Overtime

Overtime:Why We Need A Shorter Working Week

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Why we should all work less! A radical and pragmatic manifesto for tackling the twin crises of work and care in contemporary capitalism.

Overtime is about the politics of time, and specifically the amount of time that we spend labouring within capitalist society. It argues that reactivating the longstanding demand for shorter working hours should be central to any progressive trajectory in the years ahead.

This book explains what a shorter working week means, as well as its history and its political implications. Will Stronge and Kyle Lewis examine the idea of reducing the time we all spend labouring for other on both a theoretical and political level, and offer an analysis rooted in the radical traditions from which the idea first emerged. Throughout, the reader is introduced to key theorists of work and working time alongside the relevant research regarding our contemporary ‘crisis of work’, to which the authors' proposal of a shorter working week responds.

Reviews

  • This is a vital contribution to the growing debate around free time and reducing the working week.
    With millions saying they would like to work shorter hours, and millions of others without a job or wanting more hours, it’s essential that we consider how we address the problems in the labour market as well as preparing for the future challenges of automation.

    John McDonnell, Labour Shadow Chancellor [praise for the authors' report on the shorter working week]
  • This is a path-breaking report on one of the most promising ideas of our time

    Rutger Bregman, historian and author of Utopia for Realists [praise for the authors' report on the shorter working week]
  • In this terrific book, Will Stronge and Kyle Lewis present a remarkably clear and powerfully compelling case for shorter working hours as a path to greater sustainability, equality, and freedom.

    Kathi Weeks, author of The Problem With Work