Despite all the advances in technology over the past 100 years, we’re working harder and longer than our grandparents did. Are we being conned? The system keeps us chained to the wheel, and we’ve got to break out of the system if we want to break free.
Sometimes I think back to the way my grandpa used to live.
It’s getting harder and harder to remember a time before facebook, email, mobile phones and computers.
But back then, if you wanted to write on someone’s wall, you actually had to drive over to their place, and even then, it wasn’t a very cool thing to do.
“Hey, why are you pinning that picture of a cat to my house?”
We take for granted things that ol pops could never have imagined. The rate of technological advancement in the 20th century was mind boggling. In a single life time we went from being unable to sustain powered flight, to popping blokes up on the moon like it was nothing.
I still don’t think our minds have fully caught up with our new technological reality. And it’s only getting faster and faster. In just a few years, pretty much every digital tool we’ve ever wanted has been gobbled up by our phones. My iphone is a personal assistant, photographer, navigator and jukebox, all rolled into one little robot.
And think of all the labour-saving technology. Electricity and things like washing machines revolutionised domestic chores. Production lines, robots and computers revolutionised industry.
Think of how many labour hours have been saved in the past 100 years, all thanks to technology.
And we used this boon – all that saved labour – to do the thing we really love – go to the beach, spend time with family, update our facebook statuses.
I mean, no we didn’t.
In fact, we’re actually working a lot harder and longer than our grandparents did. We liberated women from being tied to the kitchen and laundry, only to chain them to office desks.
There was a while there where I was working longer work weeks that my grandpa ever did.
So what’s going on here? We went from wind up phonographs to a 1,000 hours of music on our phones, but our leisure time actually went down?
What happened to all the time that our labour-saving technology bought us?
Who stole our leisure time?
Well, a lot of those productivity benefits have been funnelled upwards – up towards the 1%. Every productivity gain makes business more profitable. Some of that gain may be captured by workers through higher wages, but most will be captured by the owners of capital.
And that’s not as sinister as it might sound. Every business owner, large or small, is looking for a way to increase their profits – get the most return on their investment of time and energy and risk. It’s only natural.
Most are not actively looking for ways to increase the wages or the leisure time of their employees. Very few would see that as their role. And it probably isn’t, not in the current system.
If workers are to benefit, they need a certain degree of power. That may occur naturally for particular and rare skill sets, or it may come through collective organisation like unions.
And if the workers have some power they may be able to capture some of the productivity gains either as more leisure or higher wages.
But that’s the thing. Given that choice, workers have almost always gone for more money.
And that’s because we’re locked into a consumerist Mexican stand off. We’re all trying to keep up with the Jones’s, but the Jones’s have on a pair of $200 nikes and are going for it.
Even if we wanted to opt out of the rat race, we can’t really do it alone. We could grow our own veggies and sew our own shirts, but sooner or later, the cost of living would catch up with us.
The price of everything we buy as individuals keys off national prices. Milk costs about the same everywhere. More or less. And because everyone else is earning more and spending more, prices keep going up. Inflation keeps us chained to the wheel.
And when my grandparents bought a house, it was on a single wage with Grandma staying at home looking after the kids.
Now, try buying for your first house on a single income. Mum’s been forced into the workforce, and both parents are locked into longer and longer work weeks, just to try and get ahead.
Which is what everyone else is doing. So the bar for ‘getting ahead’ just gets higher and higher.
It’s relentless.
This is another one of those tragedies that comes from being part of a herd species. Actions that make sense at the individual level, create outcomes that are ridiculous at the collective level.
And despite all the advances in technology, most people are working harder and feel they have less. Madness.
But is there a way out? Well, history has shown we’re not that good at dealing with collective tragedies. There’s some efforts in continental Europe to create shorter work weeks for public servants and things like that.
They’re trying to engineer some sort of consumerist disarmament – by getting everyone to step it down a bit. But there’s always going to be the temptation for someone to cheat – to work that little bit longer and earn that little bit more money to get ahead of everyone else.
Which just forces everyone to keep up.
And at the same time, business owners aren’t going to be loving it. They want to get the most out of their staff. Business will be fighting every step of the way – just as they fought against the 40-hour work week.
So personally, I’m not holding my breath.
