Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#1

Post by freddyc » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 1:28 PM UTC

Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric
theguardian.com

Re: Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#2

Post by bmmayer1 » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 2:29 PM UTC

Hyperbole like this makes it difficult to take his arguments seriously, even if he makes some good points about the changing nature of work.

Really, barbaric? Having set work hours in a steady job with regular pay in a safe workplace with benefits usually included, including paid vacation?

It's such a dramatic leap forward from the way most humans in history--and many still today--have had to scrimp for survival, working long hours in the fields, barely achieving subsistence, sharecropping for feudal lords or tyrannical landlords.

Sure, work is changing, and many people are lucky to be able to detach from such schedules with exciting and unknown results for the future workplace. But those of us fortunate enough to have had access to 9-to-5 jobs would be tone deaf to act like it's such a traumatic experience, when so many people in the world would be so grateful to have such an opportunity.

Re: Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#3

Post by noir_lord » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 2:31 PM UTC

Interesting read.

I was born 1980 so I straddle the web when it hit mass market adoption.

The differences are indeed marked, my father did the same job for 20 years, I can't imagine that now.

Re: Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#4

Post by jgrahamc » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 2:32 PM UTC

bmmayer1 wrote: post #2

Hyperbole like this makes it difficult to take his arguments seriously, even if he makes some good points about the changing nature of work. Really, barbaric? Having set work hours in a steady job with regular pay in a safe workplace with benefits usually included, including paid vacation? It's such a dramatic leap forward from the way most humans in history--and many still today--have had to scrimp for survival, wor…

Really, barbaric? Having set work hours in a steady job with regular pay in a safe workplace with benefits usually included, including paid vacation?

I don't think it's hard to see that as barbaric. Think of it as "I am forced to be away from my loved ones for most of the daylight hours and most days of the year excluding these permitted 'holiday' periods".

Re: Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#5

Post by mstade » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 2:33 PM UTC

This article was a difficult read for me due to all the hand waving and "in the future so and so will happen." That said, I have a lot of respect for Mr. Coupland. Microserfs is still one of the best books I've ever read, and really hits home in so many ways.

Re: Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#6

Post by kevincennis » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 2:34 PM UTC

jgrahamc wrote: post #4

bmmayer1 wrote: post #2

Hyperbole like this makes it difficult to take his arguments seriously, even if he makes some good points about the changing nature of work. Really, barbaric? Having set work hours in a steady job with regular pay in a safe workplace with benefits usually included, including paid vacation? It's such a dramatic leap forward from the way most humans in history--and many still today--have had to scrimp for survival, wor…

Really, barbaric? Having set work hours in a steady job with regular pay in a safe workplace with benefits usually included, including paid vacation? I don't think it's hard to see that as barbaric. Think of it as "I am forced to be away from my loved ones for most of the daylight hours and most days of the year excluding these permitted 'holiday' periods".

"Forced" doesn't seem like exactly the right word.

Re: Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#7

Post by anm89 » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 2:34 PM UTC

What a load of shit. All the more clear as I'm traveling in a 3rd world country where people actually have to deal with difficult working conditions. I see people in their mid 70's doing long days of physical labor on a farm for dollars a day. Ask them how barbaric the 9-5 desk job is.

As the other commenter mentioned, hyperbole like this only ever damages a cause.

I think there are probably better ways to do work and as we move towards the connected future I think many of them will increase in popularity, but that's due to an increase in options from our already very open ended lives, not some struggle against imagined barbarity.

Re: Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#8

Post by nasalgoat » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 2:35 PM UTC

At first blush, I was aghast at the idea of no weekends. Then I realized I am essentially on-call 24/7, even on vacations, as I'm the primary infrastructure person at my company. Yet, because it's well designed and managed, I do tend to have that free time.

The problem becomes when you don't have that free time because of constant work issues. I can't say a future without 100% free time is such a great place.

Re: Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#9

Post by pavement » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 2:37 PM UTC

Not that I'm one to disagree, because day jobs are fucking bullshit, but...

I worry that as advanced technology continues to unfurl evermore convenience into our lives, how spoiled will we become?

Re: Douglas Coupland: The nine to five is barbaric

#10

Post by Declanomous » Thu, Apr 06, 2017, 2:38 PM UTC

bmmayer1 wrote: post #2

Hyperbole like this makes it difficult to take his arguments seriously, even if he makes some good points about the changing nature of work. Really, barbaric? Having set work hours in a steady job with regular pay in a safe workplace with benefits usually included, including paid vacation? It's such a dramatic leap forward from the way most humans in history--and many still today--have had to scrimp for survival, wor…

I think his ego gets in the way of his argument. I was thinking about how melodramatic he sounded about all of this, and then I got to the picture of him standing cruciform under a spotlight, and all I could do was roll my eyes.