THEOVERWURKEDAMERICAN
screenpurchasing.2
TheUnexpectedDeclineofLeisure
JULIETB.SCHUR
AMemberofThePerseusBooksGroup
CHAPTER5
TheInsidiousCycleofWorkandSpend
SHOP'TILYOUDROP
Weliveinwhatmaybethemostconsumeroriented
societyinhistory.Americansspendthreetofourtimes
asmanyhoursayearshoppingastheircounterparts
in Western European countries.l Once a purely
utilitarian chore, shopping has been elevated to the
statusofanationalpassion.
Shopping has become a leisure activity in its own
right. Going to the mall is a common Friday or
Saturdaynightsentertainment,notonlyfortheteens
whoseemtoliveinthem,butalsoforadults.Shopping
is also the most popular weekday evening outof
homeentertainment."Andmallsareeverywhere.Four
billion square feet of our total land area has been
converted into shopping centers, or about 16 square
feet for every American man, woman, and child.
Actually, shopping is no longer confined to stores or
malls but is permeating the entire geography. Any
phonelineisaconduittothousandsofproducts.Most
homesare virtual retailoutlets, with cableshopping
channels, mailorder catalogues, tollfree numbers,
and computer hookups. We can shop during lunch
hour, from the ofce. We can shop while traveling,
fromthecarsWecanevenshopintheairport.Where
videomonitorshavebeeninstalledforimmediateon
Some of the countrys most popularleisure activities
havebeenturnedintoextendedshoppingexpeditions.
Nationalparks,musicconcerts,andartmuseumsare
nowacquisitionopportunities.WhentheSouthStreet
SeaportMuseuminNewYorkCityopenedintheearly
19805asacombinationmuseumshoppingcenter,its
directorexplainedthecommercializationasabowto
reality:Thefactisthatshoppingisthechiefcultural
activityintheUnitedStates."Americansusedtovisit
Europetoseethesightsormeetthepeople.NowBorn
to Shop" guides are replacing Fodor and Baedeker,
completewithwalkingtoursfromFerragamotoFendi.
Evenislandparadises,wherewegotogetawayfrom
it all, are not immune: witness titles such as
Shopping in Exciting Australia and Papua New
Guinea.3
Debt has been an important part of the shopping
frenzy.Buyingiseasierwhenthere'snorequirement
to pay immediately, and credit cards have seduced
manypeoplebeyondtheirmeans:Iwantedtobeable
topickupthetabfortenpeople,ortakeacabwhenI
wanted. I thought that part of being an adult was
beingabletogotoarestaurant,lookatthemenu,and
goinifyoulikethefood,notbecauseyou'relookingat
theprices.Thisyoungmanquicklyfoundhimselfwith
$18,000ofcreditcarddebt,andrealizedthatheand
hiswifecouldhavegonetoEuropelastyearon[the]
interestalone."Forsomepeople,shoppinghasbecome
an addiction, like alcohol or drugs. Enabled" by
plastic, compulsive shoppers spend money they dont
have on items they absolutely cant"do without and
never use. The lucky ones nd their way to selfhelp
groups like Debtors Anonymous and Shopaholics
Limited. And for every serious compulsive shopper,
therearemanymorewithmildhabits.LindaWeltner
was lucky enough to keep her addiction within
manageable nancial bounds, but still her mindless
shopping" grew into a troubling preoccupation . . .
whichwasimpoverishing[her]life."4
Theshoptilyoudropsyndromeseemedparticularly
active during the 19805, a decade popularly
representedasonelongbuyingspree.Intheveyears
between 1983 and 1987. Americans purchased 51
millionmicrowaves,44millionwashersanddryers,85
million color televisions, 36 million refrigerators and
freezers, 48 million VCRs, and 23 million cordless
telephonesall for an adult population of only 180
million.5
Much has, withsome justication, been madeof the
distinctiveness of the decade. The rich made an
important social comeback. Not since the 1920s had
the country been so tolerant of unrestrained
materialismandgreed.Butinotherwaysthe1980s
werenotunique.Thegrowthofpersonalconsumption
the hallmark of 1980s cultureis nothing new.
Modern consumerism harkens back to at least the
1920s. The growth of expenditures was temporarily
derailed by the Depression and the war but was on
trackagainbythe1950s.Sincethen,thenationhas
beenfeedingonasteadydietofsinglefamilyhouses,
cars,householdappliances,andleisurespending.The
average American is consuming, in toto, more than
twiceasmuchasheorshedidfortyyearsago.And
thisholdsnotonlyfortheGuccisetbutalltheway
downthe income scale. Nearly everyoneparticipated
in the postwar consumption boom. Compared with
fortyyearsago,Americansineveryincomeclassrich,
middleclass,andpoorhaveabouttwiceasmuchin
thewayofincomeandmaterialgoods(seegure5.1). 6
Ofcourse,theconsumerboomofthe1980s has been
different from the earlier decades in one important
wayconsumerismhasbeenfarmoreanalfairofthe
aluentthetop20or40percentofthepopulation.
Incomebecamefarlessequallydistributedduringthis
decade, and many people, especially those in the
bottom quarter of the population, have experienced
substantialdeclinesintheirstandardofliving.Others
havemaintainedtheirincomesonlybyworkinglonger
hours. Had hours not risen, the average American
workers annual earnings would have been lower at
the close of the decade than when it began. Still,
declining
wages
have
been
mainly a
phenomenon of the last ten years. From the longer
vantagepointofthegoldenage"ofthe1950s,1960s,
and 1970s, the depth and breadth of American
afuencecomesclearlyintoview.
Housingexpendituresthelargestiteminmostfamily
budgetsclearlyreectthecountrysgrowingwealth.
Inthe19505,whendeveloperWilliamLevittcreated
Ievittowns for ordinary American families, his
standardhousewas750squarefeet.In1963,thenew
houses were about twice as large; and by 1989, the
averagenishedareahadgrowntoalmostthreetimes
theLevittownstandard2,000feet.Atthesametime,
fewerpeoplewerelivingin
SOURCE: Calculated from Economic Report of the Burden; 1991
edition,tables315and332.
a
Data are in constant 1982 dollars, divided by the population
sixteenyearsofageandover.
thesedwellings.Thetypical19505familyoffourhas
shrunk to an average of 2.6 persons, so that each
individualnowhasasmuchspaceasanentirefamily
of four occupied in 1950. Fifty years ago, only 20
percent of all houses had more rooms than people
livinginthem;by1970,over90percentofourhomes
werespaciousenoughtoallowmorethanoneroomper
person.7ThesizeandqualityoftheAmericanhousing
stockhasnotbeenreplicatedanywhereelseonearth.
Houses are not only bigger, they are also more
luxuriouslyequipped.Aslateas1940,30percentstill
had no running water, and 40 percent were without
ushtoilets.Todayvirtuallyallhouseshaveboth,and
threequartersofsinglefamilydwellingshavetwoor
more bathrooms. In 1940, less than 45 percent of
homes had electric refrigerators. Now all do.
Americans also acquired vacuum cleaners, toasters,
irons,radios,andwashingmachines.Fortyyearsago,
fewer than 5 percent of U.S. homes had air
conditioners, dishwashers, and clothes dryers. Now
twothirds have airconditioning (a majority with
centralized systems), microwaves, and dryers, and
almosthalfhavedishwashers.Onlyaquarterofhomes
hadkitchenrangesin1953;nowalldo(seetable5.1).8
Moreofusalsoownourownhomes.Thedifculties
Young people have had buying houses in the 19805
notwithstanding,overallratesofhomeownershiphave
risen impressivelyfrom 44 percent in 1940, to 55
percent in 1950, to 64 percent in 1989.
Homeownership rates for twoperson households are
evenhigherjustover70percent.Ownershipofmotor
vehicleshasalsogrown:in1935,55percentoffamilies
had a car. Today, 88 percent of households have a
motorvehicle,andtheaveragenumberofvehiclesper
household is two. Over 90 percent of all households
alsohavecolortelevisionsand80percenthaveVCRs.
Inaddition
TABLE5.1
ImprovementsinMaterialStandardsofLiving
a
Witold Rybczynski, Iiving Smaller," Atlantic Monthly, February
1991,6768.
b
Lebergott, The American Economy. Income. Wealth and Want
(Princeton,NJ.:PrincetonUniversityPress,1976).9899.
c
Homeownershipstatisticsfor1940and1950fromU.S.Department
ofCommerce,StatisticalAbstractoftheUnitedStates,(Washington,
D.C.:GovernmentPrinting0m,1971),673,table1110.Datafor1989
fromIawrenceMishelandDavidM.Frankel,TheStateofWorking
America(Annonk,N.Y.:M.E.Sharpe),224.table8.1.
d
1940 gure for refrigerators from Lebergott, American Economy,
101.Allguresfor1953and1987arefromStatisticalAbstract.1953
guresarefrom1971edition,able667,1117.1987guresarefrom
1990edition,table723,1280.
toVCRsandmicrowaves,Americansarebuyingmany
more serviceslike foreign travel, restaurant meals,
medicalattention,hairandskincare,andproductsof
leisure industries such as health clubs or tennis
lessons.Overall,percapitaserviceexpenditureshave
risen2.6timessincel950evenmorethanconsumer
expendituresasawhole.9
The consumerism of the postwar era has not been
without its effects on the way we use our time. As
peoplebecameaccustomedtothematerialrewardsof
prosperity,desiresforleisuretimewereeroded.They
increasinglylookedtoconsumptiontogivesatisfaction,
even meaning, to their lives. In both the workplace
andthehome,progresshasrepeatedlytranslatedinto
moregoodsandservices,ratherthanmorefreetime.
Employers channel productivity increases into
additional income; housewives are led to use their
laborsaving appliances to produce more goods and
services. Consumerism traps us as we become
habituatedtothegoodlife,emulateourneighbors,or
justgetcaughtupinthesocialpressurescreatedby
everyoneelse'schoices.Workandspendhasbecomea
mutually reinforcing and powerful syndromea
seamless web we somehow keep choosing, without
evenmeaningto.
 WORKANDSPENDISAMIDDLECLASS be enough to nance a perfectly comfortable middle
AFFLICTION class life. Income is an imperfect measure because
individualcircumstancessuchasfamilysize,age,the
Workandspend is not everyone's disease. It is an Price of housing, and where one livesmatter very
afflictionofaffluent,mostlywhite,Americans.While much.Therefore,toidentifythemiddleclass,wemay
many middleclassoreven uppermiddleclass people alsowanttotakeintoaccountlifestylefactorssuch
donotconsiderthemselvesaffluentorevenwelloff, as the ability to own one's home or nance college
in relative terms their economic circumstances are educationsforthechildren.Onthesegrounds,wegeta
actually quite favorable. A sizable proportion of the rangefromabouttwothirdsforhomeownership,to
U.S. population can reasonably be classied as 37percentforcollegeeducation.10
members of the middle, upper middle, and upper
classes.Furthermore,inthelasttenyears,thebetter
off segments of society have done especially well
Thoughitisclearlydifculttocomeupwithprecise
economically.Andtheirrankshaveswelledwiththe
estimatesfromexistingstatistics, exactnumbersare
growth in twoeamer families and the expansion of
probablynotessentialformypurposes.Roughnotions
professionalandmanagerialjobs.Themuchheralded
willsufce.Myownpreferenceistotake40percentas
decline of the middle class has occurred not only
alowerboundeslimateforeligibility"intheranksof
because bluecollar workers have fallen on hard
the welloff and consider the next 20 percent as
times,butalsobecauselargenumbersofpeoplehave
questionable. At the other end, we will certainly
ascended into the income categories above" the
exclude the poorest quarter of the populationthe
middle.
percentage of Americans who in recent years report
How large is the group prone to workandspend"? thattheyworryallormostofthetime"thattheywill
The answer depends in part on how one chooses to not be able to meet family expenses and pay the
denethemiddleclassandwhatsaboveit.Asimple bills.
11

procedureistobeginfromthetopoftheincomescale
The worries of the bottom quarter of the population
and move down to the middle. The top 20 percent,
are a reection of the recent surge in inequality. In
whose average income in 1990 was $105,000, over
earlier decades, the benets of prosperity were far
three times the nations median, will certainly be
more evenly distributed, extending even to the least
included in the ranks of the afuent. The next 20
welloffsegmentsofsociety.Inthemid19705,alarger
percent,whoreceiveonaverage$45,000ayear,should
proportionofthepopulationcouldhavebeenidentied
also be counted. Adding 10 percent more, or exactly
asmiddleclass"orabove,perhapsasmuchastwo
halfthepopulation,wouldbringus,inincometerms,
thirds. At that time, many workingclass families,
allthewaydowntoabout$31,000.
often by dint of considerable overtime hours, were
Although$31,000isinthemiddleofthedistribution, managingamiddleclasslifestyle.Theynancedtheir
itisnolongerasufcientincometoputafamilyinto own homes and bought nice cars, sometimes modest
the middle class. Especially for young families, with vacation places. Many survived on one income. This
heavychildcareorhousingexpenses,itisinadequate. hasnowchanged,aslucrativemanufacturingjobsfor
Amongtheblackmiddleclass,responsibilityforpoorer menhavedisappeared.The19805havealsobroughta
relativeshasputatremendousstrainonearnings,so substantialgrowthinthefractionofthepopulation
thatevenadecentincomeoftencantprovideadecent livingonthemargins,strugglingtogetby.According
lifestyle.0ntheotherhand,forasinglepersonwho to a 1989 Gallup Poll, 13 percent of those surveyed
ownsahousethatispaidfor,$30,000orevenlessmay reported that there were times during the last year
when they did not have enough money to buy food.
Higherproportions(17percentand21percent)didnot
have enough income for clothes and medical care.
Amongpeopleofcolor,theproportionsarefarhigher,
exceeding a third among AfricanAmericans. And
becausethepollreachesonlythosewithhomes(and
telephones),thesenumbersareunderstated.l2
Manyofthesepeoplecannotworklonghoursevenif
they want to because their jobs are parttime or
intermittent. They may not even have employment,
either because they cannot nd it or be cause they
cannot afford child care. Among those who do have
jobs,hourlypayisverylow;longhoursormultiplejobs
arenecessaryjusttomakeasubsistenceincome.They
areclearlynotworkinginordertosustainamiddle
classlifestyle.Eventhosewithlowincomes,however,
are not free from pressures to consume. Television,
advertising, peer competition, and the ubiquitous
example of the economically more fortunate provide
continualtestamentstothevalueofhighliving.The
poor are not so much adherents to an alternate
(antimaterialist)setofvalues,astheyareunsuccessful
atthesamegameeveryoneelseisplaying.Farmore
thaninthepast,middleclassculturehasinsinuated
itselfthroughoutthesociety.Ifthey'renottrappedin
workandspend,itsmorebecausetheycantthanthat
theywont.
