The disproportionate
cycle of long workweeks and cherished weekends leaves many Americans with the
struggle of keeping a healthy balance between work and life. It’s
understandable to assume that the reason problem is simply because people don’t
have enough free time. But despite this commonplace belief, Cristobal Young, an
assistant professor of sociology at Stanford University, argues it to be more
complicated than that. He explains that it’s not just that we have a shortage
of free time; it’s also that our free time, in order to be satisfying, often
must align with that of our friends and loved ones.
In a
study that Young and his colleague published, they examined the day-to-day
fluctuations and patterns in people’s emotions, week after week. They found
that for both employed and unemployed people, well-being is lowest Monday
through Thursday, rises on Friday, and peaks on Saturday and Sunday. Young’s parallel
comparative results between employed and unemployed people support his argument
by showing that whether or not someone has free time has minimal correlation to
emotions.
Young
then raises the question: why is the weekend also so important to the
unemployed? Directly answering his own question, he introduces the concept of “network
goods,” things that derive their value from being widely shared. He uses an
example of a computer to explain that its value depends in large measure on how
many other people also have a computer. As communication technology, it is
indispensable when everyone you know has one. But if you were the only person
with a computer, its value would be limited. This analogy makes Young’s point
about free time, because it is also a network good. Weekends are valuable
because most people have them, not just because they are a respite from work. He
concludes that you cannot get more “weekend” simply by taking an extra day off
work yourself.
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