Everyone who works a 9-5 job knows that it’s not really 9-5. At least, not when you factor in commute time, breaks, overtime, etc. It can seem a lot like your entire day revolves around work, with only a tiny window of time in the evening left to do whatever you want to do before having to go to bed just to repeat the cycle the very next day.
It’s doesn’t really feel sustainable any more – not since the pandemic showed us that working from home is a much better option. I mean, it cuts down on commute time and you don’t feel so burnt out after a day of work. It definitely makes you wonder as to whether or not the 8-hour work day doesn’t work anymore.
And one TikToker, AutisticCommProf, shared a video specifically detailing why the 8 hour workday isn’t great for modern living.
She explained that it dates back to the 18th century, where the 8-hour workday was promoted by the slogan, “8 hours at work, 8 hours to rest, 8 hours for what you will.” It sounds like it makes sense – and I’m sure it made sense back then – but it doesn’t really work now.
Many people in her comments section tended to agree with her – the 8-hour workday is not sustainable for our modern lives. Especially since many families are now two-income families out of necessity, as someone so accurately wrote, “the 8-8-8 model also assumed a single salary, meaning someone (aka the wife) was at home doing all the house hold chores/errands during the work day.”
A different viewer commented, “We work 5 days straight, we have to do all our laundry, cleaning, the first day off and only really rest the second, then start again.”
A third person also pointed out the other glaring flaw with the 8 hour work day, writing, “don’t forget almost EVERY business is 9-5, like banks, doctors, insurance companies, hair salons, post offices…good luck running errands after work.”
But do we really need to be devoting all 8 hours of our day to work? As the best-selling author, musician, and entrepreneur, David Andrew Wiebe, explained, most people are usually their most productive for roughly 3 hours each day. Alex Pang, a productivity consultant, shared that people’s productivity will usually start to wear off after 5 hours.
Check out the TikTok below:
@ndcommlion #greenscreen #capitalismsucks #capitalism #worklife #worklifebalance #fightfor15 #eattherich #generalstrikeoct15 #generalstrike
What do you think? Do you agree that the 8-hour workday is outdated? Let us know!