THECREATIONOFDISCONTENT
IneverknewhowpoorIwasuntilIhadalittlemoney. last forty years has not made us happier. The
abanker percentageofthepopulationwhoreportedbeingvery
Thereisnodoubtthatthegrowthofconsumptionhas
yielded major improvements in the quality of life.
Running water, washing machines, and electrical
appliances eliminated arduous, often backbreaking
labor.Especiallyforthepoorwomenwhonotonlydid
theirownhousework,butoftensomeoneelse'saswell,
the transformation of the home has been profoundly Despite the fact that possessions are not creating
liberating. Other products have also enhanced the happiness,wearestillridingtheconsumermerrygo
qualityoflife.Thecompactdiscraisestheenjoyment
of the music lover; the highperformance en gine
makesthecarbuffhappy;andthefashionplateloves
towearadesignersuit.
Butwhenweaddupalltheitemsweconsume,and
consider the overall impact, rather than each in
isolation,thepicturegetsmurkier.Thefartherweget
fromtheonerousphysicalconditionsofthepast,the
more ambiguous are the effects of additional
commodities. The less necessary and more
luxurious the item, the more difcult it is
automatically to assume that consumer purchases
yieldintrinsicvalue.
In an era when the connections between perpetual
growthandenvironmentaldeteriorationarebecoming
moreapparent,withthequalityofpubliclifedeclining
in many areas (public safety, decline of community,
failing education system), shouldnt we at least step
backandreexamineourcommitmenttoevergreater
quantities of consumer goods? Do Americans need
highdenition television, increasingly exotic
vacations,andclimatecontrolintheirautos?
How about hundreddollar inatable sneakers, fty
dollarwrinklecream,ortheeverpresent(butrarely
used)stationarybicycle?Agrowingfractionofhomes
arenowequippedwithjacuzzis(orsteamshowers)and
satellitereceivers.Oncewetakethebroaderview,can
we still be so sure that all these things are really
makingusbetteroff?
We do know that the increasing consumption of the
happypeakedin1957,accordingtotwonationalpolls.
By the last years these polls were taken (1970 and
1978),thelevelofveryhappy"hadnotrecovered,in
spite of the rapid growth in consumption during the
1960s and 1970s. Similar polls taken since then
indicatenorevivalofhappiness.13
round. In fact, for some Americans the quest for
materialgoodsbecamemoreintenseinthelastdecade:
according to the pollster Louis Harris, by the mid
1980s, the American people were far more oriented
towardeconomicgrowthandmaterialismthanbefore.
Mostsignicant,youngpeoplewereleadingthecharge
backtomaterialvalues.14
Materialismhasnotonlyfailedtomakeushappy.It
hasalsobreditsownformofdiscontentevenamong
the affluent. Newspaper and magazine articles
chronicle the dissatisfaction. One couple earning
$115,000 tallied up their necessary expenses of
$100,000 a year and complained that something's
goneterriblywrongwithbeingrich.'"Anunmarried
Hollywood executive earning $72,000 worried about
bouncing checks: 1 have so much paid for by the
studiomy car, my insurance, and virtually all food
and entertainmentand I'm still broke." Urbanites
have it especially hard. As one New York City
inhabitantexplained,Itsincredible,butyoujustcant
liveinthiscityonahundredthousanddollarsayear."
AccordingtotheNewYorkTimes,thefastlaneisnot
all it's cracked up to be, and Wall Streeters are
FeelingPooron$600,000aYear.WhentheJoneses
they are keeping up with are the Basses . . . $10
millioninliquidcapitalisnotrich."15
Whateverwethinkofthesemalcontentswhetherwe
ndthemfunny,pathetic,orreprehensiblewemust
acknowledge that these feelings are not conned to
thoseintheincomestratosphere.
Many who make far less have similar laments.
DouglasandMaureenObeyearn$56,000ayearan
incomethatexceedsthatofroughly70percentofthe
population.Yettheycomplainthattheyarestretched
tothebreakingpoint.Douglasworkstwojobstotry
tokeepitalltogether....IfeelImakeafairlygood
incomethatshouldaffordacomfortablelifestyle,but
somehowitdoesnt.
...[I'm]inhockuptomyeyeballs."TheObeysown
theirhome,twocars,asecondrentalproperty,anda
backyardpool.16
Complaintsaboutlifestylehavebeenparticularlyloud
among the babyboom generation. One writer
explained a state of mind shared by many in her
generation:shewasconvincedshewouldnotachieve
thecomfortablemiddleclasslifestyleenjoyedbyher
parents(fourbedroomhouse, twocar garage, private
schoolsforthechildren,andcashmereblanketsatthe
bottom of the beds): I thought bitterly of my
downward mobility . . . and [had] constant
conversations with myself about wanting . . . a new
couch,aweekendcottage,abiggerhouseonaquieter
street.Eventuallysherealizedthatmoremoneywas
not the answer. Her needs were satised. As she
acknowledged:Discontentwascheatingmeofthelife
Ihad.17
CAPITALISMSSQUIRRELCAGE
This materialism (and its attendant discontent) is
taken for granted. It is widely believed that our
unceasingquestformaterialgoodsispartofthebasic
makeupofhumanbeings.Accordingtothefolklore,we
maynotlikeit,butthere'slittlewecandoaboutit.
Despite its popularity, this view of human nature is
wrong.Whilehumanbeingsmayhaveinnatedesires
to strive toward something, there is nothing
preordained about material goods. There are
numerousexamplesofsocietiesinwhichthingshave
played a highly circumscribed role. In medieval
Europe,therewasrelativelylittleacquisitiveness.The
commonpeople,whoselivesweresurelyprecarious
bycontemporarystandards,showedstrongpreferences
forleisureratherthanmoney.Inthenineteenthand
early twentiethcentury United States, there is also
considerable evidence that many working people
exhibited a restricted appetite for material goods.
Numerousexamplesofsocietieswhereconsumptionis
relatively unimportant can be found in the
anthropologicalandhistoricalliterature.18
Consumerism is not an ahistorical trait of human (childless couples with incomes of $2,000) reported
nature,butaspecicproductofcapitalism.Withthe that their situation was life at the cheapest and
development of the market system, consumerism barest with nothing left over for the emergencies of
"spilledover,forthersttime,beyondthecharmed sickness and childbirth." Yet an income of $2,000 a
circles of the rich. The growth of the middle class year put them above 60 percent of all American
created a large group of potential buyers and the families.Thoseatthe$5,000level(thetop10percent
possibilitythatmassculturecouldbeorientedaround oftheincomedistribution)reportedthattheyachieve
materialgoods.Thisprocesscanbeseennotonlyin nothingbetterthanhandtomouthliving."At$6,000,
historical experiences but is now going on in places thefamilycontainingyoungchildrencanbarelybreak
such as Brazil and India, wherethe growth of large even." Yet these were the top few percent of all
middle classes have contributed to rampant Americans. Even those making $12,000a fantastic
consumerism and the breakdown of longstanding sumin1928complainedaboutitemstheycouldnot
values.19 afford. A 1922 Berkeley study revealed similar
sentimentsofdiscontentdespitethefactsthatallthe
In the United States, the watershed was the 19205 families studied had telephones, virtually all had
the point at which the psychology of scarcity" purchasedlifeinsurance,twothirdsownedtheirown
gavewaytothepsychologyofabundance."Thiswasa homesandtookvacations, overhalfhadmotorcars,
crucial period for the development of modern andnearlyeveryfamilyspentatleastalittlemoney
materialist culture. Thrift and sobriety were out; onservantsorhousedeaninghelp.21
wasteandexcesswerein.Thenationgrewgiddywith
its exploding wealth. Consumerism blossomedboth The discontent expressed by many Americans was
asasocialideologyandintermsofhighratesofreal fostered and to a certain extent evencreatedby
spending. In the midst of all this buying. we can manufacturers.Businessembarkedonthepathofthe
discerntheoriginsofmodernconsumerdiscontent. hardsell.The explosionofcon sumercredit made
the task easier, as automobiles, radios, electric
This was the decade during which the American refrigerators, washing machineseven jewelry and
dream, or what was then called the American foreign navelwere bought on the installment plan.
standardofliving,"capturedthenationsimagination. Bytheendofthe1920s,60percent'ofcars,radios,and
But it was always something of a mirage. The furniture were being purchased on time."22 The
historianWinifredWanderseeexplains: ability to buy without actually having money helped
ItisdoubtfulthattheaverageAmerican could havedescribed foster a climate of instant gratication, expanding
theprecisemeaningofthetermAmericanstandardofliving, expectations,and,ultimately,materialism.
but nearly everyone agreed that it was attainable, highly
The 19205 was also the decade of advertising. The
desirable,andfarsuperiortothatofanyothernation.ltsnature
variedaccordingtosocialclassandregionaldifferences,butno
admen went wild: everything from walnuts to
matter where a family stood socially and financially, it was
household coal was being individually branded and
certaintohaveaspirationssetbeyondthatstance.Thiswasthe
greatparadoxposedbythematerialprosperityofthetwentiethnationallyadvertised.Ofcourse,adshadbeenaround
foralongtime.Butsomethingnewwasafoot,interms
century:prosperitywasconspicuouslypresent,butitwasalways
justoutofreach,fornearlyeveryfamilydefineditsstandardof
ofbothscaleandstrategy.Forthersttime,business
livingintermsofanincomethatithopedtoachieveratherthan
began to use advertising as a psychological weapon
therealityofthepaycheck.20
against consumers. Scare copy" was invented.
The phenomenon of yearning for more is evident in WithoutListerine,Postum,oraBuick,theconsumer
studiesofhouseholdconsumption.Ina1928studyof would be left a spinster, fall victim to a crippling
YaleUniversityfacultymembers,thebottomcategory disease, or be passed over for a promotion. Ads
developed an association between the product and
onesveryidentity.Eventuallytheycametopromise
everythingandanythingfromselfesteem,tostatus,
friendship,andlove.23
Thepsychologicalapproachrespondedtotheeconomic
dilemma business faced. Americans in the middle
classes and above (to whom virtually all advertising
was targeted)were nolongerbuying to satisfy basic
needssuchasfood,clothingandshelter.
These had been met. Advertisers had to persuade
consumers to acquire things they most certainly did
not need. In the words of John Kenneth Galbraith,
productionwouldhavetoueatethewantsitseeksto
satisfy. This is exactly what manufacturers tried to
do.ThenormallystaidAT&Tattemptedtotransform
theutilitariantelephoneintoaluxury,urgingfamilies
to buy all the telephone facilities that they can
conveniently use, rather than the smallest amount
they canget along with."Onead campaign targeted
fteen phonesas the style for an affluent home. In
productafterproduct,companiesintroduceddesigner
colors,styles,evenscents.Themaidsuniformhadto
matchtheroomdecor,atwarewascolorcoordinated,
andKodakcamerascameinvebirdinspiredtints
Sea Gull, Cockatoo, Redbreast, Bluebird, and Jenny
Wren.24
Businessclearlyunderstoodthenatureoftheproblem.
It even had a nameneeds saturation." Wouldbe
sellers complained of buyers strike and organized a
Prosperity Bureau," urging people to Buy Now."
According to historian Fredenck Lewis Allen:
Businesshadlearnedasneverbeforetheimportance
of the ultimate consumer. Unless he could be
persuadedtobuyandbuylavishly,thewholestream
of sixcylinder cars, super heterodynes, cigarettes,
rouge compacts, and electric ice boxes would be
dammedupatitsoutlets.25
Butwouldtheconsumerbeequaltohertaskasthe objections to the cycle of workandspend.
saviorofprivate enterprise"?Thegeneral directorof MonsignorJohn A. Ryan, a prominent Catholic
General Motors Research Iabs, Charles Kettering, spokesman,articulatedacommonview:
stated the matter baldly: business needs to create a
dissatisedconsumer"; its mission is the organized
creationof dissatisfaction. Ketteringledthe wayby
introducing annual model changes for GM cars
plannedobsolescencedesignedtomaketheconsumer
discontentedwithwhatheorshealreadyhad.Other
companies followed GM's lead. In the words of
advertising historian Roland Marchand, success now
depended on the nurture of qualities like
wastefulness, selfindulgence, and articial
obsolescence."Theadmenandthebusinessmenhadto
instill what Marchand has called the consumption
ethic,"orwhatBenjaminHunnicutttermedthenew
economicgospelofconsumption.26
Thecampaigntocreatenewandunlimitedwantsdid
not gounchallenged. Trade unionists and social
reformers understood the longterm consequences of
consumerismformostAmericans:itwouldkeepthem
imprisoned in capitalisms squirrel cage." The
consumption of luxuries necessitated long hours.
Materialismwouldprovidenorelieffromthetedium,
the stultication, the alienation, and the health
hazardsofmodernwork;itsrewardscameoutsidethe
workplace.Therewasnomysteryaboutthesechoices:
businesswasexplicitinitshostilitytoincreasesinfree
time, preferring consumption as the alternative to
taking economic progress in the form of leisure. In
effect,businessofferedupthecycleofworkandspend.
Inresponse,manytradeunionistsrejectedwhatthey
regarded as a Faustian bargain of time for money:
Workershavedeclaredthattheirlivesarenottobe
bartered at any price, that no wage, no matter how
high can induce them to sell their birthright. [The
worker]isnottheslaveofftyyearsago.
...he[sic]reads...goestothetheater...[and]has
established his own libraries, his own educational
institutions....Andhewantstime,time,time,forall
thesethings."27
Progressive reformers raised ethical and religious
 One of the most baneful assumptions of our materialistic America was profoundly alluring, at times
industrialsociety isthatallmenshouldspendatleastone
mesmerizing. For the middle classes, consumption
third of the twentyfour hour day in some productive
occupation. . . . If men still have leisure [after needs are
helditsownsatisfactions.Designertowelsorthelatest
satisfied],newluxuriesmustbeinventedtokeepthembusy GMmodelcreatedasenseofprivilege,superiority,
andnewwantsmustbestimulated...totaketheluxuriesoff and wellbeing. A Steinway made life worth living."
themarketandkeeptheindustriesgoing.Ofcourse,thetrue
Once the Depression hit, it reinforced these
and rational doctrine is that when men have produced
sufcient necessaries and reasonable comforts and
tendencies. One of its legacies was a longlasting
conveniencestosupplyallthepopulation,theyshouldspend emphasisonndingsecurityintheformofmaterial
whattimeisleftinthecultivationoftheirintellectsandwills, success.31
inthepursuitofthehigherlife.28

Thedebatesofthe19205clearlylaidouttheoptions
available to the nation. On the one hand, the path THEPITFALLS0FCONSUMERISM
advocated by labor and social reformers: take
productivity growth in the form of increases in free The consumerism that took root in the 19205 was
time, rather than the expansion of output; limit premisedontheideaofdissatisfaction.Asmuchasone
private consumption, discourage luxuries, and has,itisneverenough.Theimplicitmentalityisthat
emphasizepublicgoodssuchaseducationandculture. thenextpurchasewillyieldhappiness,andthenthe
On the other hand, the plan of business: maintain next. In the words of the babyboom writer, Katy
currentworkinghoursandaimformaximaleconomic Butler itwas thenew couch, the quieterstreet, and
growth. This implied the encouragement of thevacationcottage:Yethappinessturnedouttobe
discretionary" consumption, the expansion of new elusive. Today's luxuries became tomorrow's
industries, and a culture of unlimited desires. necessities,nolongerappreciated.WhentheJoneses
Productionwouldcometofillavoidthatithasitself also got a new couch or a second home, these
created.29 acquisitions were no longer quite as satisfying.
