Why Americans Don't Have
Time to Be Healthy

August 2002

TIME IS THE IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME!
IT'S COMINGS

TAKE BACK YOUR TIME DAY
BEGINNING A NEW DIALOGUE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

JOHN DE GRAAF
CO-CHAIR, PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE, THE SIMPLICITY FORUM

515 WEST OLYMPIC PLACE #6
SEATTLE, WA 98119
(P) 206 443-6747
(F) 206 443-6691
EMAIL: jdegraaf@kcts.org

THE ISSUE: IT'S TIME, FOR A CHANGE

Americans are working too much their families, their friendships, their
communities, their roles as citizens, and the environment. In October of
1999, the United States officially passed Japan as the country with the
longest annual working hours in the industrial world. In contrast to the
citizens of virtually every other industrial nation, Americans are actually
working longer hours today than we were 30 years ago, despite a near
doubling of productivity.

Medieval peasants worked less than we do. On average, as former Labor
Secretary Robert Reich points out, we Americans work 350 hours weeks
nearly one year more every five years. Thus, during an average work life,
western Europeans enjoy nearly ten years more free time than do their
American counterparts. In Europe, workers receive an average six weeks of
paid vacation. We Americans average two. And 26% of us got no vacation at
all last year.

It's time to begin a new national dialogue about the impact of overwork and
time famine on American society, and about personal, workplace and
legislative ways to find more time and a more satisfying and sustainable way
of life. That dialogue will begin on TAKE BACK YOUR TIME DAY. On
Friday, October 24, 2003, thousands of Americans will express their desire
for shorter annual working hours by not coming to work or leaving work early.
Supportive businesses and non-profits will allow their employees to take the
day off of the year, the point at which Europeans who had worked as much as
their American counterparts would have the rest of the year off work. Our model
is the first Earth Day in 1970, which galvanized an American movement for
environmental protection, resulting within the next two years in the passage
of our most significant environmental legislation Species Act, the Clean Air
and Water Acts and many other important laws.
Take Back Your Time Day can have a similar impact.

In every American community, we hope to have a host of relevant activities,
sponsored by businesses and non-profits sympathetic to the cause. Take Back
Your Time festivals will offer music and speakers, opportunities to
volunteer in your community, workplace activities and lobbying for
legislation already being drafted by key members of Congress. We'll have an
extensive speaker's list ready for your community to take advantage of.
Colleges and universities will sponsor teach-ins and symposia, reaching tens
of thousands of students and interested members of their communities.
Already, faculty from more than thirty colleges have signed up to organize
teach-ins and dozens more will follow their lead. Some communities will
also hold demonstrations for more free time. You might call yours "The March
of Time."

WHAT DO WE NEED FREE TIME FOR?

Time famine is a cancer eating at the foundations of our lives, our society
and our planet. Having more free time would bring enormous benefits
throughout American society. At a minimum, we could expect improvements in:

HEALTH. Doctors warn that millions of Americans suffer from "hurry sickness"
brought on by overwork and time pressure. Americans get far too little
sleep Disease Control warn that overwork is the greatest new threat to American
health. Time pressure means that fewer Americans take the time to exercise,
and far too many rely on unhealthy, high-calorie, chemical-laden, overly
processed fast foods. If it improves our health, as there is plenty of
evidence to indicate it would, working less could also cut down on expensive
medical costs, among the fastest rising segments of the average American's
budget.

RELATIONSHIPS. Time is a family value. Building strong families and strong
relationships takes time. But compared with the 1960s, Americans now spend
40% less time with their children. At the same time, children's lives now
duplicate their parents' frantic schedules. Some experts suggest that the
result is rising levels of suicide, substance abuse, and burnout among
youths. Friendships also take time. But Americans are now so often
overworked and overscheduled that they have to make appointments
months in advance just to see their friends.

COMMUNITY. Getting to know one's neighbors takes time. Volunteering in the
community takes time. With more time, we could re-invigorate community life.
Neighbors who know each other would gladly share tools so that everyone on
the block didn't have to buy one of everything. All of this could
appreciably reduce the cost of living.

EMPLOYMENT. Shortening working hours can result in job sharing, increasing
total employment. By shortening working hours, employers can avoid
devastating layoffs, dividing existing work more equitably. At present,
with no change in working hours, millions of Americans face a complete loss
of livelihoods during recessions. Meanwhile, those remaining on the job are
often forced to work overtime or pushed to complete far more work in the
same period of time, damaging their mental and physical health. A stronger
America would share existing work rather than creating a polarization
between those who have too much work and those who have too little.
Unemployment and overwork are two sides of the same coin.

