In Moranifesto, Caitlin Moran calls for everyone to contribute their own manifesto for the world—a vision for how we can make society better, whether by reforming the economic system or just having more tea shops than coffee houses. I’ll start today with a big one.
I call for a default 24-hour work week, which pays a living wage and carries all the benefits of full-time employment (though while we’re at it, we should probably also decouple health insurance from employment status).
This would spread nicely over three eight-hour days or—my preference—four six-hour ones, leaving us all time to eat well, exercise, run errands, read books, garden, travel, make gigantic rubber band balls, or whatever else we will. Perhaps most importantly, it would allow time for caretaking work—whether of children, elderly parents, or other loved ones—which falls disproportionally to women and is a major factor in the gender pay gap.
Studies suggest that this wouldn’t affect productivity too much. A trial with home health care workers in Sweden showed that a six-hour work day improved workers’ quality of life, reduced the amount of sick leave they took, and decreased staff turnover—all without affecting productivity. Many UK bosses predict that moving to a six-hour day would benefit employers and employees alike.
I know that when I’m editing books, which requires long-term concentration and very fixed attention, I find that I can reliably work well for up to about six hours per day. I usually spend another hour or two doing less mentally demanding work (like sending invoices, answering emails, or setting my schedule), but after that I’m maxed out and get very little benefit from continuing to sit at my desk.
In 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted a 15-hour work week would be standard for his grandchildren. In fact, his descendants recently reported working 50 to 100 hours weekly.
The eight-hour day and 40-hour week aren’t longstanding institutions. In fact, they were instituted only in 1938, after decades of hard struggle by labor organizers. If we’re going to replace them with schedules that prioritize gender equity, health, and happiness, we’d better get started now.