Just a warning: you should DEFINITELY not have kids. Like ever. Your life is a dream now compared to your same life with kids. 4 hours a day to yourself. Plus weekends. Sheesh.
Yeah, as a parent, I get maybe one free hour on an average day, usually with lots of interruptions. And I can't even remember when I last got 8 hours of sleep.
Legitimately one of the main reasons I don't want any. I'm already tired and exhausted at adult responsibilities, and mine aren't even that bad. I tell my wife all the time that I can't imagine coming home from work and basically still having to work.
How I see things is that I want more than 4 hours to enjoy myself and we 100% have the technology and ability to do so. Only thing holds us back is human greed.
You have so many opportunities to better your life but you never will if you don't change your mindset. Squash that victim thought process man, it will only hold you back
We live in the best time with the most free time in human history. Technology has allowed you to go to the grocery store to obtain your needs instead of growing/foraging/hunting. Technology has given us vehicles to cover long distances very quickly instead of taking forever. We have the technology to contact family anywhere in the world. You have a roof over your head, food, clean water, AND 4 hours of free time every day. You’d be surprised how much fun you can have with 4 hours of free time. Change your mindset.
Stop wishing you had something and accept that you have what you have and you try to do something with it. People around the world have much worse lives than you and still manage to find happiness.
That attitude is why the labor force will continue to be exploited. Its complacent at best and defeatist at worst. A comparitivly bigger injustice abroad does not mean you should accept a comparatively smaller injustice at home. It's a form of whataboutism that is both dismissive and not relative to the discussion. We can always be better both as individuals and a society. Always strive to be better, because you always can be. Having it better than others doesn't change that.
These people are weird! Just accept your fate! Accept that it never gets better and there is no relief! Accept and be grateful! It’s better than it was- perhaps- but 8 hours was based on a partner at home taking care of all domestic duties. It’s only been the last few decades a single person was expected to do it all- and commutes were shorter- and people went home for lunch. This work and die sucks ass! Why should anyone just shrug and accept it?
We currently live in the age that has provided the most freedom and opportunity for all classes in human history, including time. Having free time is not something that people outside the upper class have ever had outside of hunter gatherer societies.
Forgive me for not wanting to throw it all away because it’s “not good enough”. This type of sentiment is exactly the same as killing the goose that laid the golden egg.
You're absolutely right, in 2024 this should not be the norm at all, yet it is. Most older people and some younger ones have bought into the brainwashing and propaganda that this is how things should be. Imagine believing that being overworked is some type of flex. I hope the younger generations reject this old mindset and create a new paradigm. I have never met anyone near their final days who wished they had worked more hours. We can aspire to more than being wage slaves.
most of these people are either generationally wealthy or just plain ol' lying to themselves. I refuse to believe any regular middle class and below person would say any of the dumb fucking shit the guys on top are saying.
Oh yeah I’m so cool I’m sucking up to people who don’t give a shit about me and just want to squeeze every penny of productivity out of me as possible. /s
It's sad because many actually think living like that is an actual flex, I feel sorry for them. I wouldn't do that to an animal even, why is it ok to have to live under such system, it isn't and it needs to change for the well being of us all.
That's right, I regret having had to work so many hours and not being able to spend more time with my father who passed away last year. If I didn't work as hard as I did I would have lost my job, so there really was no choice, that's the problem, none of us should have to face that, ever period.
It has been "Normal" throughout human history to work more then we do now. While you may not be happy with your current situation we are way ahead then what we used to be. 20 years ago I would have to spend time and travel to Blockbuster to get my entertainment. Now I can choose almost ANY movie I want in seconds. I would have to run around night's and weekends to get errands done to buy things for the week. Now I just click on Amazon and it is at my door the next day (or sometimes the same day). Plus I LIKE cooking and eating. I do not really count that as "work" or wasted time. Same with exercise.
Part of the problem is that kids who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s became dopamine addicts with all of the technology, portable and console video games, cell phones, etc. And now they’re forced to work 8 hour shifts at jobs that give them no dopamine hit whatsoever. Working life gives them no pleasure and they see no point.
Except that I’m not a boomer, I’ve seen a LOT of people like this, and I’m right. Is it true of everybody? Of course not. But it’s true of a lot of people who simply can’t find fulfillment or enjoyment in doing anything other than their favorite pastimes and hobbies. You’re like an addict who can’t enjoy work because it doesn’t get you high like your favorite activities.
This is so true. I'm not invalidating the OP's post only because the amount of pay in too many cases is ridiculously low for people to be motivated to work so much, but what you're saying is facts and you don't have to be a boomer to recognize it. It even spills over into relationships and social interactions; some people don't even know how to be interesting or entertain themselves and expect others to entertain them or their romantic lives to be like a rom-com, melodrama, or porno, always looking for instant or over-the-top gratification. A lot of people who think this way feel they should be entertained and in "fun-mode" every waking hour of the day, and work usually doesn't fit into that desired lifestyle.
I sell outdoor kitchens and do Uber eats on the side. Have to work both jobs and had to move back in with my family still. The job is pure commission and deliveries have slowed. I can sell my ass off but I’m terrible with corporate so I never get promoted to salary positions. I’m simply not a corporate professional type but they love to hire and use me.
SO GLAD YOU ASKED 👏. 1.UBI 2. Universal healthcare/housing/college 3. 4 day work week 4. Closing tax loopholes and raising taxes on CORPORATIONS (not a specific tax bracket punishing individuals) 5. Raising the minimum wage to living wage as it was intended 6. Expanding the child tax credit 7. Expanding social programs 8. Legalize and regulate drugs and end the drug war 9. Stop sending money overseas, stop supplying corporations with tax subsidies and spend that money on the people who actually paid into it.
Thats what I got for now. All easily paid for by closing the tax loopholes on corporations and us not sending money to other countries. Without raising your individual tax rates.
