Dan Buettner and the "Blue Zones"

Dan Buettner searched the world to find out what makes people happy. In his latest book, Thrive: Finding Happiness The Blue Zones Way, he talks about "Thrive Centers" which are interconnected: community, workplace, social life, financial life, home and self. On page 216, in Chapter 6 (Lessons in Thriving), he states "Limit the Workweek. When it comes to long-term happiness, personal income fails to provide much of a boost for Americans once a household rises above the $60,000-a-year threshold. Individuals who work long hours have less time for social interaction, education, culture, sports and volunteer work. They're also more likely to suffer chronic diseases and a poor family life. The Danish-mandated maximum of 37 hours per week is a good benchmark."

On page 70 (the chapter about Denmark), he states "Most Danes work 37 hours a week and go home to their families or their associations. They take an average of six weeks vacation. If people work for money, they do so to get just enough. The lesson: Knock off at 5 p.m. and take your vacations. The Danes' Protestant work ethic is tempered by their understanding that working too hard - or too long - is a waste of time. So they get their jobs done and pursue other things they enjoy."

Dan Buettner is an internationally recognized researcher, explorer and author. He founded Blue Zones to research the world's best practices in health, longevity and happiness.

This is an excellent book.

21 Hours - Why a Shorter Working Week Can Help Us All to Flourish in the 21st Century

According to the The New Economics Foundation (NEF) in Britain, a ‘normal’ working week of 21 hours could help to address a range of urgent, interlinked problems: overwork, unemployment, over-consumption, high carbon emissions, low well-being, entrenched inequalities, and the lack of time to live sustainably, to care for each other, and simply to enjoy life.

NEF is an independent think-and-do tank that inspires and demonstrates real economic well-being. Their goal is to improve quality of life by promoting innovative solutions that challenge mainstream thinking on economic, environment and social issues. They work in partnership and put people and the planet first.

To download the free 40 page pdf of the 21 hour workweek, click HERE.

Gross National Happiness Conference in Vermont

John de Graaf spoke at the Gross National Happiness conference in Vermont this week. John is the national coordinator of Take Back Your Time, an organization challenging time poverty and overwork in the U.S. and Canada (see www.timeday.org). He is the co-author of the best-selling Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. John has written two other books and numerous magazine articles and has been active in promoting GNH. He has worked for 33 years as a filmmaker with 15 films shown in prime time on PBS. His latest film, What's the Economy for, Anyway? was shown at the GNH 2010 conference.

Gross National Happiness USA envisions a sustainable future, based on the use of a comprehensive set of social progress indicators that reflects our American values and truly supports life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In general, those who work a shorter workweek are happier, as they have more time for friends, family, pets and themselves. People for a Shorter Workweek supports GNH-USA, and we encourage you to check out their web site to learn more about this organization.

Reducing Work Time as a Path to Sustainability

Worldwatch Institute, a globally-focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C., has a new publication - State of the World 2010 - Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability. Sixty renowned researchers and practitioners describe how to reorient cultures toward sustainability. In this publication, there is a essay entitled Reducing Work Time as a Path to Sustainability, written by John de Graaf. John is the Executive Director of Take Back Your Time, a documentary filmmaker and co-author of Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. To view this essay, click HERE and scroll down to the section, THE POWER OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS.

Take Back Your Time Needs Your Help

Take Back Your Time is a major U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of the following:

OVERWORK

OVER-SCHEDULING

TIME FAMINE

These three things threaten our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment. The folks at Take Back Your Time (a non-profit organization) need your financial support now so that they can continue their work helping all Americans gain more time.

Please visit their web site today at www.timeday.org or click on above link and donate to this important organization. Just click on the "donate now" button on their home page.

Thank you for supporting Take Back Your Time, and please mark your calendar for the annual Take Back Your Time Day, Saturday, October 24th.

"This Way, it Sounds Noble."

The friend of mine who is enjoying her shorter workweek due to a lack of work at her company said she did not want to sound lazy, so she told her manager she would be happy to pitch in and take time off without pay and "help the company out." She told me "this way, it sounds noble, as I am doing the company a favor." She did not want to sound lazy. She told me now that she has Fridays off, she is "exploring her inner lazy child." She loves the shorter workweek and doesn't really want to go back to the 40 hour workweek.

People are so afraid that they will look like they are a lazy bum just because they want a shorter workweek (in other words, a life). We all need to explore our "inner lazy child."

Shorter Workweek Instead of Layoff

A friend of mine told me that a half dozen or so plant employees were laid off from her company. It was a sad day for the plant. In order to not have to layoff the office folks they worked it out so that everyone has two Fridays off per month. My friend was used to working 40 hours per week all of her working life. At first, she thought about the money she would lose, but after the first Friday off, she LOVED it and now she can't wait until her next Friday off.

She called her sister (who is now retired) and told her she would love to have a shorter workweek every week, as it is so wonderful!

