Assignment 13: Joshua Pe

America needs to push towards a 20-hour workday. Consider the effect of the “second-wind” that sleep-deprived students feel when cramming or the “runner’s high” that marathoners experience. The American workforce can take advantage of that burst of energy and relief from exhaustion and increase the power of the economy. Now in 2016, about 123.96 million people work full time, at least 35 hours*. At minimum, that’s 4.3386 billion hours a week, or 225.6072 billion hours a year. If everyone in the country worked at least 120 hours a week (6 days, 20 hours), that’s 772.304 billion hours a year (an increase of 343%). Potentially, America could scale the GDP from 17947 billion** to 61558.21 billion, if it standardized the 20-hour workday.

But what about rest—don’t adults need 7-8 hours of sleep a night to stay healthy? In Japan, their workers are non-stop. They always put in overtime. It is considered disloyal to clock out on time. Instead, they have to work one or two hours more, and often spend time right after work with their coworkers and bosses unwinding in bars or restaurants. Doesn’t Japan manage to have the highest average life expectancy? Therefore, if America converted to the work-a-holic culture of Japan, Americans would live longer and produce more money.

How about free time? How do Americans enjoy their lives without spending time with families or hobbies? Well, from the dawn of the country, Americans have been pursuing the American dream. If Americans want to achieve the dream faster, they can do so with the 20-hour workday. It is time that America standardizes the 20-hour workday because of the economic benefit, the increase in life expectancy, and the accelerated pace towards the ultimate dream.

*https://www.statista.com/statistics/192361/unadjusted-monthly-number-of-full-time-employees-in-the-us/

** http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/gdp