Imagine working incredibly hard at school, only to get to a decent uni. Only to find a job, not your dream job, but good enough for it to be considered a career. A couple of years later, you find the love of your life, and settle down in a nice commuter town. Soon after you have children, and if you are the female in the household, the you’re at least grateful you can afford childcare, so you can soon return to work. Yet you find yourself stuck in the same old position at work, because balancing life as it is, is simply draining. Although it is nice at weekends, when you are able to spend some quality time with your children, however you do notice that your husband is becoming increasingly distant. Five years on, you two finally divorce, and while your husband says he is willing to take equal care of the children, you soon learn that by that he means have them round say once a month ffor a sleepover…
So I am guessing this may not be the life you want, but least it offers some kind of stability. But come on, we all know it is far away from the dream.
Some Background info
For a start, the 9-5 job can absorb so much of our time and energy. Nevertheless the 8 hour day was actually a reform made by the US government, which was regulated under the Fair Labor Standards Act which still stands today. Only after years of campaigning for, while the idea initially stemmed from British socialist, Robert Owen, who argued about the importance of protecting the worker’s well being.
Yet we have moved on from this time period. Perhaps it would be nice if every worker actually felt valued as an important member of a team. But sadly this is rare. So instead the only real thing you can do to acquire more freedom would be to start from scratch on your own. Maybe as a freelancer, or as a creator of something bigger. Thinking you would be better off as you no longer have to work pointlessly long hours. But in reality, most entrepreneurs have to put in far more hours, just to keep the business ticking along.
Feminism and Entrepreneurship
Is working super hard, acquiring success and balancing 101 things at once the strongest force of feminism out there? One of this year’s Superbowl commercials featured uninspired people at an uninspiring office job, but then just as the clock turned 5pm, all came to life. The glum offices, turned into a rush of colour, movement and glam. Yet while I may be reading too much into this, it does suggest too much of the focus on mainstream feminism is on output.
“But it’s Boring”
Most would agree that working hard on repetitive tasks, in a stuffy office for the largest chunk of our lives, is pretty boring. Because then what happens to any kinds of dreams of travelling, creating, or just having a little bit of freedom to actually find or create yourself. This way, the only way to enable us to potentially have these dreams is by working in a job that we really want to be doing, and if this means creating it yourself, then so be it. But from reading comments from forums (again), I got the impression that those knocking the 9-5 job, didn’t necessarily realise the obstacles which come with this.
But What’s the Alternative?
I also noticed a common pattern in that while those who did work a 9-5 job wished they didn’t, those who didn’t work 9-5 jobs, wish they did. And it is not surprising, considering the funny hours which come with other jobs. Once again, when someone runs their own business, they would usually have to be putting 9-5 hours anyway, not to mention any other hours they may be having to do.
So is it Worth it
There are always going to be creatives out there, while the classic office hours are likely to become less common place, partly thanks to technology and partly thanks to covid… But it is important to be more resistant to the pressure out there that encourages people to be entrepreneurs for the sake of it, not to mention that workers, in what ever industry, really ought to be valued more than what they are currently.
Sources:
Is it the end of the 9 to 5 working day? – BBC News
20 Reasons Why a 9 to 5 Job Sucks | Lane Goodwin
Why do people hate 9 to 5 jobs? – Quora
Why Working 9 to 5 Is Not Ideal to Make a Living Today (lifehack.org)
5 Reasons Why the 9-5 Job No Longer Makes Sense (2021) | Wealthy Gorilla
4 Signs a 9-to-5 Job Isn’t Right for You | The Muse
The 9-to-5 workday isn’t just hated—it’s obsolete — Quartz at Work (qz.com)
7 Ways Millennials Are Preparing to Quit the 9-to-5 to Be Their Own Boss | Inc.com
Personally Political 
This is a great thought provoking post. I think you hit the nail on the head with the word value. I believe this is why many are becoming increasingly disinterested in working for big corporations. As far as I’m aware 9 to 5 doesn’t really exist anymore. It’s more like 9 to 9. Even if it’s written into the contract my understanding from many friends who work in finance is leaving work at 5 everyday would be career suicide. Not to mention the advent of smart phones. Now companies have you by the balls outside of work as-well. Quite literally because our “computers” are in our pockets. If you can find a big company that actually honours your contract – that’s isn’t seeking to erode it over time – that’s rare (at least in this part of the world). I think more people will turn towards entrepreneurship so long as this trend continues. Of course there are pros and cons to both and every company is different. Still the idea of working on my own terms is increasingly attractive to me, even if that means working more for less! Great blog by the way. Wishing you well, AP2 🙏
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Thankyou for taking the time to read and comment. I think you are right in saying that 9-5 jobs have become increasingly difficult in recent years, thanks to technology, and I compleately understand why someone may want to move toward working for themselves instead. However it is important, I think, to recognise that that isn’t easy either.