Consumerism turned out to be full of pitfaUsa
Itisnotdifculttoseewhichalternativewasadopted. viciouspatternofwantingandspendingwhichfailed
Between1920andthepresent,thebulkofproductivity todeliveronitspromises.
advance has been channeled into the growth of
consumption. Economist John Owen has found that The inability of the consumerist life style to create
between1920and1977,theamountoflaborsupplied durable satisfaction can be seen in the syndrome of
over the average Americans lifetime fell by only 10 keeping up with the Joneses." This competition is
percent;andsince1950,therehasevenbeenaslight based onthe factthat it is notthe absolute level of
increase.Theattitudeofbusinessmenwascrucialto consumption that matters, but how much one
thisoutcome.Asemployers,theyhadstrongreasons consumes relative to one's peers. The great English
forprefeninglonghours,asIarguedinchapter3.As cconomistJohnMaynardKeynesmadethisdistinction
sellers, they craved vigorous consumption to create overfiftyyearsago:[Needs]fallintotwoclasses
markets for their products. Iabor proved to be no those which are absolute in the sense that we feel
matchfortheeconomicandpoliticalpowerofbusiness. them whatever the situation of our fellow human
beings may be, and those which are relative only in
Finally, we should not underestimate the appeal of that their satisfaction lifts us above, makes us feel
consumptionitself.Theworkingclassesandthepoor, superiorto,ourfellows."Sincetheneconomistshave
particularlythosemigratingfromEuropeortherural inventedavarietyoftermsforkeepingupwiththe
United States, grew up in conditions of material Joneses":relativeincomeorconsumption,positional
deprivation.Thearrayofproductsavailableinurban goods,"orlocalstatus."AbrandnewToyotaCorolla
may be a luxury and a status symbol in a lower
middleclass town, but it appears paltry next to the
BMWsandMercedesthatllthedrivewaysofthe
fancy suburb. A 10percent raise sounds great until
youndthatyourcoworkersallgot12percent.The
cellularphone,furcoat,or(llintheblank)givesalot
ofsatisfactiononlybeforeeveryoneelsehasone.Inthe
wordsofone19805investmentbanker.Youtendto
liveuptoyourincomelevel.Youseeitinrelationto
thepeopleofyourcategory.Theyrelivinginacertain
way and youwanttolive inthatway. You keepup
with other people of your situation who have also
leveragedthemselves."32
Overtime,keepingupwiththeJonesesbecomesareal
trapbecause the Joneses also keep up with you. If
everyonesincomegoesupby10percent,thenrelative
positionsdontchangeatall.Nosatisfactionisgained.
Themoreofourhappinesswederivefromcomparisons
with others, the less additional welfare we get from
general increases in incomewhich is probably why
happiness has failed to keep pace with economic
growth. This dynamic may be only partly conscious.
Wemaynotevenbeawarethatwearecompetingwith
theJoneses,orexperienceitasacompetition.Itmay
beassimpleasthefactthatexposuretotheirlatest
lifestyleupgrade"plantstheseed inourown mind
thatwemusthaveit,toowhetheritbeaEuropean
vacation, this years fashion statement, or piano
lessonsforthechildren.
Inthechoicebetweenincomeandleisure,thequestfor
relativestandinghasbiasedustowardincome.Thats
becausestatuscomparisonshavebeenmostlyaround
commoditiescars, clothing, houses, even second
houses. If Mrs. Jones works long hours, she will be
abletobuythesecondhome,thedesignerdresses,or
the fancier car. If her neighbor Mrs. Smith opts for
morefreetimeinstead,hertwocargarageandwalkin
closetwillbehalfempty.Aslongasthecompetitionis
moreorientedtovisiblecommodities,thetendencywill
be for both women to prefer income to time off. But
oncetheybothspendtheincome,theyrebacktowhere
theystarted.Neitherisrelative?betteroff.iffreetime
is less of a relative" good than other commodities,
thentruewelfarecouldbegainedbyhavingmoreofit,
andworryinglessaboutwhattheJonesesarebuying.
Itsnoteasytogetofftheincometreadmillandintoa
new,moreleisuredlifestyle.Mrs.Smithwontdoiton
her own, because itll set her back in comparison to
Mrs. Jones. And Mrs. Jones is just like Mrs. Smith.
TheyaretrappedinaclassicPrisonersDilemma:both
wouldbebetteroffWithmorefreetime;butwithout
cooperation,theywill stick to the long hours, high
consumptionchoice.33 Wealsoknowtheiremployers
won't initiate a shirt to more leisure, because they
preferemployeestoworklonghours.
A second vicious cycle arises from the fact that the
satisfactionsgainedfromconsumptionareoftenshort
lived. For many consumption can be habit forming.
Likedrugaddictswhodevelopatolerance,consumers
need additional hits to maintain any given level of
satisfaction.34Theswitchfromblackandwhitetocolor
television was a real improvement when it occurred.
But soon Viewers became habituated to color. Going
back to black and white would have reduced well
being, but having color may not have yielded a
permanently higher level of satisfaction. Telephones
are another example. Rotary dialing was a major
improvement. Thencametouchtone,whichmade us
impatient with rotaries. Now numbers are
preprogrammed and some people begin to nd any
dialingachore.
Our lives are lled with goods to which we have
becomesohabituatedthatwetakethemforgranted.
Indoorplumbingwasonceagreatluxuryandstillis
inmuchoftheworld.Nowitissoingrainedinourlife
stylethatwedontgiveitasecondthought.Thesame
holdstrueforallbutthenewesthouseholdappliances
stoves,refigerators,andvacuumcleanersarejustpart
ofthe landscape. We way pay great attentiontothe
kindofautomobilewedrive,butthefactofhavinga
carissomethingadultsgrewaccustomedtolongago.
Theprocessofhabituationcanbeseenaspeoplepass
through life stagesfor example, in the transition
fromstudentlifetoarstjob.Thegraduatestudent
makes $15,000 a year. He has handmedown
furniture, eats at cheap restaurants, and, when
traveling long distances, nds a place in someone
elsescar. Aftergraduationhegets ajob andmakes
twice as much money. At rst everything seems
luxurious. He rents a bigger apartment (with no
roommates),buyshisowncar,andstepsupanotchin
restaurantquality.Hisformerrestauranthauntsnow
seem unappetizing. Hitghin a ride becomes too
inconvenient.Asheaccumulatespossessions,thelarge
apartmentstartstoshrink.Innottoomanyyears,he
hasbecomehabituatedtotwiceasmuchincomeandis
spending the entire $30,000. It was once a princely
sum,which made him feel rich.Nowhefeelsit just
covers a basic standard of living, without much left
overforluxuries.Hemaynotevenfeelanybetteroff.
Yettogobackto$15,000wouldbepainful.Overtime,
further increases in income set in motion another
round of the same. He becomes dissatised with
rentingandneeds"tobuyahome.Travelbycartakes
toolong,soheswitchestoairplanes.Histastesbecome
more discriminating, and the aver age price of a
restaurantmealslowlycreepsupward.Somethinglike
thisprocessiswhyAmericansmaking$70,000ayear
endupfeelingstretchedanddiscontented.35
Of course, part of this isa lifecycle process. As our
young man grows older, possessions like cars and
housesbecomemoreimportant.Butthere'smoretoit
than aging. Like millions of other American
consumers, he is becoming addicted to the
aocoutrementsofafuence.Thismaywellbewhythe
doublingofpercapitaincomehasnotmadeustwiceas
welloff.InthewordsofpsychologistPaulWachtel,we
havebecomeanasymptoteculture...inwhichthe
contributionofmaterialgoodstolifesatisfactionhas
reached a point of diminishing returns. . . . Each
individual item seems to us to bring an increase in
happiness or satisfaction. But the individual
incrementsmeltlikecottoncandywhenyoutrytoadd
themup."36
These are not new ideas. Economists suchas James
Duesenberry,EdwardSchumacher,FredHirsch,Tibor
Scitovsky,RobertFrank,andRichardEasterlinhave
explored these themes. Psychologists have also
addressedthem,providingstrongsupportforthekinds
ofconclusionsIhavedrawn.Mypurposeistoadda
dimensiontothisanalysisofconsumptionwhichhas
heretofore been neglectedits connection to the
incentive structures operating in labor markets. The
consumption traps I have described are just the flip
side of the bias toward long hours embedded in the
production system. We are not merely caught in a
patternofspendandspendtheproblemidentiedby
manycriticsofconsumerculture.Thewholestoryis
thatwework,andspend,andworkandspendsome
more.
CAUSESOFTHEWORKANDSPENDCYCLE
TheironyinalltheconsumingAmericansdoisthat,
whenasked,theyrejectmaterialistvalues.TheGallup
Poll recently asked respondents to choose what was
most important to themfamily life, betterment of
society,physicalhealth,astrictmoralcode,andsoon.
Amongalistofnine,thematerialistoptionhavinga
nicehome,carandotherbelongings"rankedlast.In
a second survey, respondents ranked having nice
things" twentysixth in a list of twentyeight. (Only
opposing abortion and being free of obligations were
lesspopular.)Overtwothirdsofthepopulationsaysit
would welcome less emphasis on money. Yet
behavior is often contrary to these stated values.
Millions of working parents see their children or
spouses far less than they should or would like to.
Working" mothers complain they have no time for
themselves. Yolunteer work is on the decline,
presumably because people have little time for it.
EmployedAmericansspendlonghoursatjobsthatare
adversely affecting their healththrough injury,
occupationally induced diseases, and stress. My
explanation for this paradoxical behavior is that
people are operating under a powerful set of con
straints: they are trapped by the cycle of workand process starts again. The company olfers income,
spend.37 whichtheemployeespendsand becomesaccustomed
to.Thisinterpretationisconsistentwiththehistoryof
Workandspend is driven by productivity growth. thelasthalfcentury.Annualproductivitygrowthhas
Whethertheannualincrementis3percent,asitwas made possible higher incomes or more free time.
formuchofthepostwarperiod,orless,asithasbeen Repeatedly,thebulkoftheproductivityincreasehas
in recent years, growth in productivity provides the beenchanneledintotheformer.Consumptionhaskept
chance either to raise income or to reduce working pace.
hours. This is where the cycle begins, with the
employers reaction to the choice between time and Whatdrivesthiscycleofworkandspend?Oneview
money.Usuallyacompanydoesnotofferthischoice thatofneoclassicaleconomictheorycontendsthatit
toitsemployeesbutunilaterallydecidestomaintain ismotivatedbythechoicesofworkers.Workershave
existinghoursandgiveapayincreaseinstead.Aswe prior(andxed)attitudesabouthowvaluableincome
haveseen,forfortyyears,onlyanegligibleportionof istothemandhow muchtheydislikework. Onthe
productivity increase has been channeled into free basis of these attitudes they select the number of
time.Usingproductivitytoraiseincomeshasbecome hours they want to work. Firms are passive and
the rmly entrenched default option." One might willingtohireworkersforwhateverquantityofhours
imagine that where wages are set by collective theychoose.Bythisaccount,iffactoryworkersinthe
bargainingagreementsemployeeswouldhavemoreof nineteenthcenturytoiledtwelve,fourteen,or.sixteen
asayinthechoicebetweenincomeandtime.Butless hours a day, it was because they"preferred" this
than 20 percent of the workforce is unionized. scheduleaboveallothers.IfU.S.workershaveadded
Furthermore, as union negotiators will attest, amonthontotheirannualworktime,itisbecausethey
employersarefrequentlyercelyresistanttogranting want the extra income. At tempts to limit hours of
concessionsonhoursandjealouslyguardtheauthority labor will make employees worse, not better off.
to set schedules. But even if a rm is willing, the Invariably,workersgetwhattheywant.39
reducedworktimeoptionitofferswilloftenbeworth
less (in dollar terms) than a straight pay increase, I turn theneoclassical analysis on its head, arguing
becauseoftheextracostsincurred,suchasadditional thatworkerswantwhattheyget,ratherthangetwhat
fringe benetsfornew employees. Thecompany will they want. My starting point is rms rather than
try and force the employees to bear the expenses individualworkers.Firmssetthehourstheyrequireof
associatedwithshorterworking hours. Soevenwith theiremployees.Associatedwiththosehoursisalevel
collectivebargaining,thechoicewillbeskewedagainst ofincomethatdeterminesworkersconsumptionlevel.
shorterhours. As a result of habit formation and relative status
considerations, people develop preferences to
Once a pay increase is granted, it sets off the accommodate that level of spending. Atri tudes
consumption cycles I have described. The additional toward consumption are not preordained but are
income will be spent. (The personal savings rate is actually formed in the process of earning and
currentlyonly4.5percentofdisposableincome.) 38The consuming itself.40 These two interpretations
employeewillbecomehabituatedtothisspendingand workersgetwhattheywantorwantwhattheyget
incorporateitintohisorherusualstandardofliving. arethepolarcases.Accordingtoneoclassicaltheory,
Gaining free time by reducing income becomes attitudestowardconsumptionareindependentofthe
undesirable, both because of relative comparisons actualexperienceofspending,andrmsarepassive.
(JonesesversusSmiths)andhabitformation.Thenext Inmyinterpretation,rmssethoursandworkersdo
year,whenanotherincreaseinproductivityoccurs,the mostoftheadjusting.
