The 8-hour 5 days syndrome not etched in stone

Is it written in what Holy Scripture that we have to work 8 hours a day and 5 days a week

Of course, it is true in the early industrial revolution days they worked people like pack animals, 14, 16, 18 hours a day, 7 days a week along with child labor.

Then along came Henry Ford who initiated the standard 8-hour day and actually raised the pay of the workers. This was a wonderful innovation and is the origin of the 8-hour workday. And kudos to Ford for this innovation...

However, what we need now is a new Henry Ford to come along and turn 8 hours into five or 6 imo and evolve the race to a better lifestyle and improved working conditions and life for all of us.

Of course, that doesn’t look like that’s in the cards since statistically it appears were going backwards, with people working more hours or close to the period before Ford when people were worked like pack animals and slaves.

Conspiratorially I have always maintained there is a deliberate elite plot to keep our assess working hard, harder, longer, and for less in order to keep the classess down.

Again, I’ve many times her mentioned that back in the day at GM we were evolving to the idea of maybe a 7 hour day or 4 day work week. Indeed, similarly to the Europeans who were aiming for a similar change until they were gutted by elite economic forces that sent their ideas of 4-day workweek and maybe 7 hour work days into the trash bin of history’s fantasies.

Now, lo and behold, there’s now little if any talk nowadays of innovating a new social milieu of a more leisurely, less-stress inducing lifestyle for the modern human….Where people might be allowed more time with their family and friends, more vacation time, more time to pursue more enlightening and enriching pursuits like the arts, sports, or maybe just some rich time with ones self, and just a better more enjoyable time on this earth.

As of now, we spend counting the 8 hours a day plus travel to and fro work, and lunch, add then two to three hours that will make it at least 10-11 hours a day and add 5 to 8 for sleep were at best not working or sleeping no more than 4-7 hours a day of " free" time.

Wow. Usually one is too tired to do much of anything after being involved with the work pursuit of 10-11 hours a day.

All one wants to do generally is after dinner, maybe a little light socializing, TV, reading, all without much real involvement since your always thinking work-sleep, sleep-work in the back of your brain. Then just maybe sit down and loaf for a few hours then your sleep again rearing up for work

Ones usually too mentally and physically exhausted to engage much in anything worthy of effort.

Philosophically speaking then, are we much more than slaves.

Imagine cutting that 8-hour syndrome to five or six and making that only 4 days a week, Friday becoming part of the weekend time.

The days you'd have more energy to get involved, time with the kids, the wife or just yourself, at a concert, a movie, visit more friends, relatives, time to think. Maybe some hobbies you've been unable to pursue, maybe some serious reading, writing, certainly more of it since you'd have more energy and wont have that monster 10 hour day looking you in the face!

That added to the three-day weekend to look forward too would give us all more hope, more vibrancy, more pep in our step, indeed planning a long weekend ahead of us...would add to the healthy harmone's going though our bodies.

I do think it would take time to adjust to this new lifestyle but I believe generally most people would lead happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives

Certainly this is not any naive postulation of any utopia but a possible step in a direction of the evolution of a freer and happier life for the human family.

Utopia later

Ibwork more than i should. I make money for other people.

Id like having a 4 day, 32 hour week.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
Ibwork more than i should. I make money for other people.

Id like having a 4 day, 32 hour week.

I recognize there would have to be an adjustment, were addicted to work like junkies.

Four 10's and three off...

Best schedule ever IMO.

originally posted by: EternalShadow
Four 10's and three off...

Best schedule ever IMO.

Some people have schedules like that


I still say we first need to break the 8-hour yoke

Then the 40 hour yoke


With all this scientific knowledge, AI, and technology IF we as a species spent time and energy working actually on endeavors’ that could make life like the Jetsons cartoons, we could do it!

a reply to: Willtell

I think it's the Italian workers who get 6-7 months a year to vacation and relax. Saw a short documentary on the subject. I think it's paid as well..

I'll try to find it.

a reply to: Willtell

wow , it took you that long to figure it out!

If you work sixteen hours a day it is hard to spend any money. But usually the wife feels she should make up for your lack of ability to spend money.

Don’t get me wrong, I love work, well not some of those early jobs I had or went for.


I once as a youth went into this place to get a job. Noisy as hell….Drilling and drilling and drilling. The guy who was to be my boss was covered with soot so thick…he, who was a white man looked black….And told me I had to carry these 90 pound bags of sand for 8 hours…Oh My goodness, I ran out of there so fast…!


Its a great feeling coming from a honest days work that you enjoy.

But its time we evolved folks.... Were better than this drudgery

We have to evolve to working smart

and living happier

originally posted by: EternalShadow
a reply to: Willtell

I think it's the Italian workers who get 6-7 months a year to vacation and relax. Saw a short documentary on the subject. I think it's paid as well..

I'll try to find it.