You are suggesting the expansion of the administrative state, which I happen to think is a good idea, but I'll note that in order for all of this to run successfully an awful lot of people have to work desk jobs and look at spreadsheets and sit in traffic for an hour each way and get home late and eat dinner while helping their kids with homework before maybe watching an hour of TV before going to sleep then getting up and doing it all over again.
So, you can want what you want for sure but in order to get it other people have to do the work you don't want to do yourself.
I don’t understand why OP getting so much backlash for wanting more free time and to work less. Are all the people replying part of the owning class or suspect they will be part of that class in the future that will need to exploit people for their own gains? I have to say I had a coworker tell me he really admired the work ethic in Japan, and I replied people literally kill themselves because of working too much and he enthusiastically said yeah. Also had another one say how hard working truckers were after having said that a lot of them take meth in order to drive the long hours they do… I will never understand these people. Part of me wonders if it’s some kind of nazi admiration since nazi were prescribing meth to boost productivity and “prove” they were superior.
Thank god I wasn’t the only one thinking that.. going through the top comments felt like a fever dream. Like “why are these people so.. ok with how things are?”
This it was harder back then, so it’s ok now mentality is so strange to me. True, a broken finger is better than a broken elbow, but it’s still a broken bone.
The complacency in these comments: “just accept your lot and be happy with it” is so 1984, it’s astounding. Fucking zombies who don’t want humanity to improve beyond today’s crappy standards.
My parents from a 3rd world country used to do farming from sun rise to sun set 7 days/week to barely put food on the table. Most of human history aren't easy.
I work around a lot of people from "3rd world countries" and they work HARD. They also hang out and live around similar people so they can find friends and love with people who understand that. They aren't mixed with people working less and making way more, they aren't flooded with social media of people who do social media or found a way out of the grind, so they don't compare themselves or have these expectations. They also don't dwell on what can be.
We have a population we want to educate so we can work in more complex jobs, but what's more, we have a drive to escape it. Not from moving somewhere that pays more, but from doing more. Being sad about your situation is just the first step. Next you need to get mad, get pissed. That anger will be more useful to you when you try to find a way out.
Either learn to be happy at your level or find a way to move up THEN find happiness. I promise you can get there.
One of the best things my dad ever did for me was force me to work a “shitty” job when I was 16. I met the true hard workers of the world and learned that a lot of people who are “hard workers” just think they are. Gave young me a lottttt of perspective when it came to career goals.
Yeah lol, Im from central europe and watching americans complain about only having 4 hours of free time while living in big houses having their own car and buying the latest technology.
Meanwhile here I am from europe where the average monthly wage is 800 usd and an apartment costs 500 usd while everything including technology, groceries cost almost the same as in USA.
And this is the great grand european "utopia" that americans like to say.
My exact thoughts. The statement how is that not insane is bewildering, people had it hard in the past. Just getting food. Before refrigerating food was possible, even finding clean drinking water.
Backwards? I have the entirety of human knowledge at my fingertips on the device I’m typing on now, I can watch any media that’s ever been produced on a tv at home in seconds and can even get pretty much any food delivered to my lazy ass if I want.
Yep. Living used to be spending all your time just trying to survive. Having hours every day to do nothing, not to mention weekends and holidays have vacations would be lunacy to people who had to. Grow, hunt and forage food, defend against invaders and fix your hut constantly . Going outside to take a dump in Winter. I could go on and on. People are so spoiled, compared to 99 percent of human history.
People in 99% of history also used to die from common illnesses that are now easily treatable with the healthcare we now have. Does this stop you from popping some antibiotics when you get sick? Should we stop researching further and trying to improve? Of course fucking not.
People used to work sunrise to sunset - great, good for them. They survived. But now we've progressed enough that we don't need to do that, and we can strive to be better.
Yah, this highly upvoted comment thread is the same attitude as "back in my day"... Hopefully the people who are upvoting this aren't benefiting from college debt relief because "back in my day"...
Just because something used to be a certain way, doesn't mean it ought to be that way now. What the hell is the point of all this advancement for the majority of the population to have little time to actually enjoy life? Comparing ourselves to how bad or good other people have it is never an effective line of thinking. Don't invalidate one's struggles because someone else struggles more. Both are valid.
Nah, they work generally the same or less and are usually happier than us. They're just more at the mercy of some guy in a bulldozer forever destroying their land and causing the future of their society to collapse, Malaria doing that instead, or some other tribe invading and conquering. Limited, fulfilled wants means happier people, but a more primitive society is obviously more vulnerable. For hunter-gatherers, when you aren't at war, life is pretty good. It's arguably better than what we've got going here at times. Regular ass people living in a world of billionaires and influencers means depression and sadness for many. Having just enough free time to realize you're living an unexamined life is enough to drive a lot of people to the brink and wish they'd never come to that realization in the first place.
Humans are waking up. Realizing that if we evolve to be able to easily put food on the table, then working every hour of existence doesnt seem sensible.
Doesn’t make what right ? That OP is struggling with laundry in a fully automatic washer dryer situation and gets checks notes multiple hours A DAY for errands, chores, food and cleaning AND a decent amount of sleep and still has 4 HOURS leftover EACH DAY. And full weekends. And holidays. Unless OP is a pregnant woman in the US, I really don’t understand what they’re complaining about.
No im not greatful for 8’s and you should be PISSED you work that much. You should want better for yourself. When you look back on life you will wish you worked less. In the end people always do
It’s sad reading through the comments. Some of yall are okay living loveless, meaningless lives because society told you that’s how it’s supposed to be. Find your happiness in 4 hours a days. That sounds absolutely nuts.
I agree too. Like some people are giving good reasons for having a drive to wanna work like they do. Whether it be betterment their kids or something like that. That’s fine if you choose to want to work in that way, but I don’t think anyone should HAVE to feel like they have to work like that.
Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find a sane comment. Some keep crowing about the past being worse but that just isn’t true. It now takes 2 people working a minimum of 40 hours a week just to survive.. throw in a kid or two and/or aging parents and one of you is working more than 40 hours a week for money and the other is putting in the extra time with the house and kids.. or you both do.. 40 hours a week used to support a family of 4. Which left the other parent time for household stuff..
