Are we working too much?

Gynoid

Blakely Chubby Rollerblade wrote: »

This is the problem. Someone has to pay for family A. Family B are paying for them to have all this free time, on the states buck. If family A did a little more then maybe family b c and d could do a little less

There was no mention of them getting state support.

punisher5112

Revit Man wrote: »

As a poster above said, since I've been working from home for the pandemic my work days are melding in with my home life in a bad way. There's no division any more. Work isn't getting full attention because.. home. And home isn't getting full attention because.. work.

I don't know. I liked going in and leaving my job in the office and coming home and not having to think about it til the morning again. People will cry "that's just ill discipline! treat your work day like you would have, up at X time, shower, dress and be at your desk for Y time", yeah, wonderful in principle, but my life isn't working that way at home.

If you can make an office... In the attic it better still a shed out back....

Get it that it's away from the norm....

I work from home quite often or alone in a remote office so it’s not much different for me work wise since the lockdown. I like working from home personally and am actually happy to be doing it full time rather than some of the time and I’m in no rush to go back having to make an appearance in the office regularly.

I work probably slightly more hours but with no commute it means less than a normal work day plus commute. I have no issues around mixing work and home life, I have a stand-alone office but I would often be doing a bit of work, reading emails etc anyway at home in the evening even if going to the office in the day. This doesn’t bother me, it’s part of having fexible job really imo.

Leg End Reject

I'm enjoying the break from the drudgery of the working week. I'm still working from home but get things done quickly without the distractions of other people.

No commute, no stress in the morning and no clock watching. I've more energy to do things about the house too. If I could see my family and friends I'd be having a great time.

FixdePitchmark

It probably has highlighted how pointless most work is.

The stress of travel
All the pointless emails
Lads in work to show they have done long hours - making others do long hours to match them,
then these are not even in work at all now

I think this thing was a full reset on many peoples outlook - it was a career break you never expected. And was much needed for some.

We were going to work to still pay a USC 10 years on -

I made the point to a few friends - some people will miss and miss the opportunity of lock down when it is gone, if you can get your head around that.

anewme

Revit Man wrote: »

Just to add, I know part of the problem today is materialism. We all want the holiday abroad, or the nice car, or Sky TV and broadband and gadgets, which hoover up money. If we led a simpler live at home ourselves now, perhaps life would be less stressful. Some time away from all the screens.. he says, typing at a screen.

I'm totally in agreement with you that the days have just melted into one another and I also have no separation between work and home. It is fine for a while, but not good constantly. I would have been someone who did extra hours in the office anyway, but this is worse. Almost like no shutdown.

Also agree re materialism, but I'm going to admit, I like my lifestyle and sometimes you makes those sacrifices. I have a real fear of being poor, so this is my trade off. Only you can decide if its worth it or not.

0lddog

LuasSimon wrote: »

I know a couple both of them never worked much , honest enough but lazy. They collect and drop their children to school , can drop in a lunchbox if forgotten , they can go their childrens school matchs, go to early evening training etc etc , always together. Go for drives during summer holidays to local parks-beachs etc..They may not have much money but they always do a few nights away in Ireland.

Contrast that with couples both working, up early to drop children in creches-childminders who then bring them to school. If teachers ring up during the day - big hassle. Parents rarely there to collect children after school or have their dinner with them. Parents come home tired after long day . All weekend catching up on housework...yes probably get a summer holiday together but thats only 2 weeks of year..children are gone to college before parents know it
...

Anyone hazard a guess as to which of these two hypothetical families has the lower carbon footprint ?

Tony EH

Yes.

malinheader

0lddog wrote: »

Anyone hazard a guess as to which of these two hypothetical families has the lower carbon footprint ?

Is that you Eamon.

anewme

0lddog wrote: »

Anyone hazard a guess as to which of these two hypothetical families has the lower carbon footprint ?

I suppose it's down to your own moral code. If people can holiday in Ireland, which is expensive in itself, drop children to school and
Fanny about driving to beaches etc without working too much, maybe the issue is the welfare state is too good and the gap to full time working needs to be revised.

0lddog

anewme wrote: »

I suppose it's down to your own moral code........

That, but there are many other factors that have not been disclosed


- Prehaps one of the kids has issues that needs a parent nearby ?
- Perhaps one of the parents has some sort of medical issue ?
- Perhaps they act as carers to the extended family
- Perhaps there is a low level of education in one family and a high level in the other
- Quizás, quizás, quizás


There are a zillion factors at play


Lets just be glad that we are not all the same

Dr. Bre

A 4 day week has to come . Less pay but at least less day in work

Still waters

anewme wrote: »

I suppose it's down to your own moral code. If people can holiday in Ireland, which is expensive in itself, drop children to school and
Fanny about driving to beaches etc without working too much, maybe the issue is the welfare state is too good and the gap to full time working needs to be revised.

