Holidays and leaves (part 1)

Things used to be a lot clearer: work happens at the workplace (office, factory, company or wherever the workplace is), and when one leaves those premises, one is off work. The working hours were also clearer. No matter whether it is a 6-day or 5-day week schedule, 10 hours or 8 hours a day, the total hours are easily calculated. This is also what one is paid for (although some countries/companies make allowance for teatime or lunch hour). If one doesn’t report to work (or work less than the expected hours), due to illness, vacation or any other reasons, one takes leave and a reduced paycheck (after exhausting leave allowances); if one works over the hours, overtime pay is expected.

But after coming back from the December holiday while working throughout (and overtime pay would be something no one mentions, asks or even thinks about), one natural question is: what exactly does a holiday (and leaves) mean in this day and age? Also, how might such experience (from a so-called knowledge worker) differ from those in other (white-collar or blue) industries?  How much COVID-19 home from work has contributed to these changes? To think through all these questions, some revisits into the history of work and working hours are needed.

Let’s start with the 1st industrial revolution and the emergence of the factories, machinery and mass production in the 18th and early 19th centuries (as during the pre-industrial era, farmers worked long but flexible hours, often dictated by natural cycles, such as daylight, seasonal changes as well as religious and other festivals breaks; craftsmen—blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers or potters, etc on the other hand—also generally decided their own working hours, depending on trade and demand). Historians recorded workdays up to 16 hours (with minimal or no breaks) and 6 days a week in those early days, understandably driven by productivity and profit maximization by the factory owners. But workers were not sheep. The long hours, often poor or harsh working conditions and Indiscriminative use of child labor sparked organized labor movements and protests for improved working conditions. The 8-hour workday and 5 working days in a week (with additional provisions for breaks and leaves) caught on in the late 19th century (especially after the Haymarket affair in Chicago on May 1, 1886, and the subsequent riots and legal proceedings, later commemorated as the International Workers' Day) and was adopted in many countries in the mid-20th century.

Besides reasonable hours, fair wages and other fair labor practices, another important aim of this standard 40 hours is to improve the lives of workers by allowing for improved work-life balance and overall well-being. This again changed with the rise of the digital age, however. While allowing for greater flexibility in terms of where and when one works, this digital age also introduces an "always-on" work culture, challenging the original aim of better work-life balance and well-being.

Now back to my experience and original questions. One of the selling points (besides all other more lofty reasons) of being a teacher (or university lecturer) is its flexible hours and long holiday durations. But is it really?