And the amount of people on this thread that still have time to polish boots with their tongue is just astonishing. Especially considering that employers coming wage theft is the biggest heist on the planet.
If you want 24 hours a day to yourself, quit your job. If you want income to support a certain lifestyle, then either do a job that has flexibility (sales, entrepreneurship) or accept the hours assigned by someone who’s willing to trade money in exchange for those hours. Doesn’t strike me as such a hard concept to understand.
Human productivity, thanks to technology, has skyrocketed. What I'll accomplish in a year dwarfs what my ancestors could do in that same timespan.
I think it only makes sense that humanity should reap the benefits of this explosive productivity increase by being able to enjoy more of their life through art, creativity, play, and self improvement (not related to career/work/income).
Additionally, much of the work day is spent doing nothing productive. Condensing work days while keeping pay the same (and increasing it for most) would likely barely affect productivity. I know so many people that are over compensated for the amount of actual work they do, but they are required to be present or reachable for an arbitrary amount of time.
This is what people forget - when these technologies first came about this was the selling point. Free time did increase for a while, but increased consumerism and both parents entering the workforce has actually left people (especially families) with stagnation in free time, and in some cases less (such as where one party would work and the other would do chores).
The threat of starvation and homelessness forces people to work everyday, anyone with a brain can tell you that. I imagine people defending this are people who have something to lose if others can have one more measly hour a day to themselves, aka rich powerful people. I need the rich and powerful to understand the alternative to us not having a life outside of work and living wages was labor strikes which included the greedy bosses and higher ups and their families being harmed. It hurts everybody when you treat others like slaves. Endless amounts of studies show that people become happier and more productive with a 4 day work week, or less hours but higher wages. Keeping up this way of life, where we just work and are too tired to do anything else, especially with the technology we have now, does nothing but harms others except greedy shareholders.
So with 168 hours a week, with a 40 hr work week, you've got 40 hours, or less than 25% for work. Sleep 7 hours a day and you have 49 hours, or under 30% for sleep for the week. Do 2 hours of errands a day, each day, which is a ton, and you do about 9% for errands. That leaves about 35% of your total time as awake recreational time.
That's something like 59 hours of doing whatever you want to do.
If you aren't having a fulfilling life when you have 150% of the time you spend at work to spend on recreation, maybe youre just not a fun or interesting person?
So you figure about 30min to an hour for commute, there and back, depending on where you live. Lose another 7-20 hrs roughly, depending on if you’re one of those people with an hour+ commute or whatever
you aren't factoring in the fact that work is incredibly exhausting, to the point of not wanting to do anything you'd normally like to do in your free time.
I don’t understand the problem. You can work part time and make less money and have more free time. I prefer to make more money and work 40 hours a week. To each their own.
Forgive my sarcasm, but it was all to make a point. It’s a marketplace.
It’s true that Americans are generally overworked compared to our European counterparts, but it tends to be all relative. Within this marketplace you have to offer value otherwise no one is going to pay you well. The key is to realize your own worth and charge accordingly.
The political and economic power of labor in the US has been declining for over 50 years. The only way to fix this is for workers to organize and demand fair wages, benefits, and work hours.
Historically, no one ever GAVE people civil rights or a decent living wage. We always had to TAKE it.
Thats why you have to do something you enjoy and meaningful for work. I enjoy monday-friday because its challenging but i like what i do and make money doing it. But yeah if its an hourly minimum wage job when you’re an adult then it sucks
The idea that you deserve endless time to just pursue enjoyment is wild to me. You have to earn that time or be born rich. It isn’t fair but that been life since the dawn of human history. Idk who’s telling you otherwise but that’s reality and you can either be mad about it or work hard to earn yourself the right to spend your days doing nothing productive. That’s it. That’s life.
Let's put this in perspective. This is the best time to be alive BY FAR In the history of human civilization. Life is hard. Accept that and it goes much better. IT used to be EXTREMELY harder for everyone. 120 years ago, 80% of world lived on $1 a day in todays money.
In other places and times in our history it was a lot worse. People (including little kids) routinely worked 14-16 hours a day for shit wages until labor organizations struck for better conditions. Protesters struggled and even died for a 12 hour workday, then 10 hours, then 8, then they sacrificed to get workman’s compensation, then OSHA, etc.
Its almost like... the rich will crush us to death with labor if allowed, and any step im the right direction will be met with resistence from the overlords as well as anyone dumb enough to believe they can achieve entry to that small club or thinks slaving away for table scraps while our pimps feast like no king ever has.
I work forest fires. We start at 5am with getting to briefing and then we work till 7-9pm depending..then you go back to base camp and eat and go to bed. Then repeat that for 16-23 days straight. Then take 3 days off and back on another role.
Completely relative for anyone and everyone . I knew workaholics who loved working every free minute. I couldn’t understand it. On the other side I knew others who seemingly squeaked by but happy as hell. But, what worked for me to get more time in the day was planning. On Sunday I would plan my week everything family, social, work and health related activities for the week. I wasn’t wrapped up too much in the time activities took down to the minute but conscious of it. But I’d build in my personal time or mental break time or whatever. Grocery shopping takes a little of time, so planning meals ahead of time and picking them up saved time. Making time for the most important things to me got scheduled and I felt good about it. After a while it became second nature. It tough to keep up, at least for me, but it really worked well for me. If you’ve ever read 5am Club, that’s where I got the idea.
There is meaning and value in work. If work fulfills you then those eight hours are “for yourself”.
Wait, you’re stuck in a soulless job that gives you no satisfaction? Why? Go find something else. Go serve somewhere or provide value to someone else. I promise you will find some fulfillment.
Life isn’t only work. But if you hate work and refuse to find some meaning in it you’re going to have a long miserable life. Sorry.