As was said earlier their was no mention of welfare help, they dont work much could mean they both have part time jobs, small mortgage/rent and no loans, it can be done and plenty manage on very little, i know id prefer to spend more time with my kids than working 60 hour weeks and letting childminders rear my kids

jrosen

How do you get the balance though?
I work PT husband FT. I want to work. I find being at home boring. I love what I do. BUT for us both to work it means planning on the days we are home to cover the days we are gone. Busy evenings with the kids at activities, most Saturdays gone at matches.

I have loved the slower pace of this lock down and am really enjoying being present in the moment more. I am thinking ill drop a day when I return to work.

anewme

0lddog wrote: »

That, but there are many other factors that have not been disclosed


- Prehaps one of the kids has issues that needs a parent nearby ?
- Perhaps one of the parents has some sort of medical issue ?
- Perhaps they act as carers to the extended family
- Perhaps there is a low level of education in one family and a high level in the other
- Quizás, quizás, quizás


There are a zillion factors at play


Lets just be glad that we are not all the same

We can only go with what we know.

The language used was " honest but lazy". That's lack of ambition and work ethic.

In your haste to apportion blame on people working to do better for themselves on being at fault for creating carbon footprints, you forgot to consider that people working pick up the tab for those "honest but lazy" types.

Let's be very glad we are not the same, indeed. You should bear that in mind when looking down on a couple both working to have a life and a future for their family , instead of praising those taking the "lazy" option.

anewme

Still waters wrote: »

As was said earlier their was no mention of welfare help, they dont work much could mean they both have part time jobs, small mortgage/rent and no loans, it can be done and plenty manage on very little, i know id prefer to spend more time with my kids than working 60 hour weeks and letting childminders rear my kids

Lets be honest, if you dont work much, it would be very difficult to have a small mortgage, run a house, run a car and drive to beaches etc and holiday in Ireland.

"lazy' as used in the OP is nothing to be lauded or to aspire to.

0lddog

anewme wrote: »

...
The language used was " honest but lazy". That's lack of ambition and work ethic...

Might be.


Might also be 'almost unemployable' ( I've worked with a fair few of those over the years )


I dont get the 'apportion blame' thing


You cant blame someone who cant pass the leaving for not being, say, an Engineer or Doctor

anewme

0lddog wrote: »

Might be.


Might also be 'almost unemployable' ( I've worked with a fair few of those over the years )


I dont get the 'apportion blame' thing


You cant blame someone who cant pass the leaving for not being, say, an Engineer or Doctor

It's you who has the blame hat on....guess who has the least carbon footprint folks......yep, the lazy fookers who wouldn't get out of bed to scratch themselves. Surprise, surprise!

Still waters

anewme wrote: »

Lets be honest, if you dont work much, it would be very difficult to have a small mortgage, run a house, run a car and drive to beaches etc and holiday in Ireland.

"lazy' as used in the OP is nothing to be lauded or to aspire to.

I have a very small mortgage, i could work 3 days a week and still live comfortably after paying the mortgage, i don't do that but could if i wanted, 2 people working part time with child support could live comfortably enough, just giving a different perspective on it of course without knowing full details

anewme

Still waters wrote: »

I have a very small mortgage, i could work 3 days a week and still live comfortably after paying the mortgage, i don't do that but could if i wanted, 2 people working part time with child support could live comfortably enough, just giving a different perspective on it of course without knowing full details

I have a small mortgage, after working 30 years commuting.
Example used was lazy people vs. people working full time.

The lazy people were being celebrated for having a smaller carbon footprint.

We'd all have smaller carbon footprints if we did sweet fanny Adams and didn't work much for whatever reason.

Still waters

anewme wrote: »

I have a small mortgage, after working 30 years commuting.
Example used was lazy people vs. people working full time.

The lazy people were being celebrated for having a smaller carbon footprint.

We'd all have smaller carbon footprints if we did sweet fanny Adams and didn't work much for whatever reason.

You're just coming across as bitter tbh

anewme

Still waters wrote: »

You're just coming across as bitter tbh

I don't agree with lazy people being considered as having more value than those working to do better for themselves.

Of course a lazy person is going to have a less carbon footprint... by virtue of the fact they are lazy. Hardly makes them someone to aspire to though.

I see your posts more as bitter, you may not choose to work but you should not be looking down or judging others( as you said letting childminders rear my kids) who do.

Experience_day

Definitely working a lot more since starting to work from home.