I think they got rid of that, or maybe in France they took away some time off

originally posted by: Willtell
Don’t get me wrong, I love work, well not some of those early jobs I had or went for.


I once as a youth went into this place to get a job. Noisy as hell….Drilling and drilling and drilling. The guy who was to be my boss was covered with soot so thick…he, who was a white man looked black….And told me I had to carry these 90 pound bags of sand for 8 hours…Oh My goodness, I ran out of there so fast…!


Its a great feeling coming from a honest days work that you enjoy.

But its time we evolved folks.... Were better than this drudgery

We have to evolve to working smart

and living happier

I agree. Figure out how to do that and make it happen, then I'll send you my resume.

a reply to: Willtell

I wish I worked 8 hours 5 days a week. More like 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, with an occasional day and a half off to reset my hours.

originally posted by: sine.nomine

originally posted by: Willtell
Don’t get me wrong, I love work, well not some of those early jobs I had or went for.


I once as a youth went into this place to get a job. Noisy as hell….Drilling and drilling and drilling. The guy who was to be my boss was covered with soot so thick…he, who was a white man looked black….And told me I had to carry these 90 pound bags of sand for 8 hours…Oh My goodness, I ran out of there so fast…!


Its a great feeling coming from a honest days work that you enjoy.

But its time we evolved folks.... Were better than this drudgery

We have to evolve to working smart

and living happier

I agree. Figure out how to do that and make it happen, then I'll send you my resume.

It will take an innovator, like the great Henry Ford who cut through the misery of the 14-16 hour unsustainable slave conditions and had the foresight and courage to start normalizing the 8-hour workday.


Some powerful industrialist who might begin working his force 6 hours a day and maybe even 4 days a week.


Unfortunately, today’s powerful industrialists and leaders of industry are just too greedy and worked up on their stock price.


I call it the wave of greed

obsession with production

Robotics and automatic systems. Replace the humans, and you cut the hours they work.

The main reason that people work as long as they do is to earn the money they need to afford the bills and cost of food they have.

Bills and food cost (and fuel) keep going up, faster than wages do.

It's not that people want to work a 40 hour work week....it's that they can't pay the bills and buy food if they don't.

If you want a utopia of minimal work, or work only the hours you want to then you'll need the following:

1) A unlimited, no cost power source that is very powerful, available to everyone.

2) A matter manipulator that can taken any matters atomic structure and make it into something else instantly (Star Trek Replicators).

Get and have those 2 things and there's no need for anyone to work, nor pay bills.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Willtell

I wish I worked 8 hours 5 days a week. More like 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, with an occasional day and a half off to reset my hours.

That what I said, were going backwards


Now I recognize there would be a risk in this since were basically drugged on work

a reply to: eriktheawful

Maybe, but my goal is not to cease working just modify the amount of it.

Humans aren’t ready spiritually or psychologically or economically to be able to not work


Some of us might all just watch too much television if we got more free time. That’s the problem.

Putting in extra time to make extra money if one chooses to do so but they should not brainwash us into working 60 hour weeks just to get by. Also they should not make the cost of living unattainable for those working a 40 hour work week, anyone working 40 hours should make a cost of living wage at the very least anything less would be slave wages. Now I'm not saying McDonald's in San Fran should pay $25 an hour but it shouldn't be at minimum wage otherwise perhaps the minimum wage should be somewhat relative to the cost of living for the area.

Our current system is a form of modern day slavery in my opinion. We work more than we spend time with family, our system has destroyed the family dynamic of our society and we are seeing the ill effects of that fact not only on our planet but also society in general.

It's all about profit, family and loved ones be damned. While we work 40+ hours a week we also hand our children off to strangers to teach and raised them for us which is unhealthy as well.

We live in a broken society in my opinion.

a reply to: conspiracy nut

The point I keep making, and I’ve made it often, is that we were evolving to that up until the early 80’s and then Ronald Reagan( I don’t want to bring this into politics because both parties are guilty in this conspiracy) began the backward slide.

We need philosopher kings like the early revolutionaries or we'll have no guidance into the future. We'll just be slaves and programmed sheep


We need a new era of philosopher kings like we had in the past folks or we'll get destroyed.

Ideas lead human beings to higher ways of living

Like the great men and woman of the renaissance, the great people of the revolution, the great people of the abolitionists.

Were not producing great independent thinkers anymore, just drone like automatons that are programmed to espouse jargon and dogma.

originally posted by: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
Our current system is a form of modern day slavery in my opinion. We work more than we spend time with family, our system has destroyed the family dynamic of our society and we are seeing the ill effects of that fact not only on our planet but also society in general.

It's all about profit, family and loved ones be damned. While we work 40+ hours a week we also hand our children off to strangers to teach and raised them for us which is unhealthy as well.

We live in a broken society in my opinion.

I cant say that any better so I'll just put that back up so others can see it