 AssessingtheNeoclassicalView
The crux of the neoclassical story is that workers
determine hours. But do they? Not according to the
evidence. Every study I have seen on this topic has
foundthatworkerslackfreechoiceofhours.Theyare
limited in both how much and how little they can
work.Inonesurveyofmaleheadsofhouseholds,85
percentreportedthattheydidnothavefreechoiceof
hours. Asecond study (of married men) again found
that85percentwerefacedwiththechoiceofeitherno
joborajobathoursthatwerenotthosetheywould
choose.Themenwantedshorterhours,butallthejobs
were fulltime. The other existing studies report
consistent results: workers face constraints on their
hours of work. Indeed, institutionalist labor
economists (oriented to the "real world") have long
maintainedthatrmschoosehours,givingemployees
a takeitorleaveit option. Now this institutionalist
viewisbackedupbystatisticalevidence.41
These ndings do not imply that workers have no
freedominthematterofworkinghours.Moonlighting
and retirement are options. And hours differ across
occupationsandindustries, so thatworkerscanquit
theirjobstondalternateschedules.Buttheresearch
showsthatformostworkerstheseadjustmentsarenot
sufcienttoeliminatebindingconstraintsonhours.As
the economist Paul Samuelson noted years ago: In
contrastwithfreedominthespendingofthemoneywe
earn,themodernindustrialregimedeniesusasimilar
freedom in choosing the work routine by which we
earn those dollars. The failure of the neoclassical
approach is rooted in its assumption that there is
alwaysfullemploymentandthatworkerschoicesare
sovereign. As I have argued, this characterization is
mistaken. Competition in labor markets is typically
skewedinfavorof'employers:itisabuyersmarket.
And in a buyers market, it is the sellers who
compromise. Competition for labor is not strong
enough to ensure that workers' desires are always
satised. This is part of why rms are able to set
working hours, even when they entail binding
constraintsonworkers.42
The second major point of difference between my
approach andthe neoclassical involvesthe nature of
preferences. Neoclassical economists point to worker
attitudesasevidencethatthemarketisdeliveringthe
hours they want. Results from a 1985 survey are
typical:askedwhethertheywouldprefermore,fewer,
or just the hours they were currently working,
accompanied by commensurate changes in income,
abouttwothirdsofworkersreportedsatisfactionwith
theircurrenthours/incomechoice.43
Thisevidencemaysoundcompelling.Butimagine,for
a moment, what the responses would be like in the
light of my interpretation, and workers want what
theyget.Theresultswouldlookjustthesame,inthe
sensethatmajoritieswouldexpresssatisfactionwith
their
current hours. The standard survey evidence is
perfectlyconsistentwithbothviews.
A great deal of psychological evidence casts doubt,
however, on the neoclassical interpretation.
Psychologistsndthatpeopletendtoadapt"totheir
environments: that is, their preferences adjust over
time.Thefactthatlargenumbersofpeoplesaythey
are contented with their working hours (or job
conditions)mayrevealthattheyaretractable,notthat
theirdeeperdesireshavebeenfullled.
One type of evidence that can differentiate between
the two interpretations is forwardlooking surveys
questionsabouttradingofffutureincomeforleisure.
Hereworkersexpressmarkedlydifferentviews.Ina
1978 Department of Labor study, 84 percent of
respondentssaidthattheywouldliketotradeoffsome
orallofffutureincomeforadditionalfreetime.Nearly
half (47 percent) said they would trade all of a lO
percentpayraiseforfreetime.Only16percentopted
forthemoneywithnoincreaseintimeoff(seetable
5.2).

Thesendingssupportakeyfeatureoftheworkand
spendcyclethedifferenceinattitudestowardcurrent
andfutureincome.Aswithalltheprevioussurveys,
thisgroupwasunwillingto


a
Maximum potential incomelime tradeoff choice determined by
computation of a composite variable which reports the highest
proportionofapotential10percentpayraisethateachrespondent
statesawiiilngncsstoexchangeforanyoffiveformsofpotential
gainsoffreetime.Forexample,arespondentwhostatesadesireto
exchange70percentofa10pcrcentpayraiseforashorterworkday.
40percentoftheraiseforareducedworkweek.40percentforadded
vacation,40percentforanmendedpaidleaveofabunee(sabbatical),
andnoportionofthepayraiseforearlierretirementwouldhavea
maximumpotentialuadeoffscoreof70percentofpayraisebecause
theshorterworkdaychoiceelicitedthehighestunchangeofallthe
availablechoices.
SOURCE:FredBest, ExchangingEarningsforleisure: Findingof
an Exploratory National Survey on Work Time Preferences,
(Washington, D.C.: United States Employment and Thaining
Administration,1980).77,table6.
give up its current income (only a small percentage
chose that option). Presumably they had become
materiallyorpsychologicallyattachedtotheirexisting
standard of living. But the desire to consume out of
futureincomewasfarlesscompelling,afactconsistent
withrecentpsychologicalresearch.Intheneoclassical
interpretation, there is no explanation for this
asymmetry.
Becausethisstudywasconductedovertenyearsago,
we can check to see whether the stated preferences
were actually validated. Did 84 percent of the
populationgainthefreetimetheysaidtheywanted?
Asweknow,theydidnot.Infact,theylostfreetime.
Of course, what has happened since 1978 is
complicated.Someworkers,particularlyyoungerless
educated men, have lost pur chasing power since
1978.Othershavehadstagnantincomes.Butleisure
timedidnotevenincreaseamongthosewithgainsin
income.Infact,hoursincreasedsubstantiallyforthose
groups who both did well in the labor market and
expressed the strongest desires for more time off
women and people in the higherpaid occupational
categories.In1989,whenasimilarsurveywastaken,
theresultsindicatedthatforwardlookingpreferences
forleisurearestillstrong.EightoutoftenAmericans
declaredthattheywouldsacricecareeradvancement
inordertospendmoretimewiththeirfamilies.46
This evidence hardly settles the issue. Many more
studies and surveys are necessary, particularly to
track working hours and preferences over time.
However,thendingsdocastdoubtonthesanguine
View of labor/leisure choices which dominates the
economicdiscourse.Itisclearthatwecannolonger
relyonthesimpleassumptionthatlaborandproduct
markets provide optimal outcomes, in response to
whatpeoplewantandneed.Theinteractionbetween
what we want and what we get is far more
complicated.
THESOCIALNATUREOFWORKANDSPEND
Part of the power of the workandspend cycle is its
social pervasiveness. Although individuals are the
proximate decision makers, their actions are
inuenced and constrained by social norms and
conventions.Thesocialcharacterofthecycleofwork
andspend means that individuals have a hard time
breakingoutofitontheirown.Thisispartofwhy,
despiteevidenceofgrowingdesiresforlessdemanding
jobsanddisillusionmentwithWorkandspend,"hours
arestillrising.47
To see the difculties individuals have in deviating
fromthestatusquo,considerwhatwouldhappentoan
ordinarycouplewhohavegrowntiredoftheratrace.
JohnandJaneDoe,likenearlyhalfofallAmericans,
wantmoretimetospendwiththeirchildrenandeach
other.48Whatwillhappeniftheybothdecidetoreduce
theirhoursbyhalfandarewillingtoliveonhalftheir
usualearnings?
prefer shorter hours, but they will exert very little
inuenceontheactualchoicesavailable,becausetheir
desires are latent. Exit from existing jobsone
channelforinuencing themarketisnot available,
because they cannot nd parttime jobs to exit to.
Unless people begin to speak up and collectively
demandthatemployersprovidealtematives,theywill
probablyremaintrappedinfulltimework.

ThetransitionwillbemostabruptforJohn.Fewmen
workparttime,withtheexceptionofteens,students,
and some seniors. Among males aged twentyve to
fortyfour, virtually none (a meager 2.5 percent)
voluntarily choose parttime schedules. Most report
thattheyarenotabletoreducetheirhoursofworkat
all.49 Andofthosewhodohavethefreedomtowork
fewerhours,itislikelythatonlyasmallpercentage
canreducehoursbyasmuchashalf.UnlessJohnhas
truly unusual talents, his employer will probably
refusetosanctionachangetoparttimework.Chances
arehellhavetofindanewjob.
Given the paucity of parttime jobs for men, John's
choiceswillbelimited.Itwillbealmostimpossibleto
secure a position in a managerial, professional, or
administrativecapacity.Mostparttimejobsareinthe
servicesector.Whenhedoeslandajob,hispaywill
fallfarshortofwhatheearnedinfulltimework.The
medianhourlywagerateamongmaleworkersisabout
$10.50,withweeklyearningsof$450.Asaparttime
worker paid by the hour, his median wage will be
about$4,or$80aweek.Hewillalsolosemanyofthe
benets that went with his fulltime job. Only 15
percent of parttime workers are given health
insurance.50 Thetotalincome1055Johnwillsufferis
likely to exceed 80 percent. Under these conditions,
parttimeworkhardlyseemsfeasible.
The social nature ofJohn's choice is revealed by the
dramaofhisattempttogoagainstthegrain.Sincefew
adultmenchooseparttimework,thereisalmostnone
tobehad.Thesocialconventionoffulltimeworkgives
the individual little choice about it. Those who
contemplateashitoparttimewillbedeterredbythe
economicpenalty.Theremayevenbemanywhowould
Jane'sswitchtoparttimewillbelesstraumatic.She
will ndmore job possibilities, becausemore women
work parttime. Her earnings loss will be less,
because women are already discriminated against in
fulltimework.(Themedianhourlywageforwomen
workingparttimeisalmostthreequartersofthefull
timewage,comparedwithonehalfformen.)IfJane
cangethealthinsurancethroughJohnsemployment,
parttime work may be feasible. But a great deal
dependsonhisearningsandbenets.Evenunderthe
best of assumptions, Jane will have to forgo a wide
varietyofoccupations,includingmostofthosewiththe
bestpayandworkingconditions.Shewillmostlikely
be relegated to the bottom part of the female labor
markettheservice,sales,andclericaljobswherethe
majority of women parttimers reside. Social
conventionandtheeconomicincentivesitcreateswill
reproduceinequalitiesofgender.Despitetheiroriginal
intentions,Jane,ratherthanJohn,willendupinpart
timeemployment.
Thesearetheobstaclesonthelabormarketsidelow
wages,fewbenets,andseverelimitationsonchoiceof
occupations.Thedominanceoffulltimejobsalsohas
effects on the consumption side. Imagine that Jane
andJohnstillwanttocutbacktheirhours,evenunder
the adverse circumstances I have described. Their
incomewillnowbeverylow,andtheywillbeforcedto
economizegreatlyontheirpurchases.Thiswillaffect
their ability to t in socially. As halftime workers,
they will nd many social occasions too expensive
(lunchesanddinnersout,movies).Atrst,friendswill
be understanding, but eventually the clash in life
styleswillcreateasocialgap.Theirchildrenwillhave
socialdifcultiesiftheydonthaveaccesstocommon
afterschool activities or the latest toys and clothes.
They'lldropoffthebirthdaypartycircuitbecausethey
cant alford to bring gis. We can even see these
pressureswithfulltime workers, asparentstake on
extra employment to live up to neighborhood
standards. After her divorce Celeste Henderson
workedtwojobstogiveherchildrenthethingstheir
schoolmateshad.Ms.Henderson'sdaughtersaysher
mothersavedhertheembarrassmentoflookingpoor
to the other children.51 For a family with only part
timeworkers,theinabilitytoconsumeinthemanner
oftheirpeersislikelytoleadtosomesocialalienation.
Unless they have a community of others in similar
circumstances,droppingdownwillincludeanelement
of dropping out. Many Americans, especially those
withchildren,arenotwillingtorisksuchafate.
Even with careful budgeting, a couple like the Does
mayhavetroubleprocuringthebasics(housing,food,
and clothing), because the U.S. standard of living is
geared to at least one fulltime income and,
increasingly,totwo.Rentswillbehighrelativetothe
Doesincome.Inpart,thisisbecauseofpriceincreases
in the last decade. But there is also a more
fundamental impediment. As I have argued,
contemporary houses and apartments are large and
luxurious. They have indoor plumbing, central
heating,stoves,andrefrigerators.
Theyhaveexpensivefeaturessuchasclosets,garages,
andindividualbedrooms.Inoursociety,housingmust
conformtolegalandsocialconventionsthatdenethe
acceptablestandardofhousing.Thediicultyisthat
the social norm prevailing in the housing market is
matchedtoafulltimeincome(orincomes). Itisnot
onlythatthecostoflivingishighthesedays.Itisalso
that barebones housing, affordable on only half a
salary, is rare. Even if the Does were willing to go
withoutclosets,garages,andcentralheatinginorder The discipline of economics has traditionally
tosavemoney,theywouldbehardpressedtondsuch represented human beings by the construct of homo
adwelling.
Thisproblemiscommontomanygoodsandservices.
Inaneconomywherenearlyeveryoneworksfulltime,
manufacturers cater to the purchasing power of the
rlltime income. There is a limited market for
productsthataredesiredonlybythosewithhalfan
income.Awholerangeofcheapproductsarenoteven
available.
Onlythebetterqualitygoodswillbedemanded,and
hence only they will be produced. We can see this
phenomenon in the continual upscaling of products.
We'vegonefromblendertoCuisinart,frompolyester
tocotton,fromonespeedSchwinntofancytrailbike.
Rememberthethingsthatwereavailablefortyyears
ago but have disappeared? The semiautomatic
washingmachine.Thehanddrivencoffeegrinder.The
rotary dial telephone. For those who are skeptical
about this point, consider the markets of poor
countries. In India, one can nd very cheap, low
qualityclothingatafractionofthepriceoftheleast
expensiveitemsintheUnitedStates.Semiautomatic
washersandstrippeddowncars arethenorm. Ona
world scale, the American consumer market is very
upscale,whichmeansthatAmericansneedanupscale
incometoparticipateinit.
Thestrengthofsocialnormsdoesnotmeanthatthe
nature of work cannot be changed. Parttime
employment could become a viable option for larger
numbersofpeople.Buttheexistenceofsocialnorms
suggests that change will not come about, as the
neoclassical economist predicts, merely through
individualsexercisingtheirpreferencesinthemarket.
Where Prisoner's Dilemmas and vicious cycles exist,
changerequiresinterventiononasociallevel~om
government, unions, professional associations, and
othercollectiveorganizations.
THEPERILSOFHOMOECONOMICUS
economicus,oreconomicman.Homoeconomicusisa
simple fellow. He has a set of preferences. 52 And he
aimstomaximizehiswellbeing(denedasutility).
His behavior is cool and rational, unlike
psychoanalyticman(whoisdrivenbycompulsion)or Such a process has serious ramications. We are
sociological man (who is conned by social norms). committed to perpetual growth, yet the world has
Homoeconomicusisanindividual,actingalone,who nite resources. They are already stretched to the
doeswhathedoesbecausehebelievesitisthecourse dangerpoint,aswepolluteourair,land,andwater.
ofactionthatwillbringhimthemostutility.Formy Cantheearthtoleratemorecars,moreBTUs,andthe
purposes,themostimportantpersonalitytraitofhomo felling of more trees? Afuent citizens the world
economicusisthathecanneverbesatiated.Hewill aroundcontinuetotrytoraisetheirownstandardsof
always prefer more to less. Although he can become living,whiletheglobespoormajorityscrapeby(orfail
tiredofanyparticulargood,thereisneverapointat to)withlittleornothing.Ifwelookatsatisfactionasa
whichhavingmoregoodsoverallwillmakehimworse relationshipbetweenwantingandhaving,itbecomes
off.Andbecausemorewillalwaysmakehimbetteroff, clear that there are two ways to be satised. Inthe
hisdesiresareinnite. economic view, satisfaction comes om increasing
what one has. Wut couldnt one just as well gain
Some economists have made grand claims for homo happinessbyreducingdesires?
economicus, asserting that he is an adequate
representationofhumanbeirrgsinallsocieties,atall This is the Zen" path to happiness. It warns that
times. Stone age" peoples, slaves, housewives. and hedonisticpleasuresareshallowandaddictive.Itasks
medievalpeasantsareassumedtolivebyhismaxims. forrenunciation,notnecessarilyofmaterialgoods,but
of materialism. In the words of anthropologist
Theseclaimshaveledtogreat(andunresolved)debate MarshallSahlins,thispathholdsthatapeoplecan
among anthropologists, psychologists, historians, and enjoy an unparalleled material plentywith a low
economists.(ItshouldbeclearbynowthatIbelieve standardofliving."Thekeyistokeepdesiresequally
modernconsumerismislearnedbehavior,ratherthan low. English economist Edward Schumachers
a trait of human nature equally appli cable to Buddhist economics" produces extraordinarily
primitives and peasants.) But one thing that is satisfactoryresults"omamazinglysmallmeans.53
probably not controversial is the realworld example
from which homo economicus has been drawn. If he I have already identied many who have exhibited
describes anyone at all, it is the twentiethcentury limited material desires: the fourteenthcentury
Americanconsumer.Herewendthequintessential English laborers who responded to higher wages by
materialisthighly focused on the acquisition of doinglessoftheunpleasantworkthatwastheirlotin
goods,shamelesslyhedonistic,andslavishlydevotedto life;theearlyAmericanworkerswhocravedtimeaway
thepropositionofnonsatiation. omworktoeducatethemselves;thetradeunionists
andreformersofthe19205whoforesawandforswore
The problem with homo economicus is that consumerism. More recently, the affluence of the
nonsatiationshadesalltooeasilyintononsatisfaction. 19605helpedcreateayouthculturethatshunnedthe
Oncehesees(astheperspicaciouseconomicmandoes) materialismoftheAmerican wayof life.InWestern
thathavingmorewillmakehim"betteroff,"itishard Europe today, popular green" movements reject
tokeepfromwantingit.Ifmoreisbetter,discontent growthandconsumerism.
willnotbefarbehind.Discontentisrelieved,overand
over again, by acquiring more. Where desires are The meaning of consumption itself has already gone
innite,theprocessofacquisitionwillbecomeinnite through one major transformation, om its original
itself. negativemeaningofeatup,devour,waste,destroy."54
Today,asecondtransformationwouldentailnewways
of wanting, buying, owning, using, and discarding.
Insteadofcravingnoveltyinconsumergoods,wecould
cultivate attachments to possessions thatwere high
qualityandlonglasting,fromclothestoautomobilesto
gadgets.Wewouldusethingsuntiltheyworeout,not
untiltheywentoutoffashionorwejustgrewtiredof
them.Foresightwouldbenecessary,inordertoavoid
new products that ultimately leave us no better off.
Maybe the Joneses and the Smiths could even
cooperate rather than compete. If they were less
concemed about acquiring, the two families could
share expensive household items that are used only
intermittently.
WhilemostAmericansmayndithardtounderstand
that such changes are in their interest, many who
have made them are condent that getting off the
consumertreadmillyieldsadeeperandtruersenseof
wellbeing. When Linda Weltner, a former shopping
addict,stoppedbuying,shedidn'tsufferpangsofself
denial"butfeltlledtothebrim.Herlifehasbecome
far richer. And not only will we help ourselves.
Forswearingabankruptingconsumeristpath,thenew
consumerofthetwentyrstcenturywillbeinafar
better position to address issues of global inequality
and move us off our current collision course with
nature. But to do these things, we must be open to
major changes in how we run our businesses,
households, and the connections between them. And
we must organize ourselves to make those changes
happenin spite of alltoocertain opposition om
those who benet from the status quo. In the next
chapter,Itakeupthesestructuraltransformations.
CHAPTER6
ExitingtheSquirrelCage
It is often said that an economist is a person who
knowsthepriceofeverythingandthevalueofnothing.
On the question of time, we may all have become
economists.Wearekeenlyawareofthepriceoftime
theextraincomeearnedwithasecondjob,thewage
andahalfforanhourofovertime.Intheprocess,we
mayhaveforgottentherealworthoftime.
The origins of modern time consciousness lie in the
development of a capitalist economy. Precapitalist
Europe was largely timeless"or, in historian
Jacques1eGoswords,eeofhasteandcarelessof
exactitude." As capitalism raised the price of time,
people began to think of time as a scarce resource.
Indeed,theideologyoftheemergingmarketeconomy
waslledwithmetaphorsoftime:savingtime,using
timewisely,admonitionsagainstpassingtime.The
workethicitselfwasinsomesenseatimeethic.When
Benjamin Franklin preached that time is money, he
meant that time should be used productively.
Eventually capitalism did more than make time
valuable.Timeandmoneybegantosubstituteforeach
other.Franklin'saphorismtookonnewmeaning,not
only as prescription, but as an actual description.
Moneybuystime,andtimebuysmoney. Timeitsegf
hadbecomeacommodity.l
Moneylendingwastherstexampleofthesaleoftime,
itsnaturerevealedinthecolloquialtobuyontime.
Thenthesaleoftimedevelopedinthelabormarket,
and became, for most people, the area where the
impacthasbeengreatest.Todaytheprincipleofsaleof
labor time is thoroughly accepted. But this is the
resultofalongandcontentiousprocess.AstheBritish
historian Edward Thompson has argued, workers
struggled at rst from a traditional ideology of
timelessness against the very idea of time. They
resentedemployers'attemptstoimposetimeandtime
discipline.Asdecadespassed,theystruggledoverthe
ownershipoftimehowmuchwastheirs,howmuch
the bosss. And today, many ght for overtimethe
righttosellasmuchtimeastheycan.2
The unencumbered sale of time for money is now a
reigningvalue,itslegitimacysoentrenchedthatitis
no longer fully voluntary: most employees can be
forcedtoputinovertime.Themonetaryequivalenceto
time has expanded far beyond the labor market.
Patientshavebeguntochargedoctorswhentheyare
keptwaiting.Thegovernmentpaysjurorsforeachday
theyspendincourt.Thelegalvalueofahumanlifeis
basedonthefuturesaleofworkingtime.Everyhour Where time is money, its hard to protect time for
hasaprice. thosewhosuchaslowwageworkers,children,aged
parents,orcommunityorganizationscantpayforit.
Thevirtuesofthesaleoftimeandtheequationoftime And it's hard to protect time for ourselves, for
andmoneyarewellknown:puttingapricetagoneach relaxation, hobbies, or sleep. The pressures toward
hour allows a person (or a society) to use time long working hours have become too powerful. But
efciently.3 But there are also vices, which are less commonsensetellsusthatworkinghourscanbetoo
wellrecognized.Manyaspectsofthevalueoftimeare long. Excessive hours are unhealthy and antisocial,
difculttoincorporateintoapurelymarketexchange andultimatelyerodethequalityoflife.

The commensurability of time and money has ier

suchastheeffectsofindividualsuseoftimeonthe detrimental social effects. It transforms a resource
qualityofsocial that is equally distributed (time) into one that is
distinctly unequal (money). Both wealth and income
life,ortheconceptofabasichumanrighttofreetime.
areunequallydistributed.Buteveryoneisbornwith
Everysociety
twentyfour hours in a day. And while money does
hasacultureoftime.Hasoursperhapsgonetoofarin skewthedistributionoftimetosomeextent(higher
thedirection incomepeoplelivelonger),ownership"oftimeisstill
far more equally allocated. The sale of time
ofcollapsingtimeintomoney? undermines its egalitarianism. As time outsidework
becomes more precious, those with money can
economize on it. And this appears to be happening.
The more time substitutes for money, the more Fasttrack careerists are hiring people to cook their
difcultitistoestablishan Independent measureof meals,watchtheirchildren,evenwaitinlineforthem.
timesvalue.Andourdiminishingabilitytomakethis Small companies have sprouted up, offering services
judgment contributes to long hours. If the market from grocery shopping to changing light bulbs. The
recognizes only the measure of money, then arguing people whose time is being sold are those less
thatajobrequirestoomanyhours"makesnosense:it economically well situatedas happened earlier, of
istantamounttosayingthatitpaystoomuchmoney. course,inthenineteenthcenturywhenthegrowthof
TheinatedworkinghoursoftheWallStreetnancier themiddleclassspawnedahugedemandforservants.
or the corporate lawyer are a fair trade for their Today's scarcity of time puts us in jeopardy of
inatedsalaries.Iflowwageemployeesinthenursing producing a new servant class and undermining the
home industry have two fulltime jobs, it is because egalitarianismoftime.
theyvaluemoneyovertime.Inaculturewheretimeis
EstablishingarighttofreetimemaysoundUtopian
merely money, we risk perverse effects such as
buttheprincipleoflimitingexchangehasalreadybeen
occurred after 1938 with legislation to regulate
established.Itisnotlegaltoselloneselfintoslavery.
overtime.Thispolicywasdesignedtoinstallaforty
Itisnotlegaltosellone'svote.Itisnotlegaltosell
hourweek,butitsdisincentivetocompanies(timeand
children.Eventheprincipleoflimitingtheexchangeof
ahalt)turnedintoapowerfulincentiveforworkersto
time is well established. The state has regulated
work as many hours as they could. In the end, the
workinghourssincethecolonialperiod. 4 Therightto
legislation contracted both leisure and employment,
freetimehasbeenlegislatedinsomeforms,suchas
thetwothingsitwasdesignedtoexpand.
legal holidays. Most important of all is the social
securitysystem,whichassumesthatworkershavea
righttoleisureforaperiodattheendoftheirlives. standardhoursbutthatthegovernmentrequirerms
WhatIamarguingforistheextensionofthisright tosetsomestandard.)
so that everyone can enjoy free time while they are
stillyoungandthroughouttheirlives. Thissystemwouldnotbeacureallfortheexcessive
hoursofsomeocmrpations.Employerscouldstillset
very high standard hours and thereby considerably
negate the benets of standardizing hours. A
BREAKINGTHEWORKANDSPENDCYCLE replication of Japanese practices is even possible,
where employees are subtly (or not so subtly)
To gain this rightto reduce the reliance on long
pressuredtoignoreanystandard.Salariedemployees
hoursit will be necessary to break the workand
may fail to claim extra hours, or forgo vacations, in
spendcycle. Changesmustbe made ona number of
order to advance their careersas happened in a
fronts: altering employers incentives; improving
Californiarmwhereaquarterofmanagementcame
wages for the lowestpaid; creating gender equality;
to work without pay.5 In the most competitive
preempting the automatic spiraling of consumption;
environments, it is almost impossible to prevent the
andthroughout,establishingtimesvalueindependent
longhour bias without a transformation of the
of its price, so that it can no longer be readily
corporateculture.Butclearlydenedscheduleswould
substitutedformoney.
bothplaceausefullimitationonemployersandgive
NewIncentivesforEmployers employeestherighttobepaidfortheirovertime.And
competitionforpersonnelmaydiscouragethesetting
The employers bias toward excessive hours is of excessively long days. If a prospective trainee at
strongest for salaried workers. Eliective change will Salomon Brothers were asked to guarantee eighty
therefore lay the burden of extra hours on the hours and Goldman, Sachs sets seventy, the former
employer. What a rm now receives courtesy of its wouldbeatadisadvantage.Forthoseemployeeswho
salaried workforce, it should have to pay for. wanttheirtime,thestandardizationofhourscouldbe
Therefore,Iproposethateverysalariedjobbeformally effective.
(and legally) attached to a standard schedule. Along
with annual pay, every position would also have an Asforpayingforextrahours,mysecondproposalis
explicitstandardofhoursforexample,aninetosix that the company should pay back time with time,
scheduleandaspeciednumberofholidays,vacation rather than with money. The idea is to transform
andpersonaldays,andsicktime.Thus,ifanemployee overtime into comp" timeand make it voluntary.
actually works longer than the standard, the hours Everyjobsalaried,hourly,orpieceratewouldhave
wouldbecountedasextra,andthermmustpayfor a standard workday, workweek, and workyear.
them. Ideally, the rm would designate an annual Companies could requestalthough not demand
totalofhoursandallowflexibleschedulingwithinit. extrahours,whichwouldberecompensedintimeoff.
