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Shorter Work Day

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In most countries in the world, a standard workday is considered to be 9AM to 5PM. This works out to 7 hours of work plus 1 hour lunch and coffee breaks. According to medical research the average human being requires 8 to 10 hours of sleep, not up to 8 hours as is commonly believed. Many people cannot meet their full potential at work with less than 10 hours sleep, and usually a person will not qualify as disabled unless they require more than 10 hours sleep, even if they are unable to hold a job due to their sleep cycle.

A person requiring 10 hours of sleep would be left with no more than six hours in the day to deal with all of the things they need to do including up to 2 hours of commute, 20 minute shower, 10 minutes of dental care, 45 minutes for breakfast and dinner. Many people, especially those in the care of children find that they are required to skip some of these essential tasks to get through the day.

If companies were required to shorten the work day by one hour a day this would leave working people more time to complete necessary tasks. Furthermore company's labour requirements would increase by 1/8th to offset the hour of lost productivity, helping the unemployment crisis. Most employees would have better work productivity and there would be less car accidents.

Do you think it would benefit quality of life of the average person if companies were required to reduce the length of the workday by one hour?

Thank-you for your participation.

How much sleep do you get in the average night?
Less than 8 hours
8 to 9 hours
9 to 10 hours
More than 10 hours
How much sleep do you require to be at your best performance?
Less than 8 hours
8 to 9 hours
9 to 10 hours
More than 10 hours
Before taking this poll, were you aware that scientific data suggests that most people will not be at peak performance during the day with less than 10 hours sleep and that at least 5% of the population are unable to work at all with less than 10 hours of sleep on average per night?
Yes
No
Have you ever had to skip or shorten at least one essential daily routine because you did not have enough time to complete it?
  • At least 20 minute shower
  • At least 10 minute dental care
  • At least 45 minute breakfast
  • At least 45 minute lunch
  • Lunch or coffee break at work
  • Child care if applicable
Never
Sometimes
Much of the time
Most of the time
Have you ever experienced trouble driving because of insufficient sleep.
Never
I have driven dangerously
I have fallen asleep behind the wheel
I have had a collision
Have you ever encountered any of the following common performance problems at work due to insufficient sleep?
Never
I have not had full concentration
I have made a serious work error
I have fallen asleep at work
I have lost a job due any of the above problems
Do you think the workday should be decreased by one hour per day?
No. The standard workday is short enough to accommodate every normal person's sleep needs.
Yes. The government should legislate a shorter workday.
Yes. Employees should have the right to sue employers that require them to work longer than a normal person can handle.
Yes, the workday should be shortened somehow but it will never happen.
Between lost productivity, car accidents, issues with child care, and unemployment, etc. some people have suggested that getting insufficient sleep is the single greatest problem that affects Western working society. How big of an issue do you see it as?
There is not problem. Most people get enough sleep and have plenty of spare time.
This is a minor problem. Half the population has no work and the other half is working too hard!
This is a epidemic. People cannot do their jobs, look after their health, raise their children and are crashing their cars all due to insufficient sleep.
This poll was created on 2012-07-23 01:38:25 by fdostoevski