INFOGRAPHIC: The Benefits of a Shorter Workweek
by New Dream | October 18, 2013
In this 2013 infographic series, New Dream looks at the benefits of a shorter workweek.
While many Americans struggle to find work, those who are employed are often working too much. Long hours, stress, and lack of time to spend with family and friends can lead to unhappiness and lower quality of life. These infographics explore the ramifications of overworking on our health, our happiness, and the environment.
See sources cited and learn more about shorter workweeks at the bottom of this page.
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Infographics Designer: Sarah Parkinson for New Dream
Consultant: Juliet Schor
Learn More
- The Four-Day Work Week — CNNMoney
- Economic Fallacies: Is It Time to Work More, or Less? — The Guardian
- True Wealth: A Plenitude Economy (book) — Juliet Schor
- Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America (book) — John de Graaf
Infographics: Sources Cited
Overwork in the U.S.
- OECD Better Life Index — Work-Life Balance, accessed July 2013.
Health Impacts
- Marianna Virtanen, Stephen A. Stansfeld, Rebecca Fuhrer, Jane E. Ferrie, and Mika Kivimäki, Overtime Work as a Predictor of Major Depressive Episode: A 5-Year Follow-Up of the Whitehall II Study, PLOS ONE, 7(1): e30719. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0030719 (2012).
- Sarah Boseley, “Too Much Overtime is Bad for Your Health, Says Study,” The Guardian, May 11, 2010.
- The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), Stress…At Work, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 99-101, 1999.
- Melinda Smith, Robert Segal, and Jeanne Segal, Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes, Helpguide, July 2013.
Work-Life Balance
- Chiung-Ya Tang and Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, Time and Workplace Flexibility, Families and Work Institute, 2008.
- John de Graaf. Take Back Your Time: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003. p. 179.
Vacation Time
- Take Back Your Time, Right2Vacation Poll, June 2008.
- Lydia Dishman, “Unlimited Vacation Doesn’t Create Slackers—It Ensures Productivity,” Fast Company, March 9, 2012.
Environment
- Kyle Knight, Eugene A. Rosa, and Juliet B. Schor, 2013, “Reducing growth to achieve environmental sustainability: the role of work hours,” in Capitalism on Trial: Explorations in the Tradition of Thomas Weisskopf, Robert Pollin and Jeannette Wicks-Lim, eds., (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar).