Comments on: Why do we work so much?

By: Michael Alan Miller » Workin’ for the weekend

Michael Alan Miller » Workin’ for the weekend — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:54:38 +0000

[...] | Posted by Chill on 19 Apr 2010 at 12:51 am | Why do we work so much? [...]

By: Weekend Reading, 4/17/10 | Organizing Your Way

Weekend Reading, 4/17/10 | Organizing Your Way — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 12:33:39 +0000

[...] Why do we work so much? | Pop Economics [...]

By: Chris@BeDebtFreeAmerica.com

Chris@BeDebtFreeAmerica.com — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 07:06:54 +0000

Ok, first I have to admit that I came from Frugal Dad. Hey, but at least I came, right? Excellent article! And very insightful. Thank you for the time and research you put into it.

Great information and amusing to boot: Number 1 was a little delusional—if you’re unessential to a company, your boss is probably smart enough to know that without you disappearing for a year.

By: Turling

Turling — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:55:49 +0000

Nicely done. So impressed, I’m going to subscribe. Interesting on the first item with the amount of time other countries work per year. I read the list and immediately thought, “aren’t the happiest countries in the world at the bottom? I wonder if there’s a correlation?” Then, I read your next two paragraphs. I’m going with great minds think alike.

By: Weekly Roundup: Tax Lessons Learned

Weekly Roundup: Tax Lessons Learned — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:01:36 +0000

[...] Why Do We Work So Much? Here is an excellent post by a rather new blog. (@Pop Economics) [...]

By: Oskar

Oskar — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:35:31 +0000

I live in one of the countries at the bottom end of your graph (Sweden) and although the avarage work hours per year are lower here there are a lot of us in qualified jobs that work too many hours. My strategy is a version of point 5 above. I take maximum advantage of the possiblilites to work less (e.g. parental leave, vacation, work time reduction) and if I still can not get my work time down to the 20-30 hour work week I am looking for on avarage I save the money I earn from working more and that money can be used later to work less (e.g. a year of from work, extended vacations, early retirement etc.)

By: K Smith

K Smith — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:31:27 +0000

This is already happening. There are many school systems that operate on 4 day work weeks. The Peach County school system in Georgia went to a 4 day week this year. Eight school districts in one area of Colorado have adopted it, and the Klamath County system in Oregon is considering it for next year. It is saving school systems millions of dollars. Given the continuing declines in tax revenues, this trend is likely to continue to grow.

I know several people in the corporate world who job share. Each works a 20 hour week – one works the first 20 hours of the week, and the other works the last 20 hours. They use the same desk and together they make up one full time employee.

I know others, both men and women, who have negotiated to end their workday a couple of hours early so they can be home at the same time their children get home from school. Some took a prorated pay cut, some were able to negotiate keeping the same salary. These are special arrangements made between employee and boss, outside of official company HR policy. Some of these arrangements date back to the late 1980s. I have even heard of people asking for and getting a demotion – a different job at lower pay with fewer hours.

I think those who work hard do so because they choose to. Working long hours is a choice. For many, it may not be a mindful choice. For those who make the mindful choice to work less, I think making it happen goes back to what a wise man once said – you do not have because you do not ask.

I think if more of us asked for these kinds of things, we would get it.

By: Carnival of Personal Finance #252: Famous People With Tax Troubles Edition

Carnival of Personal Finance #252: Famous People With Tax Troubles Edition — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:35:43 +0000

[...] from Pop Economics presents Why do we work so much?. In the 1950s, economists predicted that by now, we’d only be working a few hours a day or a [...]

By: Kill your commute « Endless Emendation

Kill your commute « Endless Emendation — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:45:04 +0000

[...] Linky spotted at Pop Economics. [...]

By: Rob Bennett

Rob Bennett — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 19:50:43 +0000

The economists begin with an assumption that employers only pay us when we contribute something to the bottom line. My experience is that that is often not the case. Many workers are being paid for political reasons. Perhaps the boss is paid according to how many workers work under him, so he needs to build his empire up to a certain size. Many of the people who comment at discussion boards and blogs are workers bored because they have nothing else to do; posting drops dramatically on weekends, when people supposedly have more free time.

So we’re really just killing time. We could do the real work that must be done in much less time and then be free from work. As a culture, though, we are not comfortable with that today. So we have devised ways to fill up the hours in which we no longer need to work to generate the productivity needed to cover the costs of living.

I think we need a new economics to push things to the next stage.

Rob