F2F-II_Interm_CD1-09

The podcast discusses Carl Honoré's book, "In Praise of Slow," which argues that people are living and working too quickly and should slow down. The hosts, Kim and Rob, agree with the book's ideas and believe that working fewer hours can create more jobs and allow for more time with family. They discuss how some countries already have shorter work weeks and more time off. They also mention that Americans work more hours than Europeans, but some American companies allow employees to nap. In the UK, breaks are required by law but often not taken. Many British people also work long hours and don't use all their vacation time. The hosts conclude by mentioning the Japanese concept of "karoshi," which means death from overworking. Track nine. Welcome to Cover to Cover. Today we're talking about Carl Honoré's book, In Praise of Slow, which tells us that we're all living too fast and working too hard and that we should all just slow down. With me are two journalists, Kim Mayhew and Rob Davis, both workaholics, of course. Kim, what did you think of the book? I thought it was very interesting and quite funny in places, too. And what about you, Rob? Well, as soon as I finished it, I decided that I must take more time off work. Yes, me too. Honoré says people should only work 35 hours a week. And do you think that's a good idea? Yes, definitely. Firstly, a lot of people are unemployed these days, as we know, so if everyone worked fewer hours, it might create more jobs. But according to Honoré, people are already working less in some countries. For example, Germans spend 15% less time at work now than in 1980. Honoré also believes that we ought to spend more time with our families. And that's already happening in some countries, too, isn't it? It says in the book that some French employees are allowed to begin their weekend at 3pm on Thursday. Yes, and Honoré also says people can get their best ideas when they're doing nothing. Einstein was famous for just looking into space at his office at Princeton University. And you can't say he didn't have a few good ideas. Absolutely. Kim, what else interested you about the book? Well, I was interested to read that Americans work 350 hours a year more than Europeans. But in some American companies, employees can sleep whenever they want. Apparently, they have special rooms where people can go and relax if they're tired. Really? If we had one here, I'd be in there every afternoon. Well, actually, by law, people in the UK are supposed to have a break every four hours. But a lot don't, of course. I was also surprised to read that 20% of British people work more than 60 hours a week. We work the most hours in Europe, and it's certainly not making us happier. Yes, and lots of people have to take work home because they're under a lot of pressure to meet deadlines. Apparently, 60% of British people who were interviewed said they didn't take all their paid holiday. That's just crazy. And these days, of course, we're able to continue working when we're travelling. You know, on the train or on a plane or whatever. Yes, the Japanese even have a word for it, karoshi, which means death from working too hard. On that happy note, we'll leave it there. .