Ofcourse,many,andprobablymost,salariedpositions Anextrahourworkedtodaywouldyieldanextrahour
alreadyhaveofcialweeklyhourseveniftheyrenot ofpaidtimeoffinthefuture.Workerswouldbeableto
adhered to. And paid time off is almost always banktheirovertimehoursandaccumulatethem.They
speciedinadvance.Butstandardhourswouldbea couldsaveupforlongervacations,takesabbaticals,or
departureinmanyofthelongesthourelds,suchas go to parttime at fulltime pay. The shift from
nance, consulting, upper administration and overtimetocomptimewouldnotonlyreducethetotal
management,andlaw.(ItshouldbenotedthatIam numberofhoursworked,itwouldalsomakejobsmuch
advocating not that limits be set on the amount of more exible. It would become far easier to go to
school,beaparent,ordovolunteerworkand,atthe
sametime,carry on afulltimejob. Ofcourse, there But the idea that jobs pay more where overtime is
may be limitations on the scheduling of time off. availableistosomecurrentanillusion.Arecentstudy
Existingpracticesinvolvingcomptimeorprogramsof shows that workers who get overtime receive lower
voluntary work reduction usually have some hourlywages,asrmsundo"someoftheeffectofthe
restrictionssuchaspriornoticationandmanagement overtime premium.7 If this research is correct, it is
approval. But in situations where both sides have likelythathourlywageswouldriseinresponsetothe
shownexibilityandgoodwill,theselimitationshave elimination of overtime. Even so, there would be
notbeenonerous. signicant resistance to this proposal. In some
unionizedshops,workerswithseniorityhaveopposed
Expandingtheuseofcomptimerepresentsabigstep worksharingasanalternativetolayoffs,prefeningto
towarderodingthesubstitutionoftimeandmoney have some workers laid off rather than having all
andwouldencountersignicantopposition.Employers workers'hoursreduced.
would like some things about the proposal and not
others.Paymentbycomptimemeansthatworkersare A muchneeded change is to make parttime work
remuneratedforextrahoursattheirregularwagerate more feasible. At the moment, the great majority of
(whichis alltheyare paidfortime off), rather than parttime positions are lowpay, lowmobility, and
timeandahalf.Employerswilllikethis.Butitalso largely without benets. Yet growing numbers of
meansthattheywillhavetondmoreemployeesto peopleareexpressinginterestinreducingtheirhours.
ll in for the additional time off. They will not be Theimpedimentsforprofessionalsandmanagersare
happy about this, in part because of the fringe especially powerful. In many places, parttime is
benets.ButIsuspectemployerswillbemostaverse tantamount to career suicide. A California study of
to the idea of associating standard hours with all professionalswhoopted forshorterhourscatalogued
salaried jobs. Despite the exibility built into the thedilculties.Whenonestateemployeewenttoher
proposal(theycanchooseanylevelofstandardhours supervisor with a proposal to work fewer hours, his
andadjustitfrequently),theywillcomplainthatitis reactionwastypical:Mygawd...doyourealizewhat
anunnecessaryintrusionontheirprerogatives. thismeanstoyourcareer?"Theprivatesectoriseven
more discriminatory. A manager in a private public
Many houriy workers, especially men, would be relationsrmwentonparttimewiththebirthofher
bitterlyopposedtotheeliminationofovertimepay,at child. Aer more than a decade of excellent
leastatthebeginning.Overtimeistheonlywaymany performance,thermstillwillnotputheronthelist
can earn high or even liveable rates of paya forpromotionnotuntilsheswillingtoreturntowork
circumstance that has turned more than a few into fulltime. And, despite new drinking by some
slavestotheirjobs.Oneunionstewardnoted: employers,manystillwontgivetheopportunitytocut
ThepeopleIrepresentintheunionwanttoworkmorehours, back:
not less. Working overtime is the only way to make decent
WhenIaskedforsixmonthsofffrommyjobalterIhadanew
money,sotheyrealwayslookingforwaystostretchthework
baby,theytreatedmelikeIwaslazy.Theyjustturnedmedown
out,orndsomethingthatneedstobedoneovertheweekendor
at.ThenItriedaskingtocomebackearlierparttime.Andthey
into the evening. When I talk to them about working shorter
stillsaidno.ThethinkingwasthatifIwasseriousaboutmy
hours,theyjustlaugh likeit'sajoke.Maybeforsomeyuppie
career,thatjustmeantworkingfulltimeornothing.AndsoI
whoalreadymakesenoughintwentyorthirtyhours,oreven
didit.I'drathergiveupthemoneythansomeofthetimewith
fortybutnotus.ButIknowhowtiredandboredtheyareafter
myfamily,buttheyjustwouldn'toffermethatchoice.9
yorsixtyhoursontheline.Aftersixtyhoursyourmindis
stilldoingthatjobafteryou'reasleepanddreaming,andthen
itsupatsixandbacktothejob.Itsnotthattheywanttowork
Therearesomesimplereformsthatwouldenhancethe
thosehours.There'sjustnootherwaytobreakeven.6 feasibilityofparttimework.Arst,crucialstepisto
eliminate the fringe benets" penalty. Parttime
workers would receive a share of health insurance, expected. People cling tenaciously to their current
pensionbenets,andotherfringes,proratedbytheir paycheck,unwillingorunabletotradeitfortime,but
hoursofwork.Theywouldalsogettheoptiontogoto pollsindicatestrongsentimentforusingfutureincome
fullcoverageattheirownexpense.Therearealready to fund additional time off. Suppose that companies
many fulltime workers who would prefer parttime wererequiredbylawtogivepeoplethischoice.What
workbutdonttakeitbecauseofthelossofbenets. if, aswetakethe productivitychallenge"incoming
This provision would allow them to scale back. (A decades,thereisnobiastowardmoney?
superiorsolutionisuniversal,govemmentguaranteed
health insurance for all, regardless of employment The company would announce the percentage pay
status.Iolfermysuggestionintheabsenceofsucha inuease it plans to give to each group of employees.
program. Furthermore, granting full employerpaid Thenitwouldcalculateequivalenthoursoftimeolf.
benets to parttimers, however desirable, would The employee could decide among the altematives
createapowerfulincentiveforrmstorefusetooffer fromtheextremesofallpayoralltime,tohalfand
parttimepositions.)Asecondoptionistoinstitutejob half,orthreequarter/onequartersplits.Thecompany
sharing,inwhichtwopeoplesplitonepositionsfringe could offer different forms of time off (reductions in
benets,responsibility,work,andpay.Eachofthese daily hours, parttime schedules, or additional
changeswouldreduceexistingbiasestowardlonghour vacation or personal days). Free time could be
jobs. accumulatedfromyeartoyear.Administratively,this
option could be added on to existing personnel
The major remaining incentive toward long hours is routines. Many rms already allow employees to
thatassociatedwiththesaleoflaborbythehour.In choosetheirhealthcoverage,whethertoparticipatein
chapter3,Iarguedthatadditionalhoursincreasethe the company savings plan, or how much
employment rent and thereby raise productivity. companysponsored life insurance to carry. The
Although there is no simple institutional trick for money/timetradeoisjustonemorebenetoption.
eliminatingthisbias,thereareeffectiveproductivity
raising substitutes for long hours. Examples includeExactly how would this choice work out if it were
giving workers more participation and decision available today? There are two key parameters: the
making power on the job, narrowing wage amountofincomeacompanyiswillingtogive,andthe
differentials, andhumanizingtheworkenvironment. actionofitworkersdesignatetowardfreetime.lets
assumetheformeris2percentplusanadjustmentfor
A large number of studies show that these reforms
raisesatisfactionandproductivity.Themoreprevalent ination,andthelatteris100percent.Then,abouta
theybecome,thelesscostlyitwouldbeforcompanies decade from nowin the year 2002, saythe
toshortenhours.0thermeasurescanalsobeeffective. averageworkycarwillhavefallenby340hoursom
Onestraightforwardreform,longoverdue,istooutlaw 1,960 hours to 1,600 hours per year (see table 6.1).
the practice of mandatory overtime. Workers should Thatsenoughforanadditionaltwomonthsofvacation
or a 6 1/2 hour day. At lower rates of real income
not be forced, as many currently are, to work more
growth,theleisuregainislower.Higherratesproduce
than their normal workweek in order to keep their
jobs. rapidgains.Ifapersonsrealincomeweretoriseby4
percentayear,andallofitwaschanneledintotime
GivingUpFutureIncomeforTimeOff o,aftertenyearstheannualworkyearwouldbenear
1,300 hoursa total gain in free time of over 600
Tosevertheworkconsumptionlink,wemustexploit hours.Thispersoncouldgotoschoolonesemestera
the psychological difference between income that is year,takeafourmonthvacation,orfollowavehour
already being spent and income that is merely dailyscheduleyearround.
Ifitsoundstoogoodtobetrue,rememberthatinmy choosetotradeoffsomefuture incomewith almost
example halfoptingforaloopercenttradeoff.A1989pollasked
peoplewhichoftwocareerpathstheywouldchoose:
oneenablingyoutoscheduleyourownfulltimework
hours,andgivemoreattentiontoyourfamily,butwith
slowercareeradvancement;andtheotherwithrigid
work hours and less attention to your family, but
faster career advancement." Nearly eight out of ten
preferredthepathwithmorefreetime.Indeed,large
majoritiesofbothmenandwomen(74percentand82
percent)chosethisoption.Fiftyvepercentalsosaid
they would not be likely to accept a promotion
involving greater responsibility if it meant spending
lesstimewithfamily,"comparedwith34percentwho
said they would. Of course, these are hypothetical
questions, with no guarantee that people would
actuallyactinthisway.Buteveniftheparticipation
wereconsiderablylowersay,attwothirdsorhalf
the program would have to be deemed very popular
and would eventually have a major impact on
purchasingpoweriscompletelystagnant.Theperson
worktime.11
whogoes100percenttowardfreetimefortenyears
will experience no increase whatsoever inhis or her Therewouldbehardcoretesisters.Thiscountryhas
material standard of living. Purchasing power will plenty of workaholicspeople for whom work is an
keep up with ination, but not go beyond it. The escape,anobsession,or,iftheyhavenothingbetterto
appealofsuchaschemeisthatwhatyoudontknow do,thedefaultoption,whowillnotbeinterestedinmy
can'thurtyou.Asshoppingaddictstendtodiscover, proposal. There are others for whom money is
dissatisfactionwiththeirpossessionsvanishoncethey everything, who will avail themselves of almost any
stopgoingintostoresandexposingthemselvestothe opportunitytomakeafewmorebucks.Orthosewho
newestitems.Ifyoucanbecontenttomorrowwiththe selltheirsoulstothehighestpayingjobtheycannd
amount you consume today, then trading off future regardlessofitsworkinghours,stresslevel,effecton
income can be a blessing. 10 How many people would their family life, or social implications. And half the
actually choose to forgo future income? A few populationhasaspecialproblem,asafortyveyear
voluntary worktime reduction plans for government old machinist explains: Being a man means being
employeesalreadyexist,goingbythenameofVTime willingtoputallyourwakinghoursintoworkingto
(the Vstands for voluntary"). Participation in these supportyourfamily.Ifyouaskfortimeoff,orifyou
plansissmalltypicallybeloweven5percent.Butit turndownovertime,itmeansyourelazyoryourea
wouldbewrongtoreadtoomuchintotheseprograms. wimp."12Menareensnarednotonlyinthetraditional
Theyrequireindividualstoreducecurrentincome,as breadwinner role but also by the tendency of our
wealreadyknowtheyareveryreluctanttodo.Only culturetoequateselfworthwithjobandpay.
futureoriented Vtime is relevant; and to my
knowledge,nosuchplansexist.Butsurveydatagive Hardcore resistance to giving up money for time
someideaofhowpeoplewouldrespondtothem.Inthe would, I hope, give way in the face of the positive
1978 survey, 84 percent of workers said they would
experience of many, such as this group of overtime moonlighting, and multieamer families. And many
lovingworkersinaBritishshoefactory: areunabletomakeendsmeetatall.
ItwaseasytondvolunteersforSundaysaswell.Imsurethat
thereweretimeswhenyoucouldhaveaskedthemtoworkseven
daysoutofsevenforawholeyear.theydhavedoneit,ifthey'd
beenpushed....Andtherewerepeoplewhoworkedafterhours
aswell,cashinhand,aswellastheirsplitshift,eitherthrough
alienation,orsometimesfromnecessity.Yousee,whenyouwere
workingfortyeighthoursaweek,cashreallybecamethething
you were after. . . . A friend said to me, jokingly (but jokes
alwayshaveaseriousside):Me,whenImnotworking,Idont
knowwhattodo,I'mboredstiff,Imbetteroffatwork."Your
factoryisyourlife....Youhaveabitmoremoney,youllbuyas
muchelectricalgadgetryasyoucan.Youllchaseaftermoney,
butitwontdoyoumuchgoodintheend.
Whenhardtimeshit,theplantwentintoworksharing:
Then bit by bit, there was an unbelievable phenomenon of
physicalrecuperation.Theideaofmoneyreallylostitsintensity.
Idontmeanithaddisappearedbuteventuallyeventheblokes
withfamiliestolookaftersaid,Itsbetternowthanbefore."Its
true that we lost a good deal of money [25 percent of former
income]...but,quitesoon,onlyoneortwooftheblokesminded.
Itwasaboutnowthat...friendshipsbegan:wewerenowable
to go beyond political conversation, and we managed to talk
aboutlove,impotence,jealousy,familylife....Itwasalsoat
thrs time that we realized the full horror of working in the
factoryonSaturdayafternoonsorevenings.Before,theblokes
hadputupwith it,butnowwewereonceagainlearningthe
meaningofthewordliving....SimilarlyforSundaysorBank
Holidays,whichwerepaidattripletime,managementadmitted
tousthattheyhaddifcultyndingpeople....Therehadbeen
achangeofattitude,theywerentabletobuyworkersaseasily
asbefore.13
InequalitiesofTime
OfcoursethewagesofmanyAmericansaresolow,or
their conditions of employment so precarious, that
theycannotaffordtogiveupanyincomepresentor
future.Andtheirnumbersarerising.
Nearly onethird of all U.S. workers currently earn
wageswhich,onafulltimeschedule,areinsufcient
toliftthemoutofpoverty.AsIhavestressed,millions
can make ends meet only through over time,
The danger of increasing leisure time voluntarily is
that it could replace one inequity with anotheras
inequality of income creates inequality of time. The
poorestthirdwouldworkjustasmanyhoursasever
or more, as more work became availablewhile the
top twothirds would gradually become a leisured
class.Thepeoplewhowouldgainfreetimewouldbe
those who already had the nancial resources that
make it possibleeducation, homes, and a bank
account. They would be mainly white and mainly
upperandmiddleclass.
To redress these imbalances. I also advocate
mandatory inueases in free time. The United States
standsoutamongrichcountriesinitsfailuretoensure
basicrightstovacationorparentalleaves.Whatabout
govemmentmandatedfourweekpaidvacationsforall
employees, independent of length of service? 0r six
month paid parental leaves, nanced through the
socialsecuritysystem?Thesewouldbeastartinthe
rightdirection.
Ultimately, inequality of time must be solved by
redressingthe underlyinginequalityof income. Only
whenthepoorestmakealivingwagecantheirrightto
free time be realized. And barring an economic
miracle,partofitWEIhavetocomefromthepeopleat
the top. In the 19805, the rich grabbed a fantastic
amountfromthosebelowthem.Nowit'stimetogiveit
back.
Raising low incomes is not a simple matter, but at
leasttwostrategieswillhelp.First,companiesshould
begin to equalize the large differences in wages and
salarieswhichexistamongtheiremployees,bypaying
moretothoseatthebottomandlesstothoseatthe
top. The United States has high levels of wage
inequality in comparison with other industrialized
nations.Second,thefederalminimumwageshouldbe
raised and indexed to the economys average wage.
While only a limited fraction of workers receive the
minimum,whenitrises,itcreatesupwardpressureon
those wages which are somewhat higher. Therefore, Progressagainstwagediscriminationonthebasisof
raisingtheminimumcanbeaneffectivestrategyfor sexwillalsohelp,byeliminatingonesourceofthebias
improving the living standards of many lowwage whichdevalueswomen'stime.
workers.