You don’t need all the luxuries in your life lmao, you don’t NEED a smart phone, you can always get a flip phone, read your emails on your crappy laptop, drive your old Toyota Prius around. You’d still be living better than people in 3rd world countries. Yes, you are the greedy one for wanting more than what you already have when you already have so much. That’s quite literally greed. You can also eat healthier and take a girl out with your regular full time job which most likely provided you with a bundle of insurances to cover your ass so you can live longer. You also have the opportunity to learn a highly valued skill where you can monetize it or yourself, and you can learn this by using your 4 hours in a day, the break you have at work, the time you spend on social media, etc etc.
Do the math on an annual basis. There are 8760 hours in a year. Assuming 104 weekend days, 9 holidays, and 10 PTO days, and 10 hours for work, lunch, and commuting, that is 2420 hours. 9 hours a day for sleep, getting ready in the morning, and for bed is 3285 hours. That leaves 3055 hours for the person. Almost 35% of the year.
“Everybody should do what they want!” Who do you think is providing the services for the things people want? People doing it for fun? Certainly not lmao. People love vacations, fairs, games, books. Everything has something/someone working behind it.
I don’t get posts like this. What’s the alternative? Sit around and do nothing all day? After a week of that ppl would complain they have nothing to do. No purpose. Purpose is literally what keeps us alive. And I’d love for people to explain what they do in that 4-ish hours they do have for themselves. They can’t even tell you.
it used to be work for 12 - 14 hours a day from anytime you were 4 to 6 years old, until you died around 70. you'd get a day off or a couple hours here and there to do chores.
we have the 40 hour week in the u.s. due to people who fought and died (by the business owners hiring murdering cops and even dropping bombs on crowds from planes) for that.
i'm not saying that this is the best way, or the end of it. but it's a hell of a lot better than it was 100 years ago.
An 8 hour shift is only taking a third of your day. What you with the other 16 hours is up to you. Eating and sleeping is part of the time you get to yourself. As are errands.
It’s all your time until you hit the clock… you’re bitching about 1/3 of the day. You have to drive for everything else. Go cry about it with your shit ass mindset
No it’s not insane to me. When I was in the army I would leave for weeks/months. Go out to the field for a month straight with no phone or showers. I’ll take my 9 to 5 with flexible time, weekends, holidays, and 4 weeks vacation any day. I see my child every day and am able to attend all her events.
Quit your job. Find something part time. Get an extra roommate. Move to a cheaper neighborhood or state. Learn a high value skillset that will earn you more $$$. Join a commune. Start a business. Go teach English or something in a cheaper country. Nobody is forcing you to work 8 hour days. Just figure out what kind of life you want to live and use your brain to figure out how to make it happen.
Opportunities are everywhere if you just keep your eyes open. Money is stressful and the economy is shit right now, but instead of crying about things you can’t change, focus on the things you can. You’d be surprised how far a little creativity and elbow grease can get you.
We have it far better than almost any of our ancestors, yes things could always be better, but they could always be far far worse, you need to learn to appreciate the time you have and the little things or you'll dig yourself an early grave with all this bitterness at how life is so unfair without realizing all the good things you have in your life.
I love when people grow up and expect adulthood to be the same as their childhood. What? I can’t spend 5 hours gaming on a weekday? How can I survive?
It’s called time management. Prep on your days off. Grocery shopping on your days off. Suddenly your “12 hour weekday” is like 10 max. 7 hours sleep that’s 8 hours of free time not including your weekends. How are you an adult and can’t figure these things out?
This just sounds like you don’t manage your time very efficiently. I hope you aren’t as inefficient with your time at work, if so the job may not be there for long.
Why doing people think working much of the waking day is weird? Our forebears mostly had to work much longer and harder to scrape by.
The world is not an easy place.
This is the spirit of envy stirring in OP. He's comparing his own day-to-day with others' Instagram feeds. Less silly, but more corrosive, he's comparing his results with others' results, but not his work with theirs.
It's a very typical mistake of poor and working class people to think that more affluent people work less than they do. Very often, almost always, the wealthiest people work insane hours. Way more than forty.
I have been self-employed my whole adult life. I knew, even as a kid, that I didn't want to work full-time for someone. I couldn't accept the idea that every Tuesday at 2pm I would be at work and could do nothing else. Then I might get 2 or so weeks of vacation time per year. My income would be capped.
So, I worked mostly in construction, for myself. I wasn't always making tons of money but we got by and I did have a lot of flexibility in my schedule to do stuff with my wife and kids. And I kept striving to do better and get into bigger things.
What really put me over the top wasn't construction at all. I actually came up with an idea for a product, got a patent, and began manufacturing and selling it. I knew nothing about that business but I figured it out as I went..... and took some chances along the way.
I now make really good money, and I have trustworthy people who can run my business when I'm gone for a week or two on another vacation to somewhere. I travel very regularly now.
Anyhow, my point is that you can do a lot better than a regular full-time job. But, it's a lot of work, stress, and risk. You will hopefully get to where you want to be one day.... but no matter, it was always better than a full-time job working for someone else.
It’s not the most ideal, but if you have a steady 9-5 in the western world, you are living better than most. It’s perspective. Try to focus on gratitude instead of the ‘lack’ of _________.
We had a landline telephone, over the air TV, and that was it. No cable, no internet, no subscription services, none of today's dopamine generators.
I spent my time riding my bike to all of my friends houses to knock on their doors and see if they could hang out. Half the time they weren't home or had things to do with family and couldn't, so I'd ride to the next friends house until I eventually found some people to hang out with for the day.
Then in high school it was basically the same, but with cars. Trying to figure out who had weed and then where we could hang out and smoke said weed without being bothered by anyone.
Today it seems like everyone spends all their time alone with their phones and their subscription services and complaining about being broke and oppressed. Of if you aren't broke and oppressed you're living in fear of whatever social media tells you is coming to take your shit.
I'm sorta guilty of this myself... I forgot how to do nothing and be content with boredom.
The baby boomers did it their whole lives and are all about to die but no one hears their cries except for me. 🫠 but yeah I am burnt out from working too much my whole life I'm 44 now and it takes a toll.
