Urban Discoveries Baltimore

We don’t mind going to work. Our office is quiet and drama-free. Our colleagues bake cookies and warn us, “If you’ve got a nut allergy…” before we take that first bite. But with spring coming, we find ourselves daydreaming about being outside in the sunshine, about picnics and baseball. If only we had a little more time.

Maybe we’ll get that time soon though. The economy, in its current state, doesn’t bode well, and while we’re certainly not hoping to lose our job (not at all), we are intrigued by a recent New York Times article on the end of the 40-hour work week. Briefly surmised, the article discusses what steps employers are taking to avoid laying people off during the recession. Many companies are offering (or asking, or begging) employees unpaid leaves of absence during the decline. While not getting paid isn’t great and pretty scary during a recession, we do like this idea of having a little more of our time back in our hands.

And we’re not the only ones thirsting for more free time. John de Graaf, founder of Take Back Your Time, a Seattle based advocacy group that promotes public policies that reduce overwork and “time famine,” says that “the average American labors 350 more hours per year than his western European counterpart.” 350 hours?!?! That’s two whole weeks! No wonder they’re always hanging out in cafes!

No matter the length of your work week, as a city-dweller you’re probably already saving yourself the dreaded lost hours of the commute — for many, a good hour a day in traffic, listening to talk radio, wasting gas, and missing out on the life they’d rather be living. The state of Maryland has the second-longest average commute times in the nation, with workers living outside the city spending an average of 31.8 minutes getting to work.

So, despite the hard times, we think we’d be willing to trade a little bit of salary for a little more personal time. We can find plenty of things to do that aren’t in a cubicle. What about you? Would you take a reduction in salary to have some of your free time back?

Posted in: UncategorizedNo Comments