According to the United Nations’ International Labor Organization, the
typical American worker puts in five weeks more on the job per year than his or
her British counterpart and twelve-and-a-half weeks more than the Germans. While
Canadians work somewhat less than Americans do, and enjoy longer vacations and
paid family leave, they are also feeling the pressure of overwork.
And, increasingly, arguments are being made that the results are not only
harmful to one’s health, but to family and civic life, as well as to the
environment. Take Back Your Time is a major U.S./Canadian initiative that
challenges the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine. Among the
many ways they list that time stress affects our lives are health effects like
accidents, burnout, reducing time for recycling and exercise, and consumption of fast foods and
stress-related illnesses; less time with families and other relationships; less
time to get to know our neighbors and to volunteer; less time for
self-development and spiritual growth; and less time to be engaged citizens.
Not only has the pursuit of income put many of us on a treadmill, it has also
negatively affected the health of the planet. For instance, studies show that
lack of time encourages use of convenience and throwaway items and reduces
recycling rates. Then there’s the amount of energy we use commuting, heating and
lighting office buildings, and so on.
A 2006 study by the Washington D.C.-based Center for Economic and Policy
Research looked at the environmental effects of shorter working hours by
comparing the European and American economic models. Europe currently consumes
about half as much energy per person as the United States, but the researchers
calculated that if the countries of “Old Europe” – Austria, Belgium, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom – were to increase annual work
hours to American levels, they could consume some thirty percent more energy
than they do at present. If the United States had adopted European standards for
work hours, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions in 2000 would have been seven percent
lower than its actual 1990 emissions, which was the negotiated goal for the U.S.
in meeting Kyoto standards.
On the other hand, with unemployment at record or near-record levels, many
people don’t have the opportunity to decide whether or not to have the pressure
of overwork! So, if you are trying to get back into the job market after having
been laid off, or are trying to enter the working world for the first time, now
is a great time to re-think your relationship with work and not get back onto
that treadmill. At least not totally.
Although businesses are generally very opposed to shortened work hours, some
public sector jurisdictions in North America are taking the first small steps in
that direction by offering their employees a four-day work week – many motivated
by high gas prices and general financial pressures. In 2008, Utah became the
first state to make the four-day work week mandatory for about 17,000 state
employees. Governor Jon Huntsman says he made the change to reduce the state’s
carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, improve customer service and
provide workers with more flexibility.
The four-day work week is widely recognized as a quality-of-life issue,
especially for younger employees who want to enhance their work-life balance.
If that need for work-life balance is making you wonder if full employment is
such a great thing, why not become part of the job sharing movement? Two people
sharing the same position in a company is . . .
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Wendy Priesnitz is Natural Life’s co-founder and editor. She has
been an advocate of alternative work arrangements since the 1980s. Read more.
