Let's Break the 8-Hour Day

Ford was wrong. You know what's best for you.

I believe Henry Ford thought he was doing a service to humanity by normalizing the eight-hour workday. Eight divides evenly into the total 24 hours in a day. Eight hours to work. Eight hours to sleep. Eight hours to play. Indeed, it was far better than the previous paradigm.

It doesn’t work out that way. Eight hours to work. Two hours to commute. Two hours to get ready for work in the morning. An hour to get settled at home in the evening. An hour to eat with the family. That leaves two hours for play if one is lucky. Five hours extra taken by work’s requirements of the individual. Thirteen hours dedicated to work in a day. Fooled into thinking we’ve only given eight.