Tag: that work thing

That Work Thing: How Did The 40 Hour Work Week Start Anyway?

Let’s start at the beginning.

Who started the 40 hour work week?

I always thought it was Henry Ford. I was wrong.

It was Robert Owen started the 40 hour work week in Great Britian in 1817.

Henry Ford started it on September 25, 1926. He believed productivity went down after 8 hours a day.

94 years later and we are still 40 hours a week.

My question is this:

Does it still work?

Some believe it does.

I question it.

Is our definition of work still the same and why?

Life was slower and a lot simplier back then.

No internet. No commuting. No cell phones.

We’ve grown. Evolved.

We are busier than ever.

Millions of people whose lives are run by a clock.

I think we should be individually thinking if this works for us.

Does the 40 hour work week work for you?

It doesn’t for me.

If I was working for myself probably.

But since I’m not it doesn’t.

We work instead of listening to our hearts, souls, and minds because we have to be at work.

I’m rambling now.

I guess I’m sick of being tied to a clock and being managed by people who don’t know what they are doing or don’t care about what they are doing.

It’s time we start looking at our work life and see why we are listening to someone else.

Is there maybe a different way?

That Work Thing: Did You Know?

As I was doing research about That Work Thing I learned a fact that I never knew.

The reason we have an eight hour school day is to prepare us for working an eight hour work day.

Did you know this?

I didn’t.

I wonder if my parents did.

This kinda pisses me off.

It’s bullshit.

No wonder no one questions it. It’s always been there. Silently lurking in the background.

I wonder what else I’m going to find.

I know we need structure and stuff but this is ridiculous.

That Work Thing: I Don’t Know

I’ve been thinking about how I l want work to look like for me.

I’m not really sure.

A job that fits me, my personality, wants, desires, dreams, and whatever else I might need.

But I know it’s not all about me and the things that I need.

There’s a lot of variables that go into This Work Thing.

We’ve been doing this 40 hour work week for so long can it be changed?

Maybe. Maybe not.

All I know is that I don’t want to fit in anymore. Or make my boss happy.

I want to be happy.

I want to do what is best for me work wise but is this even possible?

This Work Thing is so engraved in our lives.

It’s time to pick it apart and see what the parts are.

What works. What doesn’t.

And I can go on from there.

Maybe I won’t change That Work Thing, but at least I will change how I react to it.

And for now that is good for me.