Spanish Eyes

Those on the treadmill of incessant early mornings, delivery of kids to creche/school, work all day, do it in reverse, and rinse and repeat, and PAY all the costs..... well they can console themselves by realising their taxes are paying for those on the State handout scheme who have to do none of that at all. I'm talking pre Covid here BTW.

Anyway, glad to help them all out. ha ha. Oh and now the Refugee Council wants all asylum seekers to have their own individual own door properties, when many are house sharing and working. You just could not make this up.

Salty

I would happily work 8-6 four days a week. Two days to ourselves really is feck all.

nthclare

I studied horticulture, botany and marine biology. I'm in the same line of work since I got my qualifications in 1995.
I love plant's, nature and being creative.

I walk out my door and I'm in the Burren, I surf,hike and go fishing.
Lake's and a river running close by, I'm 8K from the ocean so surfings out for now.

I'm very lucky, 43 year's of age, my son's 19 and my partner is outdoorsy and creative she's in Westclare I'm in North Clare.

While the lads went engineering and into IT I went the organic direction.

Gardening and my lifestyle isn't always sunshine lollipops and rainbows, it's damp and cold in the winter, climbing up a tree with a chainsaw and PPS can be harder as you get older.
But I love the outdoors.

Now and again I escaped to the city binge out in Brown Thomas and a bottle of Creed Aventus, Shade's or buy a Bellstaff wax jacket, few t-shirts and wollies for the winter.
I going to have to delete my Amazon app lol went a bit nuts lately.

Luckily a lot of my clients are retiree's and a few government park's the private clients have big civil service pensions and have no problems with money, like a good barber, hair dresser or tattoo artist I've a lot of catching up to do when I'm in the clear to get back to work.

At the moment I'm just pottering around, getting out in the Burren doing my 2k hikes, feeding foxes and goats, watching the eagles flying over now and again, some fly and coarse fishing..

malinheader

nthclare wrote: »

I studied horticulture, botany and marine biology. I'm in the same line of work since I got my qualifications in 1995.
I love plant's, nature and being creative.

I walk out my door and I'm in the Burren, I surf,hike and go fishing.
Lake's and a river running close by, I'm 8K from the ocean so surfings out for now.

I'm very lucky, 43 year's of age, my son's 19 and my partner is outdoorsy and creative she's in Westclare I'm in North Clare.

While the lads went engineering and into IT I went the organic direction.

Gardening and my lifestyle isn't always sunshine lollipops and rainbows, it's damp and cold in the winter, climbing up a tree with a chainsaw and PPS can be harder as you get older.
But I love the outdoors.

Now and again I escaped to the city binge out in Brown Thomas and a bottle of Creed Aventus, Shade's or buy a Bellstaff wax jacket, few t-shirts and wollies for the winter.
I going to have to delete my Amazon app lol went a bit nuts lately.

Luckily a lot of my clients are retiree's and a few government park's the private clients have big civil service pensions and have no problems with money, like a good barber, hair dresser or tattoo artist I've a lot of catching up to do when I'm in the clear to get back to work.

At the moment I'm just pottering around, getting out in the Burren doing my 2k hikes, feeding foxes and goats, watching the eagles flying over now and again, some fly and coarse fishing..

Sounds idyllic , what's the reason you can't sleep

Ultrflat

I would happily work a 10 hour day 4 days a week. this bull **** of a you have to work 8 hours a week 5 days a week infuriates the **** out of me.

LuasSimon

LuasSimon wrote: »

Prior to covid lockdown are we all in a ratrace?...two parents working, no time with family, too wrecked after work to enjoy life?..by the time we retire we're not fit for much , life is passing us all bye... working and working???

I work hard yes but I have turned down a few promotions or salary raises now so as not to compromise my work-life balance. I struggle quite hard to make sure "Life is not passing me by" at all.

I realise I have a privilege to be even able to do that though. But I have never been someone who needs the newest car or the biggest TV or the most functions on my DVD player either. So part of that privilege is discipline and frugality too.

Might all back fire on me in the end. If I suddenly lost my job then finding a new one with no promotion or career progress to show for the last decade might go against me. But I will cross that bridge if I come to it.

zerosugarbuzz

pgj2015 wrote: »

No one is forced to buy anything. I had a samsung phone I bought for 80 euro for about 7 years. was just reading about the highest paid footballer at chelsea, he drive a mini cooper that he bought 5 years ago and he said before he bought it that he would walk to training. I only buy clothes when I need them. I shop in Lidl and Alidi, I can afford to go to higher end stores but whats the point? some people are just bad with money, it is there own fault.

I agree with most of what you say there. But, if you think the food in Aldi or Lidl is the same as the higher end shops you are very very wrong. Always buy the best food you can afford even if you have to have less of it.