By Laura Herndon
It’s you, not me. And by you, I imply the notorious 9 a.m. to five p.m. workday. And this relationship simply isn’t going to work for me anymore.
Final yr, COVID-19 despatched thousands and thousands of employees from the bodily workspace of their places of work to the kitchen… err, residence workplace. With the appearance of the vaccine, many employers had been able to ship their workers again to cubicle hell.
Nevertheless, right here comes the catch — nay nay, mentioned the virus.
Delta introduced us a complete new ballgame, and employers are actually holding off on sending their workers again. However is it actually essential to come back again in any respect?
In right this moment’s day and age, many roles will be carried out remotely, due to know-how. That is fabulous information as research present working outdoors of the workplace makes individuals happier.
So who selected 9 a.m. to five p.m. workday? Effectively, it wasn’t Dolly Parton. So why aren’t the hours 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.? And even 10 a.m. to six p.m.? Who made these arbitrary hours within the first place?
Effectively, in 1926, Henry Ford created the concept of the five-day, forty-hour workweek for his manufacturing unit employees, who’d beforehand labored for much longer hours. On the finish of the day, although, the idea of a 9 a.m. to five p.m. job merely isn’t sustainable.
Nobody desires to fight reckless drivers on pot-hole encrusted roads to succeed in their vacation spot — a fluorescently lit cubicle with no indicators of life apart from the unhappy succulent sitting within the nook subsequent to an image of your loved ones that you simply by no means get to see.
By the point you get residence, it’s chilly and darkish. The one power you’ve gotten is to nuke a frozen dinner and go to sleep on the sofa watching “Intercourse/Life” on Netflix.
As millennials, we’re completely completely different from our dad or mum’s generations. Our dad and mom labored 9 a.m. to five p.m., excluding their lengthy commute occasions, leaving a whole technology often known as the “latch key” youngsters.
We would like extra for our futures and kids than a 9 a.m. to five p.m. job provides us.
Take me for instance. As a freelancer, I’m in a position to take my child to and from college. I additionally work in a library part-time, and on these days, his dad picks him up as he works from residence.
Teleworking modified the sport; the principles are completely different now. Whereas COVID-19 has definitely curtailed many enjoyable actions for us, now we have spent extra time with our son this previous yr than ever earlier than. I, for one, can’t return.
I can’t return to the drudgery of the cubicle farm. Whereas I talk about my expertise as a mother, many others are pet dad and mom or have vibrant social lives.
It’s exhausting to satisfy your besties for brunch in the event you’re tallying this week’s report on the workplace, dreaming of mimosas. Climbing along with your furry good friend has to attend if it’s worthwhile to attend this week’s price range assembly, which completely may’ve been an e mail.
The underside line? The 9 a.m. to five p.m. workday merely doesn’t work anymore.
Households are not one dad, one mother, their kids, and the canine. The nuclear household belongs within the historical past books together with “Go away It To Beaver.” The idea of the person working whereas the missus stays at residence and tends to the home is gone.
It’s 2022. We will ship spreadsheets and paperwork with a flick of our wrist. We will be a part of a Zoom assembly virtually anyplace. Girls are set to outpace males on the subject of incomes a university diploma.
Occasions are altering each day. And that’s why we have to break up with the 9 a.m. to five p.m. workday.
What began off as a method for manufacturing unit workers to work fewer hours is out of date these days.
Anna Laura Herndon is a author, advocate, and creator of Rants of a Virgo, an essay web site. She writes about love, relationships, LGBTQ+ points, and present occasions.
This text was initially printed at Unwritten. Reprinted with permission from the creator.