Is genuine work-life balance achievable?

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I think the general work week paradigm of 8 hours work, 8 hours rest and 8 hours recreation is disingenuous.

With a mandatory unpaid lunch break and a commute, that's an additional hour away from freedom.

Then, there is work-at-home you have to do just to maintain basic functions of life: getting ready for work, cooking, cleaning, chores, groceries. That's another hour to put it generously.

Then, there's dealing with crap: credit card companies, managing bills, taxes, customer service, bureaucrats, getting your car fixed, waiting an eternity at the doctor's office and so much more. Let's say that's another hour (on average) per day.

So, our new paradigm is 11 hours of stuff you have to do (or else), 8 hours of unconsciousness and 5 hours of leisure. So, you get around roughly 1/5 of your day for family, friends, romantic partner, kids, spiritual/religious endeavors, intellectual pursuits, fitness and fun. Good luck doing that in 5 hours. Also, after work, one is drained enough to where they don't have the energy to manage half of those things well.

Another factor, time perception. Time passes twice as slowly at work as it does during leisure. So, really, you're looking at 11 hours of work/crap and what feels like 2.5 hours leisure.

And one more damning fact. We spend more time with our co-workers than our family.

This is an advice forum where we help each other with how to get a job, and how to deal with various problems at work. Not really a place for just ranting about stuff you find annoying.

That being said, you have a point. Ask your boss for lesser hours or get another job. In Denmark, the standard working hours are 37, which is nice. It's all thanks to the trade unions, who negotiate the working hours with the jobmakers. In the USA, things are less fair. Why? Because you vote conservative and not socialist or social liberal. Quit voting for idiots and quit working for capitalism.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonhard- ... 24488.html

Many American workers make it worse by switching jobs for more money and losing seniority/familiarity with the job/Vacation TIME.