Busyness has become the indicator of status
Though historically, the ultimate symbol of wealth, achievement and social superiority was the freedom not to work. Now we measure our worth not by the results we achieve, but by how much of our time we spend doing things.
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Although people feel much busier with work these days, the total time people are working – whether paid or otherwise – has not increased in Europe or North America in recent decades.
- Economies grow and time is more valuable: Any given hour is worth more, so we experience more pressure to squeeze in more work.
- The type of work we do has changed: We live in an “infinite world" - more incoming emails, meetings, things to read, more ideas to follow up – and digital technology means you can easily crank through them. The result, inevitably, is feeling overwhelmed.
RELATED IDEAS
We normally safeguard and 'hoard' our limited time.
If you feel you have no time, just do something opposite: give away some time, so that you can feel its abundance.
Similar to a financial plan or a budget, the time schedule is not to restrict one’s day, but to support and enhance productivity during the day while ensuring there is ample time for the other areas of life.
- In 1885, socialist William Morris proposed that in the factories of the future, employees should work only four hours a day.
- In 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that advances in technology would lead to an age of leisure where people might work 15 hours a week.
- Since the early 2010s, these ideas have been developed further, creating a growing critique of work as an ideology, and exploring alternatives to work.
- Post-work offers enormous promises: In a life of much less work, life would be calmer, more equal, more communal, more pleasurable, more thoughtful, more politically engaged, more fulfilled.