One of the first aspects the author brings up is how differently he spent his time on vacation abroad in comparison to at home after work. He observed that with more free time in vacations abroad he was spending less than he normally did and enjoyed free activities like nature walks and beaches. From this he’s hypothesized that the 40 hour work week in America plays a large role in promoting consumerism because “Suddenly I have a lot more money and a lot less time,” (David.) While it would be nice to see some studies backing his observations up, the time versus cost of activities he mentioned definitely supports the logic behind his article.

                In his discussion of social issues he points out that, while he could live happily off of far less than he makes, he doesn’t have the option to only work a portion of the work day, despite how “the average office worker gets less than three hours of actual work done in 8 hours” (David.) While with no citation it’s hard to verify that ratio, it is common knowledge that typical workers don’t spend most of their work day being fully productive.

                One thing I didn’t know about the forty hour work week was the fact that it originated in Britain in the 19^th century to protect workers. He points out the increase of production due to technology as a valid reason to reduce work hours (as we can produce more in less time) that hasn’t been used by businesses because of their reliance on people spending during their free time.

                The article was definitely an interesting read for someone who hasn’t considered why we work the hours we do, although it’s lack of studies leaves its observations in question. While the article’s reasoning is logical, it would still be unsurprising to find that 40 hour work weeks are currently common for other reasons and it’s hard to judge how much of our consumer culture is maintained through limited free time.