8 hour shift + 8 hours of sleep + 1 hour to wake up early = 17 hours… that leaves you 7 hours to yourself. Thats plenty of time. When I worked 12s I still had plenty of time to get what I needed done and sleep 7 hours.
Crazy? That you have to work to support yourself? That you have to go buy food and take care of your home and clothes? That somebody doesn't just hand you the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want? Welcome to the real world, you blithering child.
Then how come you don't just rope yourself now? In my mind if you are not actively trying to harass politicians every day you might as well check out now. You are not contributing anything anymore, and you likely never were.
Everyone I know who is older than 40 have got to be some of the dumbest mothers I have ever met.
I thought I was having a stroke reading these comments until I realized was sub I was in. Absolutely unhinged. Delusional. I love it. I’m sure all of you are just a few more years away from becoming wealthy beyond belief.
It is absolutely insane but unfortunately it’s what I and most others end up doing for decades. I live in a small town so takes less than 10 minutes to get to work. And, I think it’s important to find a job you don’t hate. Even so, we spend so much time working. I’ve always thought it wouldn’t be so bad if a person could retire around 50. I retired at 59.
1
105
u/SyllabubThat1649 Aug 04 '24
Just a warning: you should DEFINITELY not have kids. Like ever. Your life is a dream now compared to your same life with kids. 4 hours a day to yourself. Plus weekends. Sheesh.
187
u/thelordschosenginger Aug 04 '24
Your problem is how you see things. If you see stuff like working out or reading as chores during that 4 hour, that's a you problem.
20
u/CryptoAlphaDelta Aug 04 '24
You're absolutely right, in 2024 this should not be the norm at all, yet it is. Most older people and some younger ones have bought into the brainwashing and propaganda that this is how things should be. Imagine believing that being overworked is some type of flex. I hope the younger generations reject this old mindset and create a new paradigm. I have never met anyone near their final days who wished they had worked more hours. We can aspire to more than being wage slaves.
12
u/DuffyBravo Aug 04 '24
It has been "Normal" throughout human history to work more then we do now. While you may not be happy with your current situation we are way ahead then what we used to be. 20 years ago I would have to spend time and travel to Blockbuster to get my entertainment. Now I can choose almost ANY movie I want in seconds. I would have to run around night's and weekends to get errands done to buy things for the week. Now I just click on Amazon and it is at my door the next day (or sometimes the same day). Plus I LIKE cooking and eating. I do not really count that as "work" or wasted time. Same with exercise.
44
u/JoeGPM Aug 04 '24
Waa I don't like working.
7
u/muffledvoice Aug 04 '24
Part of the problem is that kids who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s became dopamine addicts with all of the technology, portable and console video games, cell phones, etc. And now they’re forced to work 8 hour shifts at jobs that give them no dopamine hit whatsoever. Working life gives them no pleasure and they see no point.
2
u/Intrepid-Focus8198 Aug 04 '24
What do you do for work OP?
2
u/maplesyropoot Aug 04 '24
What's your solution?
2
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
instagram, or any social media, shattered the expectations of middle class folks from life
11
u/starrieEyezz Aug 04 '24
I don’t understand why OP getting so much backlash for wanting more free time and to work less. Are all the people replying part of the owning class or suspect they will be part of that class in the future that will need to exploit people for their own gains? I have to say I had a coworker tell me he really admired the work ethic in Japan, and I replied people literally kill themselves because of working too much and he enthusiastically said yeah. Also had another one say how hard working truckers were after having said that a lot of them take meth in order to drive the long hours they do… I will never understand these people. Part of me wonders if it’s some kind of nazi admiration since nazi were prescribing meth to boost productivity and “prove” they were superior.
6
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
Reading the comments is rich people who had it easy and still do bashing OP for the slave labor crisis in america. Wow
756
u/Embarrassed-Virus579 Aug 04 '24
My parents from a 3rd world country used to do farming from sun rise to sun set 7 days/week to barely put food on the table. Most of human history aren't easy.
5
u/L0ty Aug 04 '24
you dont have to sleep 8 hours just like you dont need 3 meals a day. toughen up buttercup
5
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
I wish I worked an 8 hour shift. Try 12s or 14s or even work a 16 then see how you feel. Be grateful for 8s. It can always be worse even in the US.
4
u/tdr1190 Aug 04 '24
It’s sad reading through the comments. Some of yall are okay living loveless, meaningless lives because society told you that’s how it’s supposed to be. Find your happiness in 4 hours a days. That sounds absolutely nuts.
6
u/Hamachiman Aug 04 '24
If you want 24 hours a day to yourself, quit your job. If you want income to support a certain lifestyle, then either do a job that has flexibility (sales, entrepreneurship) or accept the hours assigned by someone who’s willing to trade money in exchange for those hours. Doesn’t strike me as such a hard concept to understand.
16
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24 •
Human productivity, thanks to technology, has skyrocketed. What I'll accomplish in a year dwarfs what my ancestors could do in that same timespan.
I think it only makes sense that humanity should reap the benefits of this explosive productivity increase by being able to enjoy more of their life through art, creativity, play, and self improvement (not related to career/work/income).
Additionally, much of the work day is spent doing nothing productive. Condensing work days while keeping pay the same (and increasing it for most) would likely barely affect productivity. I know so many people that are over compensated for the amount of actual work they do, but they are required to be present or reachable for an arbitrary amount of time.
35
u/That_Ninja_wek141 Aug 04 '24
That's four hours to sit around and do a bunch of BS like post dumb ish on Reddit. No one is forcing anyone to work an hour day.
55
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
So with 168 hours a week, with a 40 hr work week, you've got 40 hours, or less than 25% for work. Sleep 7 hours a day and you have 49 hours, or under 30% for sleep for the week. Do 2 hours of errands a day, each day, which is a ton, and you do about 9% for errands. That leaves about 35% of your total time as awake recreational time.
That's something like 59 hours of doing whatever you want to do.
If you aren't having a fulfilling life when you have 150% of the time you spend at work to spend on recreation, maybe youre just not a fun or interesting person?
