More Work or More Free Time

The Crucial Political Issue that No One Is Talking About

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on Waterstones.com
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 10 Jan 2022 | Archive Date 15 Jul 2022

Talking about this book? Use #MoreWorkOrMoreTime #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

Do you know that American work hours went down steadily from 1840 until the Great Depression but have not gone down at all since then?  Do you know that European work hours have continued to go down and that Dutch workers have the right to choose part-time work, so they can work as much as they want rather than having to work full time?

No one is talking about these facts, but this book shows that they are crucial to building a future that is environmentally sustainable and satisfying for people.

Americans believe we need rapid economic growth to create jobs and avoid unemployment, but that is because we do not have the choice of working shorter hours. Because the Dutch can choose part-time work, they can avoid unemployment by creating the amount of work people actually want.

We have reached the point where economic growth no longer brings significant benefits. International comparisons show that higher income no longer improves a nation’s happiness, health, or educational achievement significantly after it reaches about two-thirds of the current American level. And postwar America’s push to promote automobile use to stimulate the economy actually made our cities less livable.

American and Dutch workers produce about the same amount per hour, but the average American employee works 25% more than the average Dutch employee. The available measures of well-being show that all the extra work doesn’t do us any good.

In the course of this century, most nations of the world could emerge from poverty and have a comfortable middle-class standard of living if we can avoid ecological crisis. But that is a big “if.”

To create a sustainable economy with a high quality of life, it is essential for the world to follow the Dutch model of lower inequality, shorter work hours and slower growth rather than the current American model of high inequality, long work hours and faster growth.

But no mainstream politician is talking about the crucial issue of work time. 

Do you know that American work hours went down steadily from 1840 until the Great Depression but have not gone down at all since then? Do you know that European work hours have continued to go down...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781941667408
PRICE US$12.95 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Send to Kindle (PDF)

Average rating from 16 members


Featured Reviews

More Work or More Free Time was a fascinating read. Siegel walks the reader through the problems with the modern fantasy of endless economic growth, and explains how reducing work hours could be improve quality of life and help avoid looming environmental catastrophe. The book is informative without being dry, and is at all times accessible to non-experts.

Was this review helpful?

This was a fascinating read. One that I just had to read a second time before giving my review. This book really shares so much. I definitely recommend it to anyone .

Was this review helpful?

This book is a wildly interesting and exploratory look at creating a better work/life balance. For a million reasons I am passionate about this same thing. The author brings up many good points that lead to self exploration as well as a gentle call to challenge the status quo. Although I can't get on board with his every assumption, I love the discussion I hope this book can bring to American policy regarding labor and its effects on mental health and the need to provide more part time employment for professional work.

Was this review helpful?

I found this book very interesting and although I did find the charts graphs and statistics a little bewildering I thought Mr. Siegel’s opinions and diatribes were very well thought out. With the exception of a few that I thought he took leaps and bounds to get to his conclusion. I didn’t agree with everything he wrote about especially the car dependents situation. I would very much love to live in a walking neighborhood that said that due to zoning and other underhanded things they can no longer make neighborhoods like that. The one thing I can’t say about this book is whether you agree with the author or not you will still be entertained and in most cases educated. I highly recommend this book to those who love non-fiction books that have an opinion and something to say you would definitely like this book I totally did! I was given this book by net galley and I am leaving this review totally voluntarily. Please forgive any grammatical or punctuation of errors as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are my own

Was this review helpful?

More Work or More Free Time was an interesting and timely read. As someone who strongly believes that endless economic growth and working nonstop is detrimental to our mental & physical health as well as society, I was eager to read this book.
Complete with graphs and charts, this is a concept that will force us all to rethink our relationship with our jobs and careers. Whether you agree or not, Siegel offers you a way to think of something many of us take for granted as just being the norm.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: