Is Less Work and More Leisure Time Really a Good Idea?

Topic: Despite the many timesaving devices in our homes, people today are working harder and longer. Explain whether it would be better for people to work less and have more leisure time.

IS LESS WORK AND MORE LEISURE TIME REALLY A GOOD IDEA?

Thanks to the non-stop development of technology, nowadays, there are plenty of timesaving devices in our homes. Nevertheless, people don’t seem to work less and have more relaxing time. Many say that we’re working too much and that we nowadays have much less leisure time than we did in the past. However, I personally don’t think that it would be better if we work less and have more leisure time.

A lot of people say that timesaving devices don’t really help us save time; in other words, in order to purchase those devices, we have to work even harder and longer. However, I don’t see any problem with that. In my opinion, if you want to enjoy or possess something, you first have to work for it. For example, you want to have a washing machine so that you can gain more leisure time (by using it). Naturally, you have to work harder than you do at the moment to buy the one you want. Of course you can choose to work no more (or even less) than that; however, the more you work, the more money you have, and then the better product you can buy. As a result, it would save your time a lot in comparison with buying a cheaper one and then repair it or even buy another one. After all, we now work harder and longer just to have a convenient and satisfied life.

Some also complain than we nowadays have to work too much and that we don’t even have time to breathe, much less relaxing. According to a study in 2005, an average American adult spent about 33 hours a week working (40 hours with men and 26 hours with women), and about 106 hours a week on ‘leisure’, which includes sleeping, eating, watching TV and most activities you’d think of as forms of relaxing. It’s obvious to see that our leisure time is much more than the working time, and yet people still grumble about lacking time to rest? Some argue that with such amount of time, they can’t relax somewhere other than at their homes. However, unless they work harder, how can they afford a vacation? We just can’t simply ask for enjoyment without working hard for it, can we?

Another argument is that even though there’s time for us to rest, it’s far from enough for us to regain our energy from stress and pressure during the work time. I understand this point of view. Stress and pressure are unpreventable and we absolutely need to find ways to recharge ourselves from that. However, if we work with a reasonable, logical and scientific schedule, it wouldn’t be too difficult to release ourselves from stress and pressure even when we just have limited leisure time. Moreover, as the grass is always greener on the on the side of the fence, I think we just don’t know how good it is to have a lot of work to be busy with, even when it makes our relaxing time lessened. Just look at unemployed people: they’re longing to be swamped with work while we’re always whining about having too much work to do! And in my opinion, working even harder or longer is totally not a problem as we’ll get what we deserve. It is for the sake of our own lives later after all.

In conclusion, I think working much and having restricted time for leisure activities is not really a bad thing. People work and will get their corresponding results. We do have enough time to relax, and in my opinion, as long as we have a scientific schedule, there’s no need to ask for more leisure time. And as we’ll have plenty of time resting and relaxing when we get older and stop working anyway, I prefer working my best when I still can.