You can’t beat the system from within the system. You need to step right out of it. If you think you can keep toiling away as a wage-slave and one day break through into clean air, forget it.
You need to think right outside the box. Invest like the system is rigged against you.
Because it is.
Jack says
I just wish I had time to reply to this astute observation. SheeeeesH!!!!
Michael says
Awesome Jon,
Once again you have concisely explained one of those thoughts I have been pondering.
I thought I wouldn’t have time to write this,
but I made the time to 🙂
Dilia Abrantes says
First Jon, you are a good looking guy and hones. But please bear in mind that there are lucky and unlucky people. If you believe in palmistry then you will believe what I said. There will always be a rich and a poor people in this world. Why, poor people has to serve rich people and poor people should appreciate that. Jon, you are a very good writer and an investigative writer too. Please continue your good work.
engravedringsistina says
yeah but you get to decide what group you want to be in, by your actions
Richard B says
Sooo……what’s your point? Where’s the solution?
kit Coronel says
Thanks Jon, for sharing with us your thoughts! This article is very appropriate for my team who just attended a seminar last night with the theme: Inspire Change Today. I will share this article to our group which is involved in teaching people on how to “get out of that wheel” and build an engine from the outside for that wheel to keep on turning with or without you!
Jim locke says
Another quality insight john!
Me and the missus are with you on that one!! I’m in the final stages of getting my e book on kindle!(thanks to mike g for the course) so many more shall follow!! The missus is concentrating on the property side of things! We are just about to build a new house on our paddock!! Which in turn will set us up for a repeat one!! We have well and truly had enough of being full time wage slaves!! Making our own little herd is much more appealing than following the rest!!
Dsal says
what you say is very true. unfortunately it is left to governments to ensure that the collective efforts of society don’t end up in the bank accounts of the 1%. but instead of this the pollies choose to get in it themselves and make money. obviously this is corrupt, and thankfully in nsw we have icac. however, there’s still no law against politicians showing favouritism towards organisations in exchange for cushy jobs after their parliamentary careers.
we the people need to, in the words of the former democrat party, ‘keep the bastards honest’. unfortunately even when they get elected, you find out it was all a lie
but even though the 1% are getting wealthier and wealthier, we all enjoy a ‘better’ standard of living as time goes on. even the lower socioeconomic classes live better today than even the king of england did a few hundred years ago. electricity, medical advances etc mean we can enjoy a better quality of life than our ancestors.
the problem is perspective. as long you see the jones’ with their new car, you’re going to feel poorer. people need to begin appreciating what they have a little more. being gracious for what you have, and not jealous for what you don’t, is the simplest path to happiness. happiness will allow you to enjoy your life much more. a hell of a lot more in fact, than working your ass off 12 hours a day for 45 years of your life to afford the materialistic life. materials that won’t make you happy
Terry Maggacis says
It’s not so much the materialistic items I work two jobs for but just striving to pay everyday bills like power, rates, insurances. These bills alone require another two thousand dollars a year to pay. It’s just so hard to do anything over the top like a new car or boat or nikes. My father worked really hard too. Even he reckons its harder now than the old days. That says something. Head down bum up and keep working and don’t worry about keeping up with the Jones’s.
Mike O'Brien says
Like your writing. The fact you’ve put down your thoughts opens up the chance for others to debate. That’s good. I think the ‘system’ is what we create collectively, and it’s up to the individual to decide where/how they can change individually or change the system. If the individual can’t then in my view that’s a sign of bondage or slavery, because the first rule of freedom must be choice. Those who are bound in a job and feel they can’t get out, or what you see today of lots of people being captive to their electronic devices, is simply this form of slavery. The second rule of freedom should be happiness, because without the opportunities presented through choice, one cannot decide on what they want to do to be happy. There are many people in all sorts of jobs who are happy, be they jobs that others may see as drudgery. It’s all back to the individual. Sometimes making a choice requires bravery to act on that choice. If the slavery is tolerable(?), many may decide ‘on the devil they know rather than the devil they don’t’. So they stay and become ‘journeymen’, waiting for the day they can retire. Self inflicted bondage?
ian townsend says
Yeh Its all true . Its been said before that you can,t think your way out of a trap with the same thinking that got you into it to begin with . The hardest part is trying to come up with new ideas on a complex subject matter . Industrialisation started over two hundred years ago in Europe and the Uk . We are now on the other side of that in that the industrial era has ended. . And we are going into an information age economy . All this is happening before our eyes.Those that can adapt will do very well and those that don,t will be left behind .And at a time when the markets could very well implode. The jury is still out when it could happen . Politicians are as confused as everyone else . Don,t look to them for the answers , All they do is blame the tax payer . Yet when was the last time we the people where asked to vote on any important topic or issue and yes believe it or not it happens , people in some countries get to vote on important issues. . But as mentioned the pollies blame the tax payer . But yet we did,not vote any of this in .