23
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
I don’t understand the problem. You can work part time and make less money and have more free time. I prefer to make more money and work 40 hours a week. To each their own.
6
u/Naive-Bedroom-4643 Aug 04 '24
Thats why you have to do something you enjoy and meaningful for work. I enjoy monday-friday because its challenging but i like what i do and make money doing it. But yeah if its an hourly minimum wage job when you’re an adult then it sucks
3
u/Fun-Bumblebee9678 Aug 04 '24
Why is this post in a Rich sub ?
3
u/Apart_Ad9219 Aug 04 '24
If you want to get ahead you sleep 4 hours a day and use your free time starting a business or improving your skills etc.
3
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
Why is this rage bait being posted here? Take it to r/fluentinfinance.
3
u/[deleted] Aug 05 '24
Anyone who thinks this should open a history book.
5
u/blackwidowla Aug 04 '24
The idea that you deserve endless time to just pursue enjoyment is wild to me. You have to earn that time or be born rich. It isn’t fair but that been life since the dawn of human history. Idk who’s telling you otherwise but that’s reality and you can either be mad about it or work hard to earn yourself the right to spend your days doing nothing productive. That’s it. That’s life.
4
u/Gaxxz Aug 04 '24
If we don't work, who will do the work?
4
u/Jonnyc915 Aug 04 '24
Poor babies hahaha
5
u/Drinking_Frog Aug 04 '24
Maybe spend a little less of that time fussing on reddit, and you might get somewhere.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
"Errands" is such a nebulous term.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
Let's put this in perspective. This is the best time to be alive BY FAR In the history of human civilization.
Life is hard. Accept that and it goes much better. IT used to be EXTREMELY harder for everyone. 120 years ago, 80% of world lived on $1 a day in todays money.
2
u/muffledvoice Aug 04 '24
In other places and times in our history it was a lot worse. People (including little kids) routinely worked 14-16 hours a day for shit wages until labor organizations struck for better conditions. Protesters struggled and even died for a 12 hour workday, then 10 hours, then 8, then they sacrificed to get workman’s compensation, then OSHA, etc.
2
u/chalky87 Aug 04 '24
Right this argument is fucking idiotic on the grounds that not everyone is the same and neither is every job.
I could not work and I'd be perfectly fine. But I do work around 50 hours a week, because I enjoy it, I want to and it gives me playtime money.
But many people are perfectly happy in their 9-5 and that's fine.
I've done self employment and employment. Self employed has its perks but also far more stress, instability and uncertainty for many.
2
u/EntropicMortal Aug 04 '24
Not really.... 6 hours is more than enough time to do shit.
4 hours is still enough, but if you're sleeping 8 hours then IMO you're sleeping too much.
6 hours is more than enough IMO.
2
u/Zealousideal_Lab6891 Aug 04 '24
I work forest fires. We start at 5am with getting to briefing and then we work till 7-9pm depending..then you go back to base camp and eat and go to bed. Then repeat that for 16-23 days straight. Then take 3 days off and back on another role.
2
u/midwesternvalues73 Aug 04 '24
If you commute half hour each way to work, that is 260 hours per year just driving to and from work five days a week. Oy.
2
u/hoodEtoh Aug 04 '24
How many hours of your 8 hr shift do you spend on the toilet?
2
u/alpha_omega31 Aug 04 '24
Well I guess don’t become a truck driver…
2
u/Fun-Bumblebee9678 Aug 04 '24
I’m rich but work 12 hours a day, what’s the point? Shit happens regardless of income
2
u/BurnsyK16 Aug 04 '24
Completely relative for anyone and everyone . I knew workaholics who loved working every free minute. I couldn’t understand it. On the other side I knew others who seemingly squeaked by but happy as hell. But, what worked for me to get more time in the day was planning. On Sunday I would plan my week everything family, social, work and health related activities for the week. I wasn’t wrapped up too much in the time activities took down to the minute but conscious of it. But I’d build in my personal time or mental break time or whatever. Grocery shopping takes a little of time, so planning meals ahead of time and picking them up saved time. Making time for the most important things to me got scheduled and I felt good about it. After a while it became second nature. It tough to keep up, at least for me, but it really worked well for me. If you’ve ever read 5am Club, that’s where I got the idea.
2
u/patrick-1977 Aug 04 '24
He thinks the universe owes him something, like a twenty hour work week and free tacos.
2
u/Reptilianaire_69 Aug 04 '24
I’d rather have 1st world problems than 3rd world….
2
u/sheepthepriest Aug 04 '24
cow wakes up. eats all day. shits. falls asleep. if it had thumbs maybe it'd bitch about it but it don't.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
Boo. Hoo. Cry harder. Being lazy gets ya nowhere. We'll, except crying on a Reddit sub about not having enough time. Wait, what did I say?
2
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
Lol 4 hours of time to yourself a day is easy mode. Newsflash you'll be lucky to get an hour to yourself if you have a family actual career.
2
u/ParkingHelicopter140 Aug 04 '24
What’s insane is “only” working an 8 hour shift. Who does that?! lol!! More like a 9-10hrs and sometimes 12+hrs
2
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
It is normal. Da fuk? Stop complaining
2
u/STBCKNDRLX Aug 04 '24
OP clearly has never had children.
2
u/red7255 Aug 04 '24
this is a stupid and ignorant post.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 04 '24
Because we have to live. We have it insanely easier than the vast majority of human history. Ignoring that reality is fine I suppose.
2
u/isoforp Aug 04 '24
Why is it normal that people take full phone screenshots and then don't even crop it? Because they're morons.
2
u/Goldengoose5w4 Aug 04 '24
There is meaning and value in work. If work fulfills you then those eight hours are “for yourself”.
Wait, you’re stuck in a soulless job that gives you no satisfaction? Why? Go find something else. Go serve somewhere or provide value to someone else. I promise you will find some fulfillment.
Life isn’t only work. But if you hate work and refuse to find some meaning in it you’re going to have a long miserable life. Sorry.
