The 9 to 5 Lie — Nobody is Really Working 8 Hours a Day
Would you be able to have 4-hour workdays and still be as efficient?
Chances are, you’re not working 8 hours a day, even if your contract says you are. And that is completely normal!
The current 8 hours day schedule most industries and jobs stick to, was not defined based on human behavior or human needs, in fact, it was pioneered by Ford, back in 1914 when he reduced the workday duration from the 10–16hours standard to only 8. What a revolution!
The result of that was higher levels of productivity among their ranks. So why is it so hard to believe that we’re due another workday reduction?
The lie
We’re not living the industrial revolution anymore when an 8-hour shift made a lot more sense. Right now, during our digital and information revolution, we have tools that help us get work done faster and we’re also used to do more things than working on a single task during our day.
In fact, studies show that people only focus for — roughly — 3 hours a day on their work tasks, while the rest of their shift is spent on other activities, such as:
- Checking social media
- Reading news websites