SECURITY. Studies show that increases in unemployment results in costs
which go far beyond subsidies to laid off workers. For example, a mere one
percent increase in unemployment results in as much as a ten percent
increase in incidences of substance abuse, suicide, spousal battering, child
abuse and mental health problems. Additionally, doctors say "time urgency"
leads to another feature of the Type A personality<"free-floating hostility.
Other people highly-scheduled frenetic lives, producing an underlying anger
toward them that, for a few of us, erupts as road rage or other forms of
anger. Finally, exhaustion from lack of sleep leads to thousands of traffic
accidents each year.

SPIRITUALITY. In the 1920s and 30s, American religious leaders argued
that workers needed "time to know God." Affairs of the spirit require a break
from the frenzy of modern American life. Once, Americans honored the
Sabbath and considered it a day of rest. Regardless of our spiritual
orientation, a soulful life requires time for contemplation, meditation and
attention to the wonder and mystery of life. Appreciation of beauty, art,
fine music and the cultural treasures of humanity require free time as well.

ENVIRONMENT. Every environmentalist knows that on a finite planet,
unlimited economic growth is unsustainable. Already, scientists say that if
the rest of the world were to suddenly duplicate the American lifestyle,
we'd need three more planets. Yet more than a billion of the world's people
desperately need more material goods. We can't grow on like this. Most
Americans don't want to stop scientific advances and increases in
productivity We can do three things with these advances<1) produce more, 2)
produce the same amount while casting millions out of work, or 3) produce
the same amount while working less. Clearly, the latter is a more
environmentally friendly way to use our technological advances. If we are
to limit economic growth while maintaining full employment, we can only do
so by sharing the necessary work. Shorter worktime also answers a complaint
so many people have against environmentalists sacrifice and suffer for the sake
of the earth. In fact, shorter working hours will make for a freer, happier life,
with more fun and more self-chosen activities.

Moreover, shorter worktime would have many other environmental benefits.
For example, people who have more time are more likely to recycle. They eat
less fast and over-packaged food, sending less waste to the landfills. They
grow more of their own food and eat more organic foods, reducing the demand
for pesticides and other chemicals. They are more likely to repair items
rather than throw them away. In general, they are less likely to demand
use-it-once-and-throw-it-away convenience products. People with more time
are more likely to get out into the natural world. Many studies point to
early introduction to nature as a key factor in creating pro-environmental
attitudes.

Shorter and more flexible working hours could appreciably decrease rush-hour
congestion, and the waste of fuel, pollution and road rage that results from
it. It might not cut down on total driving, but more people would be
inclined to do their traveling outside of peak hours. Some, with less time
pressure, might be more inclined to use public transit, or walk or bike to
work, even if their trips took a bit longer than commuting by car.

CITIZENSHIP. It's no accident that Europeans tend to vote in far higher
percentages than do Americans. In a recent US election, 33% of non-voters
said they simply didn't have time to vote. Even accepting that this is an
exaggeration, the fact is that citizenship and political participation take
time. .

CHOICE. Freedom of choice is a vaunted American ideal. But too often, it
only means choice between products in the marketplace. By contrast, Dutch
workers are guaranteed the right to work part-time with full benefits. Not
all Americans want to work less, but those who do should have the option,
without having to worry about losing their jobs completely. At a minimum,
overtime work should be voluntary as it is in most European countries. But
today, mandatory overtime in the US is at an all-time high.

Would people support a campaign for shorter worktime? Many would right
now (polls show nearly half of Americans would trade a day's pay for a day
off work each week). Millions of others will as they begin to understand the
issue. That's why we need a national dialogue about this issue. Most
Americans are not even aware that Europeans and Australians work so much
less than they do. They have no idea that a thirty-hour workweek was almost
the law of the land in the US 69 years ago, or that some major corporations
Ultimately, as the Europeans have shown, there are no systemic reasons for
maintaining long hours. The European countries that have reduced their hours
have fundamentally capitalist economies, and they are actually more
productive per worker hour than we are.

POTENTIAL ALLIES

The issue of shorter worktime provides the potential of a vast coalition,
including groups who almost never talk to each other. It has the potential
to unite constituencies as disparate as family values conservatives and the
women's movement. At a minimum, organizations and individuals representing
the following constituencies might reasonably be expected to participate in
Take Back Your Time Day:

1. Environmental organizations, especially those concerned with the
impacts of unbridled consumerism.

2. Labor leaders who are concerned about preserving full employment.

3. Churches and religious leaders Time/Free People campaign initiated
by the Shalom Center in Philadelphia.

4. Physicians concerned about stress and Type A lifestyles.

5. Mental health professionals.

6. Public safety agencies that understand the impact of unemployment
on crime, substance abuse and family violence.

7. Family values conservatives.

8. Community groups seeking volunteer support.

9. Waste management leaders who understand the impact of long working
hours on consumption of throwaway products.

10. Transportation agencies that understand that more flexible worktime
can reduce rush hour traffic.

11. Leaders of the voluntary simplicity movement.

12. Working women and single mothers, and by extension, the Women's
Movement.

13. Health care activists.

14. Enlightened business leaders.

15. Overworked individuals from all walks of life.

PROMOTION

Take Back Your Time Day will be promoted creatively through various media.
The important thing is to offer eye-catching, thought-provoking and humorous
messages. The event must be understood as fun, provocative and playful.
The following media will be employed to get the message out:

1. A Web site. Beginning in early 2003, interested parties will be able
to take the Internet highway to timeday.org. They'll find: reading
materials: organizations to contact; ways to get involved in Take Back Your
Time Day in their own communities; downloadable posters; information for
holding teach-ins and forums; suggested legislative initiatives at both the
state and federal levels and links to the many existing shorter worktime
sites.

2. Bumper stickers. These will begin popping up on cars and will contain
humorous or provocative slogans such as: VISUALIZE FREE TIME;
I'M PRO-TIME AND I VOTE; TIME IS A FAMILY VALUE;
SHARE THE WORK AND SPARE THE EARTH; THERE'S NO
PRESENT LIKE THE TIME; STOP LOSING SLEEP; MEDIEVAL
PEASANTS WORKED LESS THAN YOU DO, etc. They'll also include
the Web address for Take Back Your Time Day.

3. Posters. These will begin to appear in store windows and on campuses.
They will include humorous artwork and other provocative copy with more
detailed information about the worktime issue and Take Back Your Time Day.
Limited copy on the posters would strengthen the message while an appeal to
participate in Take Back Your Time Day would appear at the bottom
TIME OF YOUR LIFE, CALL 1-800-TIMEDAY or VISIT TIMEDAY.ORG.
Students from art schools have been invited to design the posters.

4. Radio and television public service announcements.

5. Articles in various magazines and newspapers. Eric Brown of the
Center for a New American Dream believes that reporters will be immediately
drawn to this issue, as they are especially plagued with long hours and
overwork.

6. A Take Back Your Time Day handbook will be published in August, 2003,
by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. It will include powerful essays by
well-known Americans from different walks of life (doctors, a prominent
church leader, a well-known environmentalist, the head of a pro-family
organization, etc.,) and information about what individuals and
organizations can do to win more free time. This will be an inexpensive
paperback including some of the material on the Web site. Chapters from the
handbook will be excerpted before publication by national magazines. The
model is THE ENVIRONMENTAL HANDBOOK, published for the first
Earth Day in 1970, which sold three million copies.

TIMELINE

Events and activities leading up to Take Back Your Time Day would develop as
follows:

May to August, 2002. Circulate draft proposal for comments, revisions.
Develop shorter flyer for internal promotion. Secure Web site domain.
Fundraising.

August 22-25, 2002. Oberlin, Ohio, meeting of Simplicity Forum. Launch
idea to group of 75 leaders in the simplicity field.

September, 2002 to March, 2003. Develop artwork, posters, public service
announcements, bumper stickers, Web site. Recruit other organizations to
participate. Continue fundraising. Develop national steering committee
representing key supporting groups. Do polling, research, and focus groups
to see how to most effectively market the issue. Seek endorsements from
prominent Americans, including legislators. Write handbook. Distribute
promotional materials to supporting organizations. Work with public
officials to develop legislation.

April 6, 2003. Public launch of the Take Back Your Time Day idea with a
press conference in Washington D.C. April 6, 2003 is the 70th anniversary
of the US Senate's passage of a 30-hour workweek bill. This can be the hook
for reporters to introduce the idea.

April 19, 2003. Promote idea at Earth Day events. Leafleting of
environmental groups. Recruit activists. Take Back Your Time Day tables at
events. Pass out bumper stickers, etc.

May to September, 2003. General promotion. Leaflet at political rallies.
Leaflet at Mother's and Father's Day events, encouraging an extra Family Day
holiday on the Monday after those days. Publish the handbook in August.

September 1, 2003. Labor Day. Promote idea at Labor Day picnics, etc.

October 24, 2003. TAKE BACK YOUR TIME DAY!

FINANCES

Despite the potential in-kind support of hundreds, perhaps even thousands,
of volunteers, financial support is desperately needed to make Take Back
Your Time Day a reality. Individual contributions are encouraged and we are
seeking support from foundations and sympathetic businesses. In addition to
their endorsements, we also expect organizations to contribute staff time
toward building the event. A bare bones budget of $100,000 is attached to
this proposal. Please help us find the necessary support.