Labour Day Weekend
Three day weekends are great. It means you can make that weekend trip away more enjoyable as you have more time, you can relax and know that you go back to work with just 4 days that week. Whether or not you do or don’t love work, time away from your profession is a good break to give you time to unwind, hangout with family and friends and ‘just get stuff done.’ I don’t always go away for long weekends and when I don’t, I find that ‘extra’ day very useful to catch up on life admin like open the mail, sort bills, tidy the house, get all my clothes ironed and sorted for the week. In modern society there is a lot of ‘pressure’ outside of work; keep the house clean, wash and iron clothes, clean the cupboards, tidy the garden, clean the gutters, do DIY and that extra day can make all the difference.
Today is Labour Day and I thought I would consult Google and find out a bit more about why we, in Australia celebrate this day. It’s actually a celebration to mark the start of the 8 hour day and Labour Day was actually called Eight Hours Day. Before the 1850s, people worked 10-12 hours every day and actually 6 days a week! It wasn’t until 1948 that the 5 day week was introduced. It was the British socialist Robert Owen who felt that workers should have 8 hours to work, 8 hours for recreation and then 8 hours to sleep; relatively feasible in a 24 hour day.
The First Labour Day parade was in Melbourne on 21st April 1856 and it acts as a reminder that we are so lucky to have such fantastic working conditions. More recently Sweden has looked at the benefits of a 6 hour day and some companies abide by the 6 hour day saying their staff are more productive and happier as a result. I think we all need a work and life balance and if you could finish work at 3pm instead of 5 or 6pm, it would mean you could then have the time to pursue your interests outside of work e.g. gym classes, painting or have that time to pick up the children from school or university, help them with their homework and not always be rushing around.
In any case working an 8 hour day living in a country that is not currently subject to air strikes, improvised explosive devices, shortage of food and water, we truly are blessed.
