There’s a clever scene in the movie Con Air in which a psychopath talks fondly of famous murderers. Nicholas Cage eventually snaps, labelling them insane. The psychopath responds:
“What if I told you insane was working fifty hours a week in some office for fifty years at the end of which they tell you to piss off; ending up in some retirement village hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time? Wouldn't you consider that to be insane?”
So let’s consider it, then. Working excessive hours might be OK if it’s a job you love. But isn’t it a little insane many of us work in jobs that make us deeply unhappy? For example, a study conducted in 2013 by the Australian Psychological Society found wellbeing, job satisfaction, and work stress have “significantly” worsened in recent years. Those factors are even worse here than in Europe where the force of the GFC has been merciless.
Isn’t it a little insane the corporate attire we’re forced to wear is actually an inhibitor to performance? Research last year by a trio of institutions, including the University of Wollongong, concluded formal clothing makes employees feel less friendly, less creative, less productive and less comfortable. That last one, in particular, is perhaps responsible for the eyesore that is the horrid suits and sneakers look on public transport.
Speaking of transport, isn’t it a little insane that work schedules are such that a majority of people start and finish at the same time thereby creating congestion of a variety that, for some of us, induces thoughts of homicide? Peak hour traffic in Melbourne is now 23 km/h slower than a decade ago, and Sydney is the world’s seventh-most congested city, just behind Los Angeles. Even buses and trains are packed to such an extent they’re a breeding ground for frotteurism.
Isn’t it a little insane that people resort to shiftwork even though they’re cursed not only with unsociable hours but also a wide range of afflictions? A plethora of studies document the much higher rates of breast cancer, prostate cancer, heart attacks, and vehicle accidents among those who work nights. That research also verifies the unhealthy habits, such as bingeing on snacks and forgoing exercise, that afflict shift workers. Meanwhile, their productivity at work plummets.
Then again, even the nine-to-fivers continue working well into the evening by an anxiety called ‘nomophobia’, otherwise known as smartphone addiction. Isn’t it a little insane that people are so hooked on these devices that any positive effects are eroded by the negative impacts? Heaps of research shows 50 per cent of us check our phone in bed, 44 per cent check it daily while on holidays, and 60 per cent work an extra 25 hours a week because of it.
Isn’t it a little insane we work in environments where bullying is a standard part of the landscape? Safe Work Australia released a report in 2012, which calculated that 7 per cent of employees had been bullied in the previous six months. That compares alarmingly to other rates around the world, which vary between 1 per cent and 4 per cent. The same analysis found bullying costs the economy $693 million a year. As a nation, we do workplace bullying really well.
Granted, this article has been extremely one-sided. There are, of course, many wonderful things about the way we work, such as the greater disposable income we get, which enables us to engage enthusiastically with consumerism. (Or, hey, maybe that’s not a good thing after all.)
So, look, I don’t know. You tell me. Is there something a little insane about the way we’re working?
Follow James Adonis on Twitter: @jamesadonis
