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Can we have the day off?

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Re: Can we have the day off?

#81

Post by zanecodes »

madrox wrote: post #65

The four day work week is a prisoner's dilemma. If everyone did it, then we'd all get a payoff, but if someone defects to a longer work week they tend to get ahead at work. Thus we all do it and thus we all lose. It's funny how underappreciated it is how the five day work week is powered by norms...at least in the US. People assume there are laws about it. The only laws dictate compensation past certain thresholds, a…

If only there were some kind of third party we could all collectively agree to delegate enforcement of cooperation to...

Re: Can we have the day off?

#82

Post by paulddraper »

alexpotato wrote: post #43

My dad was a stock broker in the late 1970s and remembers when most of trading was 100% manual and firms actually had "runners" who would take stock certificates back and forth between trading firms. He has this great quote about when computers came out: "We were told 'computers will save you so much time on work tasks that you won't even know what to do with your free time'. I spent the next 30 years working the sam…

Because human nature it to want more, more than wanting idleness.

Re: Can we have the day off?

#83

Post by chipsrafferty »

lorecore wrote: post #30
great_wubwub wrote: post #5

This reminds me of Ted Chiang's point that fear of technology is really fear of capitalism. https://kottke.org/21/04/ted-chiang-fears-of-technology-are-... "Most of the things that we worry about under the mode of capitalism that the U.S practices, that is going to put people out of work, that is going to make people’s lives harder, because corporations will see it as a way to increase their profits and reduce their…

I agree for the most part, but fear of technological weapons is sort of the opposite of capitalism. So much of our technology stack was built by the government for warfare (including the internet) and in that sense is a form of socialism. I fear being targeted by an AI drone and mass surveillance. Neither of which are driven by capitalism (although being targeted by either of those by some billionaire because I refus…

How are neither of them being driven by capitalism?

U.S. becomes more authoritarian -> you are more afraid of being targeted by an AI drone and mass surveillance -> companies that make those weapons of war for the government (prime contractors) make billions -> they use their money to influence politics and public opinion -> U.S. becomes more authoritarian -> etc.

Re: Can we have the day off?

#84

Post by tredre3 »

irjustin wrote: post #38
tantalor wrote: post #6

Star Trek post-scarcity economy when?? https://rickwebb.medium.com/the-economics-of-star-trek-29bab...

What Star Trek doesn't show is how they got there. I promise you it's going to be extremely painful, but once we're on the other side it'll be worth it. I argue - there's nothing we can do to stop it; humanity, I mean. We will either achieve Star Trek or get wiped out as a species. As a Kardashev Type 3, we will have achieved full automation. I'll leave the door open for Elysium problems, but hopefully Mr. Damon will…

Star Trek might not show exactly how we got there, but they did put a lot of emphasis that humanity had to almost destroy itself before getting there.

WWIII lasted 25 years and it took another 100 years to rebuild after that. WWIII in universe is also scheduled for 2026 I believe.

Re: Can we have the day off?

#85

Post by NDlurker »

jatora wrote: post #63
NDlurker wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to get too specific, but I'm a supervisor at a factory. Food stuff. My girlfriend had a similar schedule when she worked at a hospital. Good shoes like Brooks or Hoka and a good sleep schedule and it's doable. I only work 15 or 16 days a month. I work every other weekend, but the weekends I have off are 3 days.

it seems like the lack of consistency would b a net negative in life quality and very annoying to schedule around

Oh it totally is for some people. I don't have or want kids so that's not an issue for me. Scheduling things with friends isn't usually too hard, just have to be more intentional about it/schedule in advance. I like having days off during the week to get errands done when most other people are at work. And if I do need a weekend off that's usually fine because I accrue enough vacation hours where I usually end up selling back or rolling some over into the next year.

Re: Can we have the day off?

#86

Post by Sl1mb0 »

calvinmorrison wrote: post #69
passive wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not generally true in the US over the last 40 years, where the gains from productivity increases have been accumulated almost entirely by the top classes. Yes, lower classes have access to many more conveniences then they might have had in earlier decades, but they are working far more hours, and their expected lifespan has started decreasing.

my dad grew up in a house without running water in a town where everyone worked in a mine and the lead was everywhere. he hitchiked to alaska for seasonal work in a fish cannery. Yeah I don't know... i think things are better than they were 40 years ago.

There are still people in America who live without running water. There are still people who work on fishing boats in Alaska. There are still people who hitchhike. This is literally just an anecdote trying to deflect from contemporary problems. I don't see any value in this sort of discourse.

Just because things may have been worse for specific individuals does *not* mean that current problems shouldn't be addressed.

Re: Can we have the day off?

#87

Post by johnea »

The whole thing is obviously tongue-in-cheek, but sarcasm is a potent mode of communication.

The joke, of course, being that every increase in productivity has ALWAYS gone straight to ownership.

Economists have been predicting a boom in human leisure time since the dawn of economics. It has NEVER happened...

Re: Can we have the day off?

#88

Post by runako »

lmao Corporate had a hissy fit from people working full weeks at home. The 4-day work week will never* come to the US.

* - not while any of us reading this are under 65.

Re: Can we have the day off?

#89

Post by jhonof »

jatora wrote: post #63
NDlurker wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to get too specific, but I'm a supervisor at a factory. Food stuff. My girlfriend had a similar schedule when she worked at a hospital. Good shoes like Brooks or Hoka and a good sleep schedule and it's doable. I only work 15 or 16 days a month. I work every other weekend, but the weekends I have off are 3 days.

it seems like the lack of consistency would b a net negative in life quality and very annoying to schedule around

I did it for a summer in University and I didn't have to work night shifts, it was amazing to be honest I would do it again if I never had to work nights.

Re: Can we have the day off?

#90

Post by [deleted] »

chipsrafferty wrote: post #49
cattown wrote: post #33

This article is kind of playful, but I think there’s a serious point here that’s not discussed enough. We’re being asked to usher in huge productivity gains by introducing AI to our workflows, but we’re not asking how does it help us? Not a lot of us stand to directly gain from our employers becoming more productive. I know everybody is afraid of getting fired and replaced with AI or whatever right now. But we should…

Right. If I am producing 10x more output then I expect to be getting paid about 8x more or working 8x less.

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