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Antiwork

The 8 Hour Lie

This might be the wrong place to post this, but here we go anyway: I remember reading in history class when I was in high school, as well as in college (I think), about Ford implementing the 8 hour work day on the premise of 8 hours for work, rest, and sleep equally. Given the nature of this sub, I'm pretty sure that most already know this, but I'm of the opinion that this is more or less a lie. I'll break it down like this, but be aware some points may vary (closer/farther workplace, difference in preparation, etc.; skip to TL; DR for the results): Best Case Scenario: You wake up, and it takes you 1/2 an hour to get everything together. It takes you another 1/2 hour to get to work (assuming you have a reasonable commute). After a certain amount of time, you get a lunch break,…


This might be the wrong place to post this, but here we go anyway:

I remember reading in history class when I was in high school, as well as in college (I think), about Ford implementing the 8 hour work day on the premise of 8 hours for work, rest, and sleep equally. Given the nature of this sub, I'm pretty sure that most already know this, but I'm of the opinion that this is more or less a lie. I'll break it down like this, but be aware some points may vary (closer/farther workplace, difference in preparation, etc.; skip to TL; DR for the results):

Best Case Scenario:

You wake up, and it takes you 1/2 an hour to get everything together. It takes you another 1/2 hour to get to work (assuming you have a reasonable commute). After a certain amount of time, you get a lunch break, but it is weighed down by the expectation that you get back to work on time. It takes you another 1/2 hour to get home. If you're fast enough, you won't have to prepare for tomorrow. If not, another 15 minutes or more. Then, you have to go to bed early in order to get enough sleep. Assuming you get to work at 9 and leave at 5, it's 5:45pm by the time you're all done, and you go to sleep at 11:30pm to fall asleep by 12pm and wake up at 8am. That's another half hour lost in preparation.

By the end of all of this best case, you've lost about 2 hours 15 minutes of “personal time”, coming out to 5 hours, 45 minutes of actual personal time. The actual amount of time you've spent dedicated to work is 10 hours, 15 minutes; approx. 42.71% of your 24 hour day.

Worst Case Scenario:

Getting ready is 1 hour due to preparations and other BS that might happen (you actually plan for this, and allot time to be early or be on time in case of issues). You have a 1 hour commute to wherever your workplace is. Lunch is the same. You have a 1 hour drive home. Preparations (probably just choosing clothes and some small stuff); 15 minutes again. You suck at falling back asleep or suffer from some form of insomnia, so lets make that another hour.

By the end of the worst case, 4 hours, 15 minutes of personal time is used, leaving you with 3 hours, 45 minutes of your “8 hours” left. The actual amount of time you've spent dedicated to work is 12 hours, 15 minutes; approx. 51.04% of your 24 hour day.

Disclaimer:

I understand that things are bound to be different depending on job types and circumstances; there are some people that can get everything ready in 15 minutes, there are people that live so close to their jobs that they can walk and be there in 10 minutes, etc. These are general estimates, so experiences will vary.

Conclusion/TL;DR:

Under the 8-8-8 model, each segment should come out to 33.33% of the 24 hour day (1/3). The results of including all work/prep for a job come out to time allotted for work being 9.38% over that at least (2hrs, 15 min), and 17.71% at most (4 hrs, 15 min)The basic conclusion that I (and maybe you) have come to is that the “8-8-8” model (and perception of it) is flawed, and any work-life balance is advertises is overstated.

I don't know why, but I just needed to get this off my chest finally. Given r/antiwork's usual contents, I thought that either A. you'd like to see this, or B. This was already known for a long time now. In my own opinion, the work day should probably be closer to 6 hours, with wage adjusted accordingly to continue the same/better pay as before (definitely better, we all need it).

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