Work Less Live Happier

Working less equals a happier life. Americans have been working long hours to contribute to their materialistic habits, but are they really happy? I think that they are severally depressed people that like being surrounded by nice things. A person’s life long goal should not be to be successful, but to find inner peace.


As stated by Juliet Schor in Sustainable Work Schedules for All, “It becomes possible to produce a given level of goods and services in a shorter period of time, thereby giving workers more free time away from the job, or to produce more goods and services by keeping hours constant.” Making work hours shorter will improve a workers quality of life by: making a sustainable ecosystem, giving workers more free time for family and hobbies, and by making workers more productive while on the job.


Now a days, nearly all employees are working themselves to death trying to move at the fast pace that is expected. People are also trying to work after hours to get a few extra dollars to fulfill their materialistic need. Juliet Schor affirms, “Long hours of work are stressful; undermine family functioning and social connections, and cause physical and mental illness.” The only thing that working long hours does is keep parents away from their children and make people exhausted, depressed and fat. It’s no wonder why so many people are relying on pills to fix their problems when all they need is a lifestyle change. Materialistic objects can only provide temporary happiness. Family, friends, and achieved goals provide long term fulfillment.


The fast pace that individuals are working at doesn’t only affect the humans race, but it also affects our ecosystem. High volume production causes a larger ecological footprint that will only devastate us in the near future. If we all would just slow down and smell the roses we will be able to fix ourselves, and our surroundings. Working less will also allow people to get more involved in their communities, creating a better sense of being.


“If past recessions are a guide, many workers-particularly those who get a three day weekend- will adjust to lower incomes and decide not to resume a five day schedule,” as stated in the article Sustainable Work Schedule for All. It has been scientifically proven that when people have the opportunity to work four days a week then they are more likely to adjust to the lower income to keep that lifestyle. Would society realize it unless they had the opportunity to work a four-day schedule? I don’t think they would. It is the norm to work five days out of the week. Children grow up going to school five days a week, and then grow into adulthood, and work five days a week. So, in a way I think that it is almost programmed into us to only have two days of relaxation. But is it right? I don’t think so. Do you?


Citations
• Juliet, Schor. Sustainable Work Schedule for All. First Edition. Washington, DC: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010. 91-95. Print.