How can we claim to be free when we have no choice but to work? It is not a flippant question; for the majority of people in Western societies the very model of working time we use is perhaps the greatest obstacle to freedom on a day-to-day basis. We are given the choice to either work, or to starve: it’s hardly the resounding vision of a free society, particularly one with unprecedented material wealth. But what if we could expand the amount of time we call our own? In the search for greater freedom, a fast growing movement for a four-day week has emerged.
We are chronically overworked and suffer from a crisis of worsening mental health. In 2018, the total number of days lost to work-related stress, anxiety and depression in the UK rose by three million to 15.4 million. Overwork is the major reason for sickness at work, with one in four of all sick days lost as a direct result of workload. The issue is an international one: in Japan an estimated 10,000 workers die every year from overwork. The issue is so bad it even has its own name: karōshi.
