Indeed there are many potential reasons why productivity may not have declined in direct proportion to hours work. Less tiredness, more content workers, elimina

Indeed there are many potential reasons why productivity may not have declined in direct proportion to hours work. Less tiredness, more content workers, elimination of wasteful activities, firing the least productive people, even the good old Hawthorne effect. The article jumps straight in and goes for fear though, without anything to really back that up. It may be true, but it's a rather bold assertion to stand alone. I'd like to see it taken a step further though - hours shouldn't be the measure of worth, sure - that they are is mainly because they're easier to measure than most other things. Value is good, but I'd like to see things be even more holistic. Happiness is almost impossible to measure, but worth a go. I'd love to see a company come out and say "This quarter we produced just as much as last quarter, but by working 5 hours less a week! Now our staff go home an hour earlier and spend time with their kids/pets/wii, and we can still afford to pay them well and make enough to re-invest in the company - happiness is up!"