Resolve to stop punching the clock: Why you might be able to change when and how long you work |
About 1 in 3 Americans make at least one New Year’s resolution, according to Pew Research. While most of these vows focus on weight loss, fitness and other health-related goals, many fall into a distinct category: work.
Work-related New Year’s resolutions tend to focus on someone’s current job and career, whether to find a new job or, if the timing and conditions are right, whether to embark on a new career path.
We’re an organizational psychologist and a philosopher who have teamed up to study why people work – and what they give up for it. We believe that there is good reason to consider concerns that apply to many if not most professionals: how much work to do and when to get it done, as well as how to make sure your work doesn’t harm your physical and mental health – while attaining some semblance of work-life balance.
Most Americans consider the 40-hour workweek, which calls for employees being on the job from nine to five, to be a standard schedule.
This ubiquitous notion is the basis of a hit Dolly Parton song and 1980 comedy film, “9 to 5,” in which the country music star had a starring role. Microsoft Outlook calendars by default shade those hours with a different color than the rest of the day.
This schedule didn’t always reign supreme.
Prior to the Great Depression, which lasted from 1929-1941, 6-day workweeks were the norm. In most industries, U.S. workers got Sundays off so they could go to church. Eventually, it became customary for employees to get half of Saturday off too.
Legislation that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law as part of his sweeping New Deal reforms helped establish the 40-hour workweek as we know it........