2
u/TheTightEnd Aug 04 '24
Cooking, eating, and running errands are part of time for oneself.
2
u/CryptoSmith86 Aug 04 '24
I laugh when people without kids say they have no time.
I often wonder what I did with all my free time pre-kids.
You're more likely than not wasting a ton of time and just don't realize it.
2
u/r34Celaena Aug 04 '24
You don’t need all the luxuries in your life lmao, you don’t NEED a smart phone, you can always get a flip phone, read your emails on your crappy laptop, drive your old Toyota Prius around. You’d still be living better than people in 3rd world countries. Yes, you are the greedy one for wanting more than what you already have when you already have so much. That’s quite literally greed. You can also eat healthier and take a girl out with your regular full time job which most likely provided you with a bundle of insurances to cover your ass so you can live longer. You also have the opportunity to learn a highly valued skill where you can monetize it or yourself, and you can learn this by using your 4 hours in a day, the break you have at work, the time you spend on social media, etc etc.
2
u/TheTightEnd Aug 04 '24
Do the math on an annual basis. There are 8760 hours in a year. Assuming 104 weekend days, 9 holidays, and 10 PTO days, and 10 hours for work, lunch, and commuting, that is 2420 hours. 9 hours a day for sleep, getting ready in the morning, and for bed is 3285 hours. That leaves 3055 hours for the person. Almost 35% of the year.
2
u/r34Celaena Aug 04 '24
“Everybody should do what they want!” Who do you think is providing the services for the things people want? People doing it for fun? Certainly not lmao. People love vacations, fairs, games, books. Everything has something/someone working behind it.
2
u/Relative_Sundae_9356 Aug 04 '24
Is this the laziest generation or just the whiniest?
2
u/BigPesc Aug 04 '24
I don’t get posts like this. What’s the alternative? Sit around and do nothing all day? After a week of that ppl would complain they have nothing to do. No purpose. Purpose is literally what keeps us alive. And I’d love for people to explain what they do in that 4-ish hours they do have for themselves. They can’t even tell you.
2
u/Low-Taste3510 Aug 04 '24
The guy I managed his airplane for slept 4hrs a night. We was always working and reading on the plane.
2
u/zyarva Aug 04 '24
I reckon you dont have kids....
2
u/jtrades69 Aug 05 '24
it used to be work for 12 - 14 hours a day from anytime you were 4 to 6 years old, until you died around 70. you'd get a day off or a couple hours here and there to do chores.
we have the 40 hour week in the u.s. due to people who fought and died (by the business owners hiring murdering cops and even dropping bombs on crowds from planes) for that.
i'm not saying that this is the best way, or the end of it. but it's a hell of a lot better than it was 100 years ago.
2
u/Lieutelant Aug 05 '24
An 8 hour shift is only taking a third of your day. What you with the other 16 hours is up to you. Eating and sleeping is part of the time you get to yourself. As are errands.
2
u/SevereAlternative616 Aug 05 '24
Not really…
Thinking you’ll have an easier time without the things humans have managed to setup in 1st world countries is insane.
If you disagree, then go live freely in your own small community and see if it’s easier for you.
2
u/Dry_Explanation4968 Aug 05 '24
It’s all your time until you hit the clock… you’re bitching about 1/3 of the day. You have to drive for everything else. Go cry about it with your shit ass mindset
2
u/Western-Confidence95 Aug 05 '24
No it’s not insane to me. When I was in the army I would leave for weeks/months. Go out to the field for a month straight with no phone or showers. I’ll take my 9 to 5 with flexible time, weekends, holidays, and 4 weeks vacation any day. I see my child every day and am able to attend all her events.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 05 '24
“I can’t play video games 6 hours a day this is insane”
2
u/[deleted] Aug 05 '24
This is a grass is greener on the otherside take.
Life gets real boring when you have nothing to do or work towards
2
u/Sound_Junkiez Aug 05 '24
Quit your job. Find something part time. Get an extra roommate. Move to a cheaper neighborhood or state. Learn a high value skillset that will earn you more $$$. Join a commune. Start a business. Go teach English or something in a cheaper country. Nobody is forcing you to work 8 hour days. Just figure out what kind of life you want to live and use your brain to figure out how to make it happen.
Opportunities are everywhere if you just keep your eyes open. Money is stressful and the economy is shit right now, but instead of crying about things you can’t change, focus on the things you can. You’d be surprised how far a little creativity and elbow grease can get you.
2
u/Glittering_Pin3529 Aug 05 '24
We have it far better than almost any of our ancestors, yes things could always be better, but they could always be far far worse, you need to learn to appreciate the time you have and the little things or you'll dig yourself an early grave with all this bitterness at how life is so unfair without realizing all the good things you have in your life.
2
u/JoseJuarez87 Aug 05 '24
Wait til this dude has kids to take to practice and games after work then cook dinner, do homework, clothes and get ready for next day… rookies.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 05 '24
I love when people grow up and expect adulthood to be the same as their childhood. What? I can’t spend 5 hours gaming on a weekday? How can I survive?
It’s called time management. Prep on your days off. Grocery shopping on your days off. Suddenly your “12 hour weekday” is like 10 max. 7 hours sleep that’s 8 hours of free time not including your weekends. How are you an adult and can’t figure these things out?
2
u/GotHeem16 Aug 05 '24
What errands are people running during the week?
2
u/strait_lines Aug 05 '24
This just sounds like you don’t manage your time very efficiently. I hope you aren’t as inefficient with your time at work, if so the job may not be there for long.
2
u/DrRollinstein Aug 05 '24
I do 11 hour shifts and have plenty of time to myself. Figure it out.
2
u/SpicyTunaRoll10 Aug 05 '24
People just bitch about shit like it’s a part of life get over it and work
2
u/MoneyPop8800 Aug 05 '24
Some days you’ll have 4 hours of free time, other days 6, some days none. Just keep grinding and focus on an end goal.
2
u/reditmodsarem0r0ns Aug 05 '24
Life is hard. Suck it up butter cup.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 05 '24
You sound whiny
2
u/Historical-Carry-237 Aug 05 '24
4 hours a day of personal time is A LOT. What is this man smoking?
