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comment by thenewgreen
thenewgreen  ·  3515 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A post where I share things I don't normally share with people.

    There's nothing I want to do 40 hours a week. There shouldn't be anything anyone wants to do 40 hours a week.
-The contrarian in me sat here trying to think of something to combat that statement with. You know, music, playing with my kids etc. but the truth is, I would not want to do anything that much. All things in moderation, even those things that bring us joy.

I do think that many progressive companies are starting to recognize this and are giving more "flexible" work environments, which isn't a solution but it's nowhere near as horrible as it could be.

I consider that my father worked on a lathe 50 hours a week when I was growing up and thank my lucky stars that he never allowed me to follow in his footsteps. -I tried.



_refugee_  ·  3514 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    here's nothing I want to do 40 hours a week. There shouldn't be anything anyone wants to do 40 hours a week.

    -The contrarian in me sat here trying to think of something to combat that statement with.

Uh, duh guys, it's sleep.

When I figured out that even on a ROUGH week of sleep I generally put about 40 hours in I decided that, if I have to be defined by something I do 40 hours/week for the rest of my life, I'm going with "sleeper."

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user-inactivated  ·  3514 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I certainly don't want to sleep 40 hours a week and if I could healthily get away with it I would sleep much less. I like not being dead for a third of my life.

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thenewgreen  ·  3514 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah, I also enjoy breathing at least 40 hours a week but just sort of thought that answer was assumed as well...

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_refugee_  ·  3514 days ago  ·  link  ·  

OH FINE

;) Sleeping is less obvious, I think.

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user-inactivated  ·  3515 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Lathes are very cool, I used to get to use one (or something similar) in shop class -- a maximum of five hours a week. Which was just about how I liked it.

    I do think that many progressive companies are starting to recognize this and are giving more "flexible" work environments, which isn't a solution but it's nowhere near as horrible as it could be.

I'm writing my senior thesis on issues pertaining to this at the moment (or ha! should have been but I read sci fi all day). The problem is that the flexibility often comes within the framework of a tacit worship of that 40 number -- which is entirely arbitrary, of course -- rather than a reverence for productivity, which is the only thing that matters. The phrase my research revolves around is "the fetish of full employment" which is the best sentence I've ever read within the context of economics. Ideas like that make our society real scary to be "entering" at 21-22. I dig this thread.

EDIT: I'd be surprised if anyone on hubski can think of something they honestly would like to do 40 hours a week, if they had utter free choice. I'm sure there are some outliers, but I can't think of anything personally. I even get tired of thinking sometimes.

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thenewgreen  ·  3515 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I suppose it's assumed that we work 40 plus hours a week remotely, but nobody polices this. We have tangible goals and we either reach them, or we don't. If you don't, you don't make $. Some people can likely reach these goals in 25 hour weeks, others may take 50+. It has to do with proficiency, ability and in many cases geography. I like working towards a goal and not a time clock. Makes WAY more sense.

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