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I completely agree. To take a more balanced view – there are pros to working a 9 to 5 job. You know where you stand. You show up, do your job and then go home. Routine is big draw. Something you appreciate a lot more as you get older! And I think for the right company – one in which you feel valued – 9 to 5 can be a fantastic thing. It’s just that seems to becoming more rare nowadays. But as you say, we should be careful what we wish for. Making it on your own is no picnic. Throw in family commitments and everything else… I think I probably like the idea of it more than anything else. Reality is rarely what we expect of course. Thanks for conversing. I enjoy the topic you’ve raised 🙏
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❤ The Grass is Always Greener until We Realise it isn’t; there is NEVER!!! SomeThing for NoThing EveryOne…so if YOU!!! Really Desire SomeThing Be Prepared to Sacrifice, Suffer, Lose and Let Go to Create The Space for YOUR!!! Dream to Seed, Take Root and Grow in Ways YOU!!! NEVER!!! Expected in Any of YOUR!!! Wildest Dreams and Totally Exceeding ALL of YOUR!!! Imposed, PreConceived Expectations; a Good Start is Switching Focus Away from Money, Materialism and Other Peoples Idea of an Ideal, Dream Life
…💛💙💚…
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I agree, there is sadly so much focus on materialism etc, which I think may be why so many are so keen to set up their own business, thinking they will make massive profits easily. When this isn’t really the case.
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I honestly think for big corporates (where it is possible) – a fixed work window of 8/9hrs should be enforced. But that work window should be as per the person’s convenience. If someone prefers a 7AM-3PM, they should be able to do that or if someone prefers a 1PM-10PM.. as long as the team can meet together for an hour or two everyday to have meetings. Also 9-5 is great in the sense that it puts an end to the work day and if you are working longer people know that you’re extending yourself.
But I do get that in startups, your own business, 9-5 is just a dream because the work required is THAT much more.
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I agree, although there may still be some issues with the fixed window, as many are likely to feel obliged to work more hours outside of their proposed hours. While it is definitely true that the work day is going to be much longer to start with, when stetting up a business.
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The pandemic forced businesses to rethink getting work done. I think there will be some positive changes for employees.
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Hopefully that’s true, as there will be more freedom for workers to work in times and places they want. However there will also be the pressure of spending more hours working, because it is easier than ever.
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If more hours = more pay, great. For salaried workers, that probably won’t be the case.
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That’s very true.
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I think there’s definitely something to be said for stability, although it may not be what everyone is looking for. One job I worked at had a 9-day fortnight schedule, so each day was a little longer and then everyone had either every other Monday or every other Friday. I thought that was a great schedule.
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I think a lot of it does depend on the person. While I would personally rather work an extra hour each day to get an extra day off.
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Yeah, if you’re going to be at work anyway, an extra hour doesn’t feel that different, but an extra day off makes a huge difference!
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Very nice info i search the same from long time
Keep it up
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Thankyou
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9-5 is a myth for most people, especially when everything is always ‘on’. While there have always been debates to give people flexibility to work per their choice, it was also boo-ed down since the bosses couldn’t be sure whether the slaves would work or frolic away. With the pandemic, it looks like everyone is rethinking the 9-5 job model. Granted, the concept must still exist for some job families, but for the majority that do not work based on arbitrary times decided as ‘working hours’, and instead simply put in the time as needed, flexibility in working will be a boon.
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I agree, and while flexibility is good, it will mean many will be working more than just 8 hours a day as you say.
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I’ve never really given much thought to 9-5 jobs since I’m still trying to survive high school. But i think you made some really good points here, and I definitely learned a lot of things. I loved this post !!
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Thankyou, yeah I have thought about it only because I am close to finishing 6th form. However it isn’t something I have been directly affected by (at least not yet)
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I completely agree with the idea that 9-5 jobs are becoming outdated. I feel like, as we look to the future, we need to ask ourselves what do we actually want. What good is all the advancements we have made technologically, if we work longer and harder? What’s the point of earning a good salary if you have no time to enjoy it, and it destroys your life, as with the example you painted? And then there is the issue of trying to reskill the population in the future, so that we can adapt to the changing landscape of the labour market. The inflexibility of a 9-5 job, combined with societal pressures to have one, make this much harder than it should be.
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I agree with you, and I think all people have seen recent pressures to work harder, be it “high skilled” people or “low skilled”. I feel the issue’s that these corporations benefiting from improved technology don’t really care about their workers (generally), therefore will do what they can to make better use of the tech they have at hand without having to treat workers well. meaning those who are low skilled basically have to work more than 1 job, for less. While there is still a lot of pressure for higher skilled people to be constantly working. Yet it would be so nice improvements really could benefit everyone, so we could all work fewer hours doing something that we enjoy.
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Especially the pandemic badly affected the smooth flow of running businesses – and people with a PC/laptop didn’t miss the opportunity to make a living online.
Recently I left the 9 to 5 after 4 months.
Thanks –
Nice convesation
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