Instead of workers being laid off, this company worked it out so that everyone in the office shares the work, and all of the office staff works a shorter workweek. They love those Fridays off and the money isn't as important as time off.

The 40-hour workweek is very hectic. Thanks to the economic downturn, people are discovering how great a shorter workweek is.

Work Less Party of Vancouver, BC has New Film

The Work Less Party of Vancouver BC has a new short film on their web site: Movie 2. I highly recommend watching both of Conrad Schmidt's films. Conrad is the author of Works of the World RELAX: The Simple Economics of Less Industrial Work. He is currently working on another film and book, so stay tuned!

Economic Downturn

With the current economic downturn, now is the time to ask your employer for a shorter workweek, and your employer might even be relieved that you asked! I know a few folks whose companies are cutting back the workweek due to slow sales, etc. These people are happy to have the extra time off, while keeping their current benefits. So, don't be afraid to ask.

Happy New Year, everyone!

PSW Supports Vacation Law

PSW supports a three-week paid vacation law for all Americans. Since a shorter workweek is difficult to get (for most people) unless you work part-time, we need to work on getting a decent vacation for Americans. Most Europeans get 4-6 weeks off a year, and when you think about it, getting a mere one or two weeks off a year out of 52 is just a drop in the bucket.

I am asking everyone to visit the new web site, www.right2vacation.org, and support this organization. And while you are there, you can thank John de Graaf and Joe Robinson for all their work so that we can have more leisure time! Don't forget to tell all your friends.

I have heard more horror stories of people whose health suffered because they worked too much, and even worse, those who have died either right after retirement or at a young age.

Even if you don't have the funds to go anwhere (due to high gas prices and/or low income), you can take a vacation right in your own home by turning off the TV, cell phone, and other electronic devices and letting the answering machine get your phone messages. Then, get a chair, grab a book, fix yourself a tall glass of ice tea, and go out in your back yard (weather permitting) and R-E-L-A-X. Go to your local museum, take a walk in a park. bike to your local tea or coffee shop, relax in a library, etc. Most people don't have time to do these things during a regular workweek.

Your help is needed! Support a vacation law for all Americans!

www.right2vacation.org

Shorter Workweek & Four-Day Workweek are not Necessarily the Same

Now that gas has topped $4.00 per gallon in many cities across the country, several companies are trying out a four-day workweek to help their employees save gas. A lot of people believe that a four-day workweek equals a shorter workweek. This isn't necessarily true. A shorter workweek is a workweek LESS than 40 hours, whether it is 5 days, 4 days, 3 days, etc. A four-day workweek can also be 40 hours per week, and in this case, it is called a COMPRESSED workweek. A compressed workweek can be very stressful, since each day worked consists of at least 10 hours. This makes your day around 14 hours (or longer) from the time you get up until the time you get home. A ten-hour work day is very grueling for anyone; however, it is especially difficult if a you have children, parents or pets to care for.

People for a Shorter Workweek advocates a SHORTER workweek of LESS than 40 hours per week, AND to help save gas and keep fewer cars on the road, PSW would like to see a workweek of 4 days or less, and no more than 32 hours per week.

Gas Prices and Shorter Workweek

With gas prices reaching an all-time high, companies should consider allowing people to work a shorter workweek (4-days, 32 hours). Send me your comments about gas prices and the shorter workweek.

Definition of Shorter Workweek

Some people believe that 4 ten-hour days with Fridays off is a shorter workweek. This is incorrect. The standard in the United States is 40 hours per week. It could be 5 days (8 hours per day), 4 days (10 hours per day) or the alternate 9 schedule. Any way you look at it, 40 hours per week is NOT a shorter workweek.. A shorter workweek is a workweek UNDER 40 hours, which is what People for a Shorter Workweek promotes.

The problem with trying to compress the workweek into four days is working 10 hours per day is too long. Also, many companies that offer this compressed workweek only give a 30-minute lunch break, which is hardly enough time to recuperate after working five hours. The 10 hour per day schedule means a person is away from their home 12-14 hours. Even the alternate 9 schedule is a long day for most people (having every other Friday off).

A more sane schedule is 32 hours per week (four 8 hour days), allowing employees three days off. Since most people can't get their errands done during the week, they must do them on weekends. Running errands is work. People need time to relax and only having one day off isn't enough (when you are using the other day to run errands).

If we can't get a shorter workweek, let's at least work on getting more vacation time in the US. Unlike Europe, the US does not have a vacation law, so most Americans might get one or two weeks vacation per year, and because of layoffs and mergers, many people have lost their 4-5 week vacations.

ORGANIZATIONS WORKING ON SHORTER WORKWEEK/MORE VACATION TIME:

The Work Less Party of Canada promotes a 4-day, 32-hour workweek.

The Five Day Weekend group from Asheville, NC promotes a 2-day workweek.

Take Back Your Time has launched a campaign for a vacation law in the US!

If you are interested in getting your life back and having more time off, please support these organizations! The links to these sites are on the left side of this blog.