Ultimately, we need a serious public debate on
Finally,asshouldbeclearfrommyearlierdiscussion, householdlabor,whichaddressesbothwhoshoulddo
theproblemofworktimecannotbesolvedwithoutan itandhowitshouldbedone.
equalization of the distribution of work itself. This
meanswemustfindadurablesolutionforthecrisisof
unemployment and underemployment plaguing this
CanAmericaAffordLessWork?
economy. Such a solution will require an ongoing
commitmentfromthefederalgovernmenttoensurea
moreequalallocationoftotalworkhours.
Theneedformoreleisureisnotacceptedbyeveryone.
My proposals also run the risk of reproducing A 1989 letter to three hundred business leaders
inequalities of gender. The suggestions themselves advocatingashorterworkweekfailedtoyieldasingle
ouch as making parttime work more desirable or favorable response. This reply from the CEO of a
allowing people to trade off income for timeare Fortune 500 company was typical: My view of the
genderneutral.Withoutchangeinunderlyinggender world, our country and our country's needs is
roles, however, women will be more likely to take diametrically opposite of yours. I cannot imagine a
advantage of them. If this occurs, it will reproduce shorterworkweek.Icanimaginealongeronebothin
womens current responsibility for housework and schoolandatworkifAmericaistobecompetitivein
child care. Therefore, ongoing feminist efforts to the rst half of the next century." I have already
equalize the division of labor within the family are mentioned a Fortune poll in which threequarters of
crucialtothelargersuccessofmyproposedreforms.If CEOstooktheviewthatcompetingwiththeJapanese
mentakeconsiderablymoreresponsibilityforchildren willrequirethemtopushtheirmanagersharder."Its
andhouseworkasmanynowsaytheywanttothen erce opposition even to unpaid parental leave
theytoowillwanttooptforworkingpatternsthatare suggests that business thinks it cant afford any
compatiblewithfamilyduties.Inthatevent,theeffect concessions.14
oftheproposalswillbequitedifferent.Theywill,asI
intend,helpundemrinerigidgenderroles,bymaking Ofcourse,employershavebeensoundingthealarmof
shared parenting and twocareer families more foreigncompetitionforatleastacenturyandahalf.In
feasible.Thesetransformations,however,requirethat 1830,NewYorkemployersopposedthetenhourday
thecultureofU.S.workplacesmustchange,inorderto ongroundsthatitwouldallowforeignerstoundersell
be more accommodating to societys needs for child them.Theirlaborersputforththeotherpointofview,
care,careofthesickandelderly,andotherdomestic in a debate that has changed little since that time:
labor.Andthechangemusthappenforbothmenand Are we to slave thirteen or fourteen hours a day,
women. because the Manchester spinner or the Birmingham
blacksmith,soslaves?15
We must also confront the legacy of inefciency in
householdtechnology,inordertoreversethebuiltin In fact, the vast majority of America's competitors
backwardness of the American home. Architects and workfarlessthanwedo.Whenbusinessclaimsmat
productdesignersshouldbeencouragedtoinventnew, Americans must work harder, they show selective
truly laborsaving household technologies, vision,lookingonlyEast,toJapanandSouthKorea.
emphasizing low maintenance and ease of cleaning. MostJapaneseworkersareonasixdayscheduleand
halffailtotaketheirallottedvacations.Koreansare
still in the factory three Sundays out of four. In
manufacturing, the sector where most foreign
competitiontakesplace,Japaneseworkersputinsix
weeksmoreeachyearthantheircounterpartsinthe
United States. But U.S. workers are already doing
eight weeks more than West Germans, and eleven
more than Swedes. The West Europeans have
managedtomaintaintheirstandardofliving,cutting
neitherwagesnortimeoff.l6
Discrepancies in worktime are often cited as if they
were proof enough that the United States must
replicateJapanese ways. But the economics of
competitionisnottheeconomicsofmimicry.Itsmore
complex.First,wemustbeclearaboutwhatisbeing
askedfor.Ifitsmorehoursatexistingpay,thenitis
merely a roundabout way for business to reduce
workers wages. While lower wages help
competitivenessintheshortterm,inthelongrunthey
can boomerang, as declining wages leading to
decliningproductivity,throughdiminishedincentives
toinvest,higherturnover,andloweremployeemorale.
Thegameof loweringwages can getinsidious. Once
the highest in the world, U.S. manufacturing wages
havefallen substantially for a decade and now rank
below many West European nations. How far down
shouldtheygo?Korea,Brazil,andIndiaaregrowing
competitors. If corporations demand a decline to the
poverty wages paid in many countries, should
Americanworkerssimplyaccede?17
What we should learn from the Japanese, and hour
our own history as well, is not the need to reduce
wages, or raise hours, but the importance of
productivity. In the international market, what
matters in the long run is not how many hours a
personworks, buthow productivelyheor sheworks
them. If an American can produce an equivalent
computer in fewer hours than a Japanese (at a
comparablewagerate), then thatcomputerwillsell,
whethertheAmericanworkerhasaftyoraforty
orathirtyhour week. Andefcientproductionitself
will yield rising wages, as the cases of Japan and
Koreareveal.Insteadofpushingtheiremployeesstan
dard of living even farther down the international
hierarchy, American management should be guring
outhowtomakethehourstheybuymoreproductive.
The irony of corporate Americas position is that
excessive hours are a serious problem in Japan.
Consider the whitecollar salarymen, as they are
called,whoadheretogruelingschedulesinapressure
cookerenvironment.Theyfacearduouscommutes,an
extended workday, and obligatory after work
socializing.Theyarestronglydiscouragedfromtaking
their vacations. In recent years, Japans vibrant
economy has brought overtime hours near their all
time high. The result: thousands of workers have
become victims of karmht, or death by overwork."
Otherwise perfectly healthy, they keel over at their
desks,usuallyafteraprolongedstretchofovertimeor
aparticularlyhighpressuredeal.18
Eventhosewhoworkfewerhoursthanthesalarymen
sufferdebilitatingconsequencesomtheirdailygrind.
Ofce employees as a whole put in 225 hoursor
almost six weeksmore than they do in the United
States.19 A recent government study found that
Japanese productivity (despite its high growth) is
lower than that of other advanced countries in part
becausetheworkinghoursaretoolong.Andthereis
now considerable pressure in Japan to reduce
worktime. The government has made 1,800 hours a
nationalgoal,which,ifachieved,wouldputJapanese
hoursbelowthoseoftheUnitedStates.Andaccording
toa1985opinionpoll,mostyoungJapaneseworkers
frown on overtime and would probably prefer a
reductionofworktimeratherthanwageincreases.To
emulatecurrentJapanesehourswouldbesheerfolly.
ThosewhocallforAmericatoreplicatetheJapanese
workculturehaveforgottenthatthepointofeconomic
successistomakepossibleagoodlife.Toimpairthe
quality of life In the mime of economic success is
foolhardy.OneyoungAmericansummedupacommon
and sensible point of view: I dont want to be
Japanese....Iworkhardenoughasitis."20
The fact is that some shorterhour schedules can
actuallyraiseproductivity.Forexample,manypeople
are more productive onMonday, the rst day of the
week.BycreatingtwoMondays,jobsharingboosts
productivity.Butmostsurprisingistheevidencethat
under certain conditions a shorter workday will not
necessarilyreduceoutputandcanevenraiseit.When
theKelloggCompanymadetheirhistoricswitchtoa
sixhourdayon1December1930theyweresearching
forastrategytocopewiththeunemploymentofthe
Depression.Totheirsurprise,theyfoundthatworkers
were
moreproductive,ontheorderof3percentto4percent.
In some departments, the pace had picked up even
more.Accordingtooneobserver,eightythreecasesof
shreddedwholewheatbiscuitusedtobepackedinan
hour (under the eighthour day). At the time of my
visit,thenumberwas96.Theworkerswerepleased,
preferring the quicker pace but shorter hours. And
managementwaspleasedaswell.AccordingtoW.K.
Kellogg,theefciencyandmoraleofouremployeesis
Lsic] so increased, the accident and insurance rates
aresoimproved,andtheunitcostofproductionisso
lowered that we can afford to pay as much for six
hoursasweformerlypaidforeight.21 Contemporary
evidence tells a similar story. When the Medtronic
Corporation in Minneapolis decided to give its
employeesfortyhours'payforthirtysixhoursofwork,
ithirednoadditionalpersonnelbutfoundthatoutput
increased. On balance, the company saved money.
Ideal Industries, a small familyowned business,
shiftedtoafourday,thirtyeighthourweekalsoat
forty hours pay. Again, productivity did not decline,
but absenteeism did. At the United Services
AutomobileAssociationinsurancecompany in Texas,
sales were up, even though personnel hours were
down.Efciencyandmoraleimproved.Tirmoverand
error rates declined. These experiences have been
repeatedinotherAmericancompaniesandinforeign
rmsaswell.ABritishstudyofavarietyofcompanies
reached similar conclusions. Far from being costly,
nearly all these workweek reductions paid for
themselves, even when workers incomes were held
steady.22
Part of the reason is that the workday gets
compressed. At its summer peak, the medieval day
stretched from sunup to sundown. But over such a
long period, frequent and extended breaks were
required. Modern workdays, being shorter, have far
less time off within them. But they do have
unproductive time, either scheduled (such as ofcial
break and meal times) or unscheduled (such as
gatherings around the water cooler). As Australian
economist Chris Nyland has argued, when
managementcutstheworkweekthedifferenceisoften
made up by these idle periods. In some cases the
tradeoff is explicit and before the fact. Management
agreestoshorterhoursifworkersguaranteetomake
itupinhigherproduction.Inothercompanies,higher
production has been an unexpected result. Such
accommodations are part of why shortening the
workdayhasbeenadisappointingstrategyforcreating
employment.Thepaceofworkalsorisesforanother
reason,astheKelloggCorporationfound.Whenhours
are shorter, workers can physically and mentally
sustain more intense effort. This has traditionally
beenanimportantsideeffectofthereductionofdaily
hours.23
Theremayseemtobesomecontradictionbetweenthe
factthatbusinessesdonotlikeshorterhoursbecause
theylowertheemploymentrentand,byimplication,
productivity(seechapter3),andmyclaimherethatin
manyrealsituationstheshorterworkdayisnotcostly.
But consider what has actually happened to the
employment rent in places like Kellogg, Medtronic,
and Ideal. Each company reduced hours without
reducing pay. Therefore the hourbz wage went up,
thereby maintaining the original employment rent.
Thats why productivity didnt fall. In cases where
workers are paid by the hour, where the company
raises the hourly wage, and where the changes are
incremental(ontheorderofonetotwohoursaday),a
shorterworkdayhasbeenshowntopayforitself. 24
The changes also improved morale. Workers
appreciated the companys willingness to schedule
fewerhoursandraisepay.Asaresulttheyconducted
morepersonalbusinessontheirowntimeandshowed
upforworkmoreregularly.Ifaworkplacereformis
done right, a company can gain loyalty and
productivity from its employees at no cost. In other
words,theemploymentrent./productivityrelationship
can shift upward (see gure 3.2, page 63). At every
employment rent, productivity is higher. It is clear
thatmoneycanbesavedifpeoplearemanagedbetter.
Studyafterstudyshowsthatreformsthathumanize
the work environment, respect employees, or give
themmorelatitudeturnouttobeveryprotable.25
Yet most companies fail to institute these reforms.
Inertia,myopia,fearoftheunknown,andaclimateof
conservatism pervade many U.S. corporations.
Accordingtooneyoungclericalworkerwhorequested
a jobshare, they gave us a very hard time."
Eventually the company agreed to the scheme on a
trialbasis.Now,wevediscoveredthatbothofusare
alotmore effective and thework actually gets done
betterthanbefore...buttheyrestillaskingusallthe
timetoproveourselves,andIthinktheyregoingto
call off the experiment soon." Change could be
protable,butcompaniesdonotchange.Management
isoftenmistrustfulofitsworkers,andisreluctantto
followtheexampleofaMedtronicoranIdeal.Often
one particular group within an organization is
sufcienttoblockchange;andinthecaseofworkplace
reforms,middle'managementhasfrequentlybeenthat
group.26
Manyeconomistsdonotagreethatthereareprotable
workplace reforms that companies do not introduce,
and believe that management is allknowing or that
competitionwillalwaysforcecompaniestodowhatis
mostprotable.Butconsiderableevidencecontradicts
thisview.Historically,theworkingdayhasbeentoo
long"inthesensethatfatigueimpairedeffectiveness.
Eachtimetheworkdaywasreducedrsttotenhours
and then to eightproductivity rose. Even now, the
improvement in morale and a faster pace of work
whichwouldoccurwithashifttosrxorsevenhours
could have a similar effect. The problem is that
companies have always been resistant to lowering
hours,despitethishistoricalexperience.Management
is opposed to a shorter workweek on the grounds of
cost.Butitscalculusistoonarrow.27
Some of my proposalsdo, ofcourse, haveshortterm
costs, such as the prorating of benets, guaranteed
vacationsandparentalleave,andthestandardization
of hours for salaried workers. But others will save
money, such as the substitution of comp time for
overtime or, possibly, the shorter working day. The
proposaltotradeofffutureincomeisatworstcost
neutral"it merely asks for free time in lieu of
already scheduled wage increasesand might even
partlypayforitself(dependingontheformoftimeoff).
Even so, business will no doubt claim that America
cannotaffordlessworkingtimeanobjectionthathas
been raised to_ every proposal to reduce hours
throughout our history. This objection has been
overcomebefore,andwillbeagain.
OVERCOMINGCONSUMERISM
Economic feasibility is an important condition for
gaining leisure. So is breaking the automatic
translationofproductivityintoincome.Butformany
Americans escaping the trap of overwork will also
entail stepping off the consumer treadmill, which
requiresalteringawayoflifeandawayofdrinking.
The transformation must be not only economic and
socialbutculturalandpsychological.
Therststepispracticaltoputoneselfinanancral
posrtronwhereaxedorsmallerincomeissufcient.
