Despite working so hard, why does free time remain elusive?

There have been massive gains in productivity over the past century.

So why are people still working so hard for so long?

Output per worker increased by almost 300% between 1950 and 2018 in the US. The standard American workweek, meanwhile, has remained unchanged, at about 40 hours.

This paradox is especially notable in the US, where the average work year is 1,767 hours compared with 1,354 in Germany, a difference largely due to Americans’ lack of vacation time.

Some might argue that Americans are just more hardworking. But shouldn’t more productive work be rewarded with more time free from work?

This is the central theme of my new book, Free Time: The History of an Elusive Ideal.

Keynes misses the mark

Many economists see the status quo mostly as a choice: People would simply rather have more money. So they prioritise work over free time.

However, in the past, many economists assumed that people’s need for more stuff would eventually be met. At that point, they would choose more free time.

In fact, one of the most famous economists of the 20th century, John Maynard Keynes, confidently predicted in 1930 that within a century, the normal workweek would decrease to 15 hours. Yet Americans in their prime working age are still on the job 41.7 hours per week.

Why was Keynes wrong?

Obviously, people’s needs or wants were not fully met....

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