Andrew M says
I think the issue here is the 40 hour work week is out dated. We are still clinging to these old ideas that work must occur between 9 and 5pm and employees must stay at their desks for these hours no matter what. It might have been true in factory jobs but now with information based jobs and especially with the internet now allowing for things like remote logins etc, there is not the need for us to go into work every day or sit at out desk from 9-5pm. It is an old fashioned punch clock mentality to think that you need to have your workers at their desk for 40 hours a week or else you aren’t getting maximum productivity from them.
A much better approach is the results only workplace (see book “Work Sucks”) where productivity is judged on results not on how many hours your employees have been putting in. I would argue that bosses can still get same productivity or better from a workplace that is results based rather than time based, and employees can then have the flexibility to have their free time once the results are met. It’s just a change in workplace culture that is required, but once in place the workers are much happier, possibly more productive and much more happy to work for you. Trials are already being conducted around the world for Results Only Workplaces.
christina says
Wowsa thanks for that article, it was awesome! 🙂 It is so very true. If someone works for a job (which stands for just over broke) then they will be like the lyrics from that smashing pumpkin song that go “despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage” but if they start their own part time business from home, in their spare time, then they will be free, rich and happy
Wolfgang ten Hompel says
What a magnificent piece of writing! It made me even mor4e aware how important it is to get up-to-date and. even more important, information, on what the ‘big boys’ do. even if I can’t usually follow suit, it at least allows me NOT to make a dramatic mistake, i.e. sell instead of buy or the other way round.
Thanks John for this article!
Jack says
Who cares about wealth? as long as you have good health, the love of a good woman, great family you can be proud of and a great pub to share a jar with some good mates rom time to time and the opportunity to help out in a great community to live in, who needs Wealth? You’ve already got it.
christina says
you’re broke huh?
ps- time to start a business
Jack says
LOL
I’m anything but broke Material Girl, I retired at 49 and I’ve never worked so hard getting involved in all sorts of sports and a wide range of activities, just don’t know where the time goes. You don’t need a lot of money to be happy in life. You just need quality of life and plenty of TIME.
I’m more a bruce Springsteen type ‘Sprung from a cage on Highway nine’ or ‘Baby I was Born To Run’ down ‘Thunder Road’.
Hey,
‘I’m guessin’you ain’t NO BEAUTY’
‘Roll down the Window and let the wind blow back your hair’
Cheers
Jack
Shane says
All of these comments are so poignant. One thing that really stood out for me – was one blogger that mentioned choice. The majority of us have choice and free will and those that don’t most likely have some long tern underlying issues that see them chained to a desk/digger/shovel/courtroom/factory etc etc. to change first you have to want to change.
One of the most distracting things that we own that is also one of our best friends in business is the IPhone/Smartphone and Laptop. For some reason we feel we have to be at everyone’s beck and call – for some 24/7! Again it is our choice and free will to structure these things and our day how we WANT them structured and to educate everyone we deal with what our expecations are, or more so let people know upfornt you may not answer every phone call/email/text message/facebook/twitter feed etc immediately – its not hard to see why we have no time to ourselves and families. And I am lways questioning how much of this communication is actually effective, I have on occasion got to the end of a 20 minute texting session to only pick up the phone and talk to someone – a 2 minute phone conversation would have saved 20 minutes of texting!
Anyway – wishing everyone the greatest success in whichever endeavour you have chosen/has chosen you – whether it be as a Cleaner or Lawyer or Candlestick Maker – just make sure you are Happy doing what you do and if not put steps in place to change it. Don’t waste your life either working for people you don’t respect and don’t respect you in return or doing something you don’t enjoy.
Success and Happiness always