For example, one California environmental planner
spent three years preparing to cut back his work
hours.Hehadtogrinddownthechargecards,pay
offhiscar,andconvincehispartnerthatlifewithless
money would be okay: There are two ways to get
through. You either have to make the money which
willbuyyouthekindoflifethatyouthinkyouhaveto
have, or you can change those expectations and you
dontneedthemoneyanymore. AndthatswhatIve designerclothes,hairandnailappointments,lunching
done."28 outand asecondcar: I adopted a wholenew setof
valuesandputasidepride,envy,competitivenessand
Being able to change expectations depends on theneedforrecognition.31
understandingthepsychologicalandculturalfunctions
thatmaterialgoodsfulll.Theycanbethemeansto
anidentityorawaytocreateselfesteem.Thingsll
up empty spaces in our lives. Many couples THEVALUEOFLEISURETIME
concentrateonowrtingahouseorllingitwithnice
furnishings, when what they really crave is an
emotional constructionhome. Some women turn to Some people are skeptical of Americans need for
fashiontocreateafantasyselfthatcompensatesfor leisure time. Work may be bad, but perhaps leisure
what they are consciously or unconsciously missing. isnt all its cracked up to be either. According to
Materialismcanevenbeanaltruisticvice.Menpursue economist Gary Burtless, Most Americans who
thepotofgoldtogiveittotheirwivesorchildrento complaintheyenjoytoolittleleisurearestrugglingto
providethebestthatlifecanofferorwhatInever ndafewextraminutestowatchOprahWinfreyand
had." But in the process everyone is cheated: I L.A.Law."32
thoughtIwasdoingtherightthingmakingmoneyat
workallthetime.ButIwasneverhome."Realization Willfreetimebewasted,infrontofthetubeoratthe
oftencomestoolate:NowthatI'molder,Icansee... mall? What will we do with all that leisure? Wont
whatIwasmissing."29 people just acquire second jobs? These are serious
questions,embodyingtwomainassumptions.Therst
Involuntaryreductionsinincomecausedbyacompany isthatpeoplepreferworkor,iftheydon't,theyshould.
shutdownoraninabilitytoworkcanbepainful,often Thesecondisthatleisuretimeiswastedtimethatis
devastating.Butthosewhowillinglyrejectthequest neithervaluednorvaluable.
foraffluencecanndthemselvesperfectlysatised.
One public employee, currently on a fourfths Onepossibilityisthatworkisirrepressible.TheAkron
schedule, swears that only a nancial disaster could rubberworkersimmediatelycometomind.Afterthey
get her back to fulltime: The extra twenty percent wonthesixhourday,manyofthemenwhoworkedat
justisntworthit.30 Firestone started driving cabs, cutting hair, and
selling insurance. While no one knows exactly what
EvenattheCaliforniacompanywhereemployeeswere percentageoftheworkerstookonextrajobs,during
forced to take a tenpercent reduction in pay and the1950sitwasthoughttobebetweenoneinveand
hours,reactionswerepositive:only22percentofthe oneinseven.33
workforceratedtheprogramnegatively,andhalfwere
positiveaboutit.30 Some observers concluded from this experience that
American workers do not want, or cannot handle,
Formany,optingoutoftheratracehastransformed leisuretime.Iftheyareright,sobeit.Myaimisnotto
theirlives:Inthelastfouryears,Iwentfromupper forceleisureonanunwillingpopulationbuttoprovide
middleclasstopoor,butIamalotricherthanmost thepossibilityofarealchoice.Ifthechancetowork
people,andI'mhappiertoo."Adivorcedfatherraising shorter hourswhen fairly presentedis not ap
three young children rejected the long hours, pealing, then people will not take it. But before we
highincomeroute. Hesat home with hischildren in taketheAkronexperienceasdenitive,letsaskafew
the evenings, and haslearnedthat lessismore.A morequestions.
career woman gave up her job, and along with it
Whydidsomanytakeasecondjob?Themalerubber time.ButwheretheAkronexampleleadsusastrayis
workerswerereasonablywellpaidbythebluecollar the quest for the second paycheck. Americans need
standardsoftheday,andmanyoftheirwivesworked. time for unpaid work, for work they call their own.
Theydidnotlaboroutofsheereconomicnecessity.I Theyneedthetimetogivetoothers.Muchofwhatwill
suspect that their behavior was dictated more by a be done was the regular routine in the days when
culturalimpemtivethesameimperativethatdrove married women were fulltime housewives. And it is
theoperativesintheshoefactory,orthecolleaguesof largely caring workcaring for children, caring for
themachinistquotedearlier.Theimperativethatsays sickrelativesandfriends,caringforthehouse.Today
thatmenwithleisure are lazy. It issignificantthat manyhaventgotthetimetocare.Ifwecouldcarvethe
women rubber workers did not seek a second pay timeoutfromourjobs,wecouldpreventthecurrent
check. squeeze on caring labor. And this time around, the
menshouldsharetheload.Thelikelihoodisgoodthat
Todaytherearesignsthatthisculturalimperativeis unpaidworkwouldoccupyasignicantfractionofany
becominglesscompelling.Perhapsmostimportantis leisure" gained in the market. At the California
thetransformationofsexroles.Womenhavetakenup companythatgaveitsemployeestwodaysoffamonth,
responsibilityforbreadwinning.Andmenaremoreat nearly as much time was devoted to household and
homearoundthehouse.Increasingnumbersoffathers volunteerworkastoleisureitself.Predictably,women
wanttoparent.Inarecentpollofmenbetweenthe didmoreofthislabor.Buttimesarechanging.36
agesofeighteenandtwentyfour,nearlyhalfsaidthey
wouldliketostayhomeandraisetheirchildren.The Other productive activities would take up
ethos of male sacrice is disappearing: a declining uncommittedtimeaswell.Manypeoplewouldliketo
portion of the population believes that being a real devote more time to their churches, get involved in
man entails selfdenial and being the family theirchildrensschools,coachasportsteam,orhelp
provider.34 outatasoupkitchen.Butthetimesqueezehastaken
a toll on volunteer activities, which have fallen
The traditional work ethic is also undergoing considerablysincetheriseinhoursbegan.Timeoutof
transformation.Commitmenttohardworkretainsits work would also be used for schooling. Education
grip on the American psyche. But young people are remains a primary factor in economic success. And
moving away from the frenzied work ethic of the continualtrainingand retrainingare projectedtobe
1980stomoretraditionalvalues.Inaddition,ideasof increasinglyimportantintheeconomyofthetwenty
whatworkisandwhatitisforarebeingaltered.The rst century, as job skills become obsolete more
late1960sand1970switnessedtheriseofwhatsome rapidly. A survey at two large Boston corporations
have called postmaterialist valuesdesires for foundthatover20percentoffulltimeemployeeswere
personal fulllment, selfexpression, and meaning. alsoenrolledinschool.37
Throughout the industrialized world, a culture shift
occurredasyoungpeopleespeciallybegandemanding The unpaid workat home and in the community
satisfying work. Although there was a burst of oldthatwillllfreetimeisvitaltousasindividualsand
style materialism during the 1980s, it did not as a societyas should be clear from the mounting
permanentlydislodgewhatnowlooksmoreandmore socialproblemsattendantuponitsdecline.Still,ifwe
likealongtermtrend.Peopleareexpectingmorefrom were to gain free time only to ll it up again with
workthanapaycheckandmorefromlifethanwhat work,thebattlewillbeonlyhalfwon.Thereisalsoa
1950scultureoffered.35 pressingneedformoretrueleisure.Forthersttime
infteenyears,peoplehavecitedleisuretimeasthe
Peoplewillworkontheirtimeoff.Theywillworkhard moreimportantthingintheirlivesthanwork.The
and long in what is formally designated as leisure
nationneedstoslowdown,unwind,andrecoverfrom cost nothing? How resourceful are we about doing
itsordealoflabor.Butcanwehandleleisuretime? things without spending money? A successful
movement toenhancefree timewillhave to address
The skeptics, who cite heavy television viewing or thisdynamicheadon.Governmentsandcommunities
excessiveshopping,haveapoint.Itmaybe,however, will need to subsidize more affordable leisure
thatworkitselfhasbeenerodingtheabilitytobenet activities, from the arts to parks to adult education.
from leisure time. Perhaps people are just too tired We need a conscious effort to reverse the
afterworktoengageinactiveleisure.Evidencefrom commodicationofleisure.
theGallupPollsuggeststhismaybethecase.Today,
themostpopularwaystospendaneveningarealllow Whatever the potential problems associated with
energy choices: television, resting, relaxing, and increasing leisure time, I do not think they are
reading. Although it certainly isnt proof, it is insurmountable. A signicant reduction in working
suggestive that the globe's only other rich, hours will by itself alleviate some of the difculties.
industrialized country with longer hours than the Andifwecantakepositivestepstoenhancethevalue
UnitedStatesnamely,Japanisalsotheonlynation of leisure time, we will be well rewarded. The
towatchmoretelevision.39 experienceoftheKelloggworkerscallsforoptimism:
Thevisitorsees...alotofgardeningandcommunity
Theissuegoesbeyondthephysicalcapacitytousefree beautication...athleticsandhobbieswerebooming.
time.Itisalsotruethattheabilitytouseleisureisnot . . libraries well patronized . . . and the mental
anaturaltalent,butonethatmustbecultivated.If backgroundofthesefortunateworkers...becoming
weveertoomuchtowardwork,ourleisureskillswill richer.41
atrophy.AttheextremesareworkaholicslikeSheila
Mohammed. After sixteenhour daystwo fulltime
shiftsas a drug rehabilitation counselor, Sheila
ndsherselfadriftoutsidethejob:Imsousedto... RECLAIMINGLEISURE
workingandthenwhenIhavethetimeoff,whatdoI
do,wheredoIgo?40Buteventhosewithmoderate
workinghabitsaresubjecttoamilderversionofthis While leisure holds great appeal, it is difficult to be
syndrome. Many potentially satisfying leisure condentthatthenextcenturywillbringusmoreofit.
activities are off limits because they take too much Itispossiblethatthefutureholdsyetanotherepisode
time: participating in community theater, seriously in the nations saga of workandspend. Of course,
taking up a sport or a musical instrument, getting some observers continue to believe that work will
involvedwithachurchorcommunityorganization.In disappear,asrobots,computers,andmicroelectronic
theleisuretimeavailabletous,thereslessofinterest technology replace human labor. Others see a more
todo.Toderivethefullbenetsoffreetime,wejust sinisterside toleisure, inwhichthe littleworkthat
mayneedmoreofit. remainsismonopolizedbyafractionofthepopulation.
Society will split into two great classesthose with
A nal impediment to using leisure is the growing
jobs (and income) and those without. Economic
connection between free time and spending money.
inequality,alreadyontherise,willmount.42
Private corporations have dominated the leisure
market, encouraging us to think of free time as a Then there are those, as we have seen, who think
consumptionopportunity.Vacations,hobbies,popular America needs more work, to compete against the
entertainment,eatingout,andshoppingitselfareall Japanese. But having already gone through two
costly forms of leisure. How many of us, if asked to decades of rising hours, this Japanese solution" is
desuibeanidealweekend,wouldchooseactivitiesthat
trulydaunting.IfcurrentU.S.trendsinworkcontinue Onsomepartsofthelandscape,thesignsarehopeful.
foranothertwentyyears,theaveragepersonwouldbe There is growing public awareness of the need for
onthejobsixtyhoursaweek,ftyweeksayearfor change. For the rst time since such surveys have
anannualtotalofthreethousandhours. 43Ifitsounds been systematically conducted, a majority of
likeDickens'sEngland,thatsbecauseitwouldbe.If Americans report that they are willing to relinquish
hours rise again, how can we solve the parenting evencurrentincometogainmorefamilyandpersonal
decit,maritalproblems,ortheadversehealtheffects time.Ina1989poll,almosttwothirdssaidtheywould
ofstressandoverwork?Andthenthere'stheecology: prefertogiveupsomeoftheirsalary,byanaverage
another round of work, produce, and spend may put amount of 13 percent; fewer than onequarter were
thehumanhabitatbeyondthepointofnoreturn. unwilling to give up any money at all. Despite this
surveyslimitedscopeanditsvariancewithprevious
I have already chronicled the many baniers to results,itsndingsareintriguing.Haveweentereda
becomingamoreleisuredsociety.Corporationsremain new era, in which Americans have begun to rebel
themostsignicantobstacle.Mostwillbevociferous againsttheirdemandingworklives?
opponentstomyideas.Atlastcount,theConference
Boardreports thatfewerthan fty rmsnationwide Other trends in public opinion also bode well for
have comprehensive programs for work and family leisure. The "greening" of public consciousness is
issues. But, as always, enlightened, forwardlooking forcingustotakestockoftheAmericanlifestyle.The
companiesdoexist.WellsFargogivespersonalgrowth crisisofthefamilytheproblemofchildcareandthe
leaves, Xerox offers socialservice sab baticals, Job strainsofmarriageisalsointrudingontothesocial
sharingispossibleatagrowingnumberofcompanies, agenda. Both men and women, particularly young
including Hewlett Packard, Black & Decker, TRW ones,areadoptingnewexpectationsaboutfamilyand
Vidar, and LeviStrauss. Control Data has a vibrant career. They are overturning the assumptions that
parttime program which includes benets. Anna men are responsible for breadwinning and women
Roddick,founderoftherapidlyexpandingBodyShop, musttakethesecondshifttrendsthatpointinthe
givesheremployeesahalfdayoffeachweekwithpay direction of more balance between work and family.
toengageinvolunteeractivities.Whilethenumberof Although still only a trickle, the stream of
innovative corporations is still small, it is growing. "downshifters"those who reject high powered,
And apparently awareness of timerelated personnel demanding jobs in order to gain more control over
problemsisincreasingaswell.Inthelastfewyears,at theirlivesmaybethelatesttr'endsetters.SButasI
leastsomecorporateexecutiveshavebeenwakingup havestressedthroughoutthisbook,publicopinionon
totherealitiesoftheiremployeeslives.44 itsownisnotaneffectiveforceforchange.Toorganize
andmobilizeit,wewillneedtolooktoenvironmental
None of this is to say that increased leisure is and women'sorganizations, thechildren'slobby,and
impossible. Certainly not. It is only to remind even the tradeunion movement. The few labor
ourselves that it will not come about through organizations that have been expanding in recent
automatic market forces, the municence of yearspublic and service sector unions with heavily
technology, or as a natural consequence of female membershiparc already in the forefront on
postindustrial society. Long hours are a hallmark of workandfamilyissues.Andgovernmentwillneedto
the market; laborsaving technology frequently does playamajorrole,asshouldbeclearfromthefailures
notsavelabor,anditiscapitalism,notindustry,that ofthemarketinthisarea.
has been responsible for expanding work schedules.
Therewillbemore leisure onlywhen peoplebecome If we are to have a chance at leisure, well need to
convincedthattheymusthaveit. resurrectthepublicdebatethatendedinthe19205.
Fordespitethemajortransformationsournationhas
gonethroughsincethen,thebasicalternativesremain
surprisinglythesame.Ontheonehand,commitment
to an expanding material standard of living for
everyoneor what Galbraith has called the "vested
interest in output"entails our continuing
connementinthesquirrelcage"ofworkandholds
the potential for ecological disaster. 47 Or, we can
redirect our concern with material goods toward
redressing the inequalities of their distributionand
realizethepromiseoffreetimewhichliesbeforeus.
Thistime,letsmakethechoiceforleisure.