The 20 hour workweek?
According to Gartner, France’s famed 35 hour workweek (finally being loosened up by Sarkozy) may yet look like a miserable slog to us all in a few short years. Hell, it’s almost possible today, though the choice may be between bike or bus rather than of Benz or Beamer…
It’s all about choice, though. As self-sustenance becomes increasingly inexpensive, we’re going to see an explosion of opt-outers. More and more people will have the choice to pursue their passions — even if that passion is sitting on their lazy asses playing video games. But of course, an explosion in creative works, or the pursuit thereof, is inevitable. And I would contend it’s already started…
One has to look no further than the open source movement — a hobbyist’s endeavor; once but a timesink for the passionate. No mas. It’s exploding — and not just with enterprising types trying to wring money out of it. More and more people are able to invest the kind of time it takes to refactor and polish a mean piece of software. Sure, there may be reasonable monetary incentives somewhere in the mix, but much of this is largely volunteer; yet the benefit to humanity is already immeasurable. These aren’t world-class humanitarians, only the passionately curious and curiously passionate lot. Living off Fritos and Dr. Pepper in your mom’s basement has always been cheap; but increasingly, doing well by doing good almost looks like a workable lifestyle choice…
Okay, okay — the human experience is far crueler than portrayed above. But rolled into many people’s hobbyist tendencies is a philanthropic nature. And we’re already seeing results, but on a personal level. Government aid will continue to be squandered; individuals can and will step up to the plate.
Perhaps the more interesting notion is that of a “free agent world composed of retiring baby boomers, working-age moms and Gen Xers relinquish traditional work structures in favor of ‘less-time’ roles.”
Certainly we’re all in this mess together, but it’s foolish not to recognize that we’re all free agents — independents — even if we belong to some chummy club or another.
[via: WWD]