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I happen to agree with the premise, but really, this is not a well-stated case. But thousands, if not millions of people commute to work every single day. Com
by amalcon 16y ago
I happen to agree with the premise, but really, this is not a well-stated case.
But thousands, if not millions of people commute to work every single day.
Come on. Thousands, if not millions? They say that the number of people in Manhattan alone increases by a million during the day. More importantly, though, this has absolutely nothing to do with the 8 hour workday.
You still need to travel from wherever you live to wherever you do your work; the only way to solve this is to move those places closer together (maybe even to the same place).
In fact, I’m willing to bet that most people aren’t doing anything for 40% of the working week.
Assuming that this is true, there are a variety of alternate hypotheses. For example, this problem is pretty much exclusive to knowledge workers. Perhaps knowledge workers need "breaks" just as physical laborers do, but because the culture discourages it, they invent their own "breaks".
Today, human creativity is at an all time high because less and less people are working in offices.
This is self-contradictory: either human creativity is at an all-time high, or it's reduced by working in offices. After all, there was a time when nobody worked in offices. I'd wager that the proportion of humans who work in offices is actually increasing, even if you only look at Western cultures. Of course, I'd hardly say that human creativity is at an all-time high either (even for Western cultures alone, that was during the Renaissance).
- danieldk 16y agoMore importantly, though, this has absolutely nothing to do with the 8 hour workday. Unless virtually everyone wants to clock-in at 9 and check-out at 5, makes the commute much less fun ;).
- NickPollard 16y agoAgreed. As one data point, the different in my mindset between struggling through London rush hour at 8.30, crammed in on a tube with my body pressed against the throng, versus coming in at 9.30 when the tube is empty, I can get a seat and relax, read a book, and be calm, is absolutely massive.
- aloneinkyoto 16y agoI like to call this the post-industrial synchronization psychosis. Our societies irrational desire for order that inevitably leads to total chaos.
- coliveira 16y ago> that was during the Renaissance I have no doubt that creative output is higher now then it was during Renaissance. At that time they started to give more value to creativity and they have a few people that were able to live from the creative endeavors, thanks to the patronage of the rich. Nowadays wehave several thousands or even millions of people that are able to live from their creative efforts.
- hvs 16y agoWell said. The line: But thousands, if not millions of people commute to work every single day. pretty much ended it for me. "Thousands"? Really?
- sudont 16y agomove those places closer together (maybe even to the same place). I found that picking a work contract, then housing close by works very well. No commute, and when my car breaks down (often) I can just walk to work. It helps to work for places that are either design-centric (and in livable city neighborhoods) or corporate campuses (which are generally in residential areas.)
- eftpotrm 16y agoThat assumes a flexibility which isn't the case for many outside the young and single though. As soon as you introduce extra people and responsibilities into the equation you can't just up sticks and move because your job has changed.
- sudont 16y agoDon’t harsh on my inability to sustain a relationship, man.
- mkramlich 16y agoA few years ago I accepted a job in downtown Chicago. To minimize my commute, and to buy me time to learn the city without having to make a big commitment upfront to a particular home or long-term lease, I got an apartment just a few blocks walking distance from my new job. I liked it enough that I stayed there for 3 years. About a year or so into it, my employer moved their offices to a new location that was closer to my apartment: literally across the street from my apartment building. Insane luck. It gave me so much more free time and reduced commute stress it was worth it. In my mid 20's I had a few jobs where my commute was 1-2 hours, one-way, twice daily, M-F. By my 30's, I vowed "never again". After leaving the Chicago job I reduced my daily required commute down even further: I do independent contracting and therefore can work in my home, or wherever my body+laptop happens to be at the time. Saves money, saves time, less pollution, less stress. No going back, baby.
- rue 16y agoOT, but you should really make that "when the weather is too bad to walk (seldomly) I can just take the car to work".