Why we should all work less! A radical and pragmatic manifesto for tackling the twin crises of
work and care in contemporary capitalism With the rise of automation and precarious forms of
work jobs are becoming increasingly polarised. While some are overworked there are many more
people forced into precarious and underpaid work work that falls heavily on those most
vulnerable in society. All of this while countries in the Global North are experiencing a
crisis of care where the disproportionately gendered labour of care is and undervalued and
often unpaid. In this short book Kyle Lewis and Will Stronge argue that one powerful and
practical response to the worrying trend of job polarisation is the call for a shorter working
week. The time we spend at work is neither natural nor inevitable. Instead the amount of time
we spend working is a political cultural and economic question. Overtime will explain what a
shorter waged working week means as well as its history and its political implications. The
authors argue that any long-term plan for a sustainable just economy must involve a reduction
in the time we spend working. Drawing on a range of political and economic thinkers Stronge
and Lewis argue only by doing so can we create a more just and equal society one that allows
people the space and opportunity to develop an ethic based on citizen engagement and
self-autonomy outside of market interaction.