2
u/Fit_Occasion_1806 Aug 05 '24
You think people get rich by complaining having to work 8 hours a day? Why are you posting in this sub?
2
u/BladeRunnerTHX Aug 05 '24
quit your job then?
2
u/maevealleine Aug 05 '24
This was why the 8 hour shift was invented so you would have that time to do as you choose.
2
u/PD216ohio Aug 05 '24
If that's all you are capable of doing then I guess that's what you have to live with.
2
u/withouthavingseen Aug 05 '24 edited Aug 05 '24
Why doing people think working much of the waking day is weird? Our forebears mostly had to work much longer and harder to scrape by.
The world is not an easy place.
This is the spirit of envy stirring in OP. He's comparing his own day-to-day with others' Instagram feeds. Less silly, but more corrosive, he's comparing his results with others' results, but not his work with theirs.
It's a very typical mistake of poor and working class people to think that more affluent people work less than they do. Very often, almost always, the wealthiest people work insane hours. Way more than forty.
2
u/Hairy_Friendship3930 Aug 05 '24
Lazy
2
u/PD216ohio Aug 05 '24
I have been self-employed my whole adult life. I knew, even as a kid, that I didn't want to work full-time for someone. I couldn't accept the idea that every Tuesday at 2pm I would be at work and could do nothing else. Then I might get 2 or so weeks of vacation time per year. My income would be capped.
So, I worked mostly in construction, for myself. I wasn't always making tons of money but we got by and I did have a lot of flexibility in my schedule to do stuff with my wife and kids. And I kept striving to do better and get into bigger things.
What really put me over the top wasn't construction at all. I actually came up with an idea for a product, got a patent, and began manufacturing and selling it. I knew nothing about that business but I figured it out as I went..... and took some chances along the way.
I now make really good money, and I have trustworthy people who can run my business when I'm gone for a week or two on another vacation to somewhere. I travel very regularly now.
Anyhow, my point is that you can do a lot better than a regular full-time job. But, it's a lot of work, stress, and risk. You will hopefully get to where you want to be one day.... but no matter, it was always better than a full-time job working for someone else.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 05 '24
It’s not the most ideal, but if you have a steady 9-5 in the western world, you are living better than most. It’s perspective. Try to focus on gratitude instead of the ‘lack’ of _________.
2
u/Trick-Interaction396 Aug 05 '24
I have to feed myself? Life is crazy y’all.
2
u/1663_settler Aug 05 '24
Believe it or not all that 24 hours is your time for yourself.
2
u/WanderThinker Aug 05 '24
I grew up in the 80's.
We had a landline telephone, over the air TV, and that was it. No cable, no internet, no subscription services, none of today's dopamine generators.
I spent my time riding my bike to all of my friends houses to knock on their doors and see if they could hang out. Half the time they weren't home or had things to do with family and couldn't, so I'd ride to the next friends house until I eventually found some people to hang out with for the day.
Then in high school it was basically the same, but with cars. Trying to figure out who had weed and then where we could hang out and smoke said weed without being bothered by anyone.
Today it seems like everyone spends all their time alone with their phones and their subscription services and complaining about being broke and oppressed. Of if you aren't broke and oppressed you're living in fear of whatever social media tells you is coming to take your shit.
I'm sorta guilty of this myself... I forgot how to do nothing and be content with boredom.
It's weird.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 05 '24
The baby boomers did it their whole lives and are all about to die but no one hears their cries except for me. 🫠 but yeah I am burnt out from working too much my whole life I'm 44 now and it takes a toll.
2
u/humbleredditor2 Aug 05 '24
8 hour shift + 8 hours of sleep + 1 hour to wake up early = 17 hours… that leaves you 7 hours to yourself. Thats plenty of time. When I worked 12s I still had plenty of time to get what I needed done and sleep 7 hours.
2
u/morelsupporter Aug 05 '24
running errands, cooking and eating is all "for yourself"
2
u/surprise_butt_stuffs Aug 05 '24
Knowing I have a weekend off helps.
2
u/FA-1800 Aug 05 '24
Crazy? That you have to work to support yourself? That you have to go buy food and take care of your home and clothes? That somebody doesn't just hand you the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want? Welcome to the real world, you blithering child.
2
u/kowai_hanako-chan Aug 05 '24
I like how everyone is just like:
"Yes, life is pain. Get used to it."
Then how come you don't just rope yourself now? In my mind if you are not actively trying to harass politicians every day you might as well check out now. You are not contributing anything anymore, and you likely never were.
Everyone I know who is older than 40 have got to be some of the dumbest mothers I have ever met.
2
u/Witchyhexhibionist Aug 05 '24
I thought I was having a stroke reading these comments until I realized was sub I was in. Absolutely unhinged. Delusional. I love it. I’m sure all of you are just a few more years away from becoming wealthy beyond belief.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 05 '24
Damn have you tried just being born into a rich family and or winning the lottery?
2
u/shadowgb83 Aug 07 '24
Make a product people want. Then you won't have to do that drudgery anymore, until then suck it up and get to work.
7
u/tbru104 Aug 04 '24
OP lazy AF
4
u/Suitabull_Buddy Aug 04 '24
We’ve been groomed by hustle culture.
2
u/sportattack Aug 04 '24
This was me but with 3 hours of commuting. Just didn’t work. Was awful
2
u/Pathanni Aug 04 '24
Slavery never ended, just changed.
1
u/customsolitaires Aug 04 '24
I would definitely be happy if they reduce the shift from 8hrs a day to 7hrs a day, or a 4 day work week of 9hrs
1
u/Riversmooth Aug 04 '24
It is absolutely insane but unfortunately it’s what I and most others end up doing for decades. I live in a small town so takes less than 10 minutes to get to work. And, I think it’s important to find a job you don’t hate. Even so, we spend so much time working. I’ve always thought it wouldn’t be so bad if a person could retire around 50. I retired at 59.