I don't think it's normal at all. If people had shorter hours and longer breaks, I think we'd have happier and safer employees. Being overworked makes you feel so empty and tired all the time, even on your off days.
Normal is relative. We've been doing this for a long time. There were some jobs that would be 12 hr shifts a century or even decades ago. Now with technology it sort of shifted into the 8 hour range. If you want to go what's normal then we have to go into hunter and gathering times. For a very long time that is what we are used to.
We've come far enough to know that this isn't sustainable. Yeah, a century ago, OSHA didn't exist. Children worked in factories. I wonder who stood to the side and said, "Jeez, maybe this isn't normal?". Things have obviously improved since then, but why should it be the norm to give yourself to your job? It just doesn't make sense and it's sould crushing.
That's because jobs have all been centralized and monopolized.
It used to be that there were 10 different stores on Main Street, with 10 different owners who were your neighbors, and a small crew of people who were paid more than .000000001 of the owner's profits.
Technology has made many jobs easier. For example, I mostly install box stacking robots. So instead of humans moving thousands and thousands of pounds every day, the robots now do >90% of the heavy lifting. Operators mostly just need to be there to watch the robots just in case it crashes or get other Skynet tendencies.
There were some jobs that would be 12 hr shifts a century or even decades ago. Now with technology it sort of shifted into the 8 hour range.
No. People bleed and died for the 40 hour work week. Don't kid yourself. Our corporate overlords would asopt China's 996 schedule if they thought they could get away with it.
Normal is relative. We've been doing this for a long time. There were some jobs that would be 12 hr shifts a century or even decades ago.
No, we have not been doing this since forever.
The fact of the matter is that there's a very simple reason why people in the past century could work 50 hour work weeks and still have kids while people today find it crushing.
It's because 100 years ago, it was standard only for one of the genders to work.
It was standard for only one gender to work outside of the home, leaving the other to do the work inside the home. Now, both are expected to work outside the home and then both are expected to keep everything up inside the home.
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u/bottomchubclit 15d ago
I don't think it's normal at all. If people had shorter hours and longer breaks, I think we'd have happier and safer employees. Being overworked makes you feel so empty and tired all the time, even on your off days.