WE HAVE TIME TO WORK, BUT NO TIME TO LIVE: IS THE FIVE-DAY WORK WEEK STEALING OUR FAMILIES?

We keep telling people to improve themselves, raise better children, attend educational workshops, become more involved in their communities, and build stronger families. But when exactly are they supposed to do all of this? During their lunch break?

There is something seriously wrong with the way we have structured modern society, and the longer we pretend otherwise, the more expensive the consequences become.

Let me paint a picture.

A government department announces an important financial literacy workshop.

Time: Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.

A parenting seminar is being hosted to help families communicate better with their children.

Time: Wednesday, 11:00 a.m.

An entrepreneurship workshop designed to help ordinary people improve their financial circumstances.

Time: Thursday, 2:00 p.m.

And who are these workshops intended to help?

Working people!

The same working people who are expected to be at their jobs from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Now, unless somebody has invented a way to attend a workshop through astral projection, we have a problem.

We are scheduling solutions at the exact times the people who need them are unavailable.

And then we wonder why attendance is poor.

Perhaps the problem isn’t that people don’t want to learn.

Perhaps the problem is that we keep making personal development inconvenient for the very people who need it most.

We Have Created a Society of Exhausted People

Think about the average working parent.

They wake up early, prepare themselves, get their children ready, organize breakfast, battle traffic, and arrive at work already feeling as though they have completed half a day’s activities.

They spend eight or nine hours working, sometimes more.

Then comes the journey home.

Dinner must be prepared. Clothes must be washed. Homework must be checked. Bills must be paid. The house needs attention.

And somewhere in all of that, they are supposed to find time to be loving partners, attentive parents, supportive friends, productive citizens, and mentally healthy human beings.

Oh, and don’t forget exercise!

Because apparently we must also find 30 minutes to walk 10,000 steps, drink eight glasses of water, meditate, read a book, and get eight hours of sleep.

At this point, even Superman would be asking HR for annual leave.

We have normalized exhaustion and started calling it productivity.

But are we really being productive if the price of that productivity is the gradual deterioration of our families?

When Did Parents Become Part-Time Parents?

This is the part of the conversation that might make some people uncomfortable.

And perhaps it should.

We complain about the attitudes of today’s children.

We complain about disrespect, declining discipline, poor communication, excessive screen time, and young people being influenced by the wrong individuals.

But I have a question.

Who is raising our children while we are busy earning the money to raise them?

For many families, children spend most of their waking weekday hours with teachers, caregivers, friends, and digital devices.

By the time parents get home, everyone is tired.

The child wants attention.

The parent wants peace.

The child wants conversation.

The parent wants five minutes of silence.

And before you know it, the television becomes the babysitter, the tablet becomes the companion, and social media becomes the teacher.

Then, ten years later, we ask:

“Where did my child learn that?”

Well, somebody was teaching them while we were busy working.

And let me be clear: this is not an attack on teachers.

Teachers already carry an enormous responsibility. Many go above and beyond their duties, investing emotionally, financially, and personally in the children entrusted to them.

But teachers cannot replace parents.

Neither can friends, influencers, celebrities, or the internet.

A teacher’s responsibility is to educate your child. A parent’s responsibility goes far beyond education.

Parents should be the first teachers of discipline, respect, accountability, emotional intelligence, kindness, responsibility, and character.

But how can we expect parents to consistently fulfill these responsibilities when society leaves them with barely enough energy to have a meaningful conversation at the dinner table?

We cannot continue outsourcing parenting and then act surprised when the results do not reflect our values.

And yes, parents must take responsibility for how they use the time they have. More free time alone will not automatically create better parenting.

But surely we can agree that parents need both the opportunity and the commitment to be present.

Is It Time to Seriously Consider a Four-Day Work Week?

Now, before some employers start reaching for their blood pressure medication, hear me out.

I am not suggesting that businesses should close their doors, productivity should disappear, or employees should receive salaries for doing absolutely nothing.

I am suggesting that perhaps it is time to rethink a working arrangement that has become so deeply embedded in our culture that we rarely question whether it still serves our needs.

Why must five days be the standard?

Why must eight hours be the expectation?

And why do we continue measuring commitment by how long someone occupies a chair rather than by the value they produce?

Someone who completes their responsibilities efficiently in six hours should not automatically be considered less productive than someone who takes nine hours to complete the same work.

Yet in many workplaces, the person who stays late is celebrated as dedicated, while the person who finishes early is rewarded with more work.

What an interesting incentive!

Work efficiently, and congratulations, you’ve won another assignment.

Perhaps we should consider a genuine four-day work week with reduced working hours, not simply squeezing forty hours into four exhausting ten-hour days.

Because that would be like telling a tired person, “Good news! You can rest on Friday, but first we need you to suffer a little more from Monday to Thursday.”

That is not necessarily the progress we need.

Imagine a system where more employees work approximately 30 to 32 hours across four days, with compensation and productivity arrangements carefully designed to protect workers and keep businesses viable.

Not every industry can operate identically.

Hospitals, retail businesses, hotels, restaurants, emergency services, and many other essential operations require continuous coverage.

But continuous business operations do not necessarily require every employee to follow the same five-day schedule.

Staggered shifts, rotating days, improved technology, better management, and more flexible staffing could provide alternatives.

Of course, businesses must examine costs, staffing requirements, customer demand, and whether output can genuinely be maintained.

A four-day week is not a magic wand.

But neither should the five-day week be treated as a sacred commandment.

If we can redesign technology, banking, transportation, and communication, surely we can at least examine redesigning the working week.

Imagine What One Additional Day Could Mean

Imagine a parent having one additional weekday available to attend their child’s school activities.

To sit with their child and discuss what is happening in their life.

To teach them how to cook.

How to manage money.

How to treat others.

How to resolve disagreements without violence.

How to handle rejection.

How to respect themselves.

How to understand that actions have consequences.

Imagine parents having the time to teach their children skills that cannot always be learned from textbooks.

Imagine fathers being more present.

Mothers being less overwhelmed.

Families having opportunities to connect without constantly watching the clock.

Imagine a parent attending a workshop on entrepreneurship, learning a new skill, or developing an additional source of income.

And imagine people having time to contribute meaningfully to their communities.

Now, I am not suggesting that every additional day off would automatically be spent in perfect family harmony.

Some people would probably spend the entire day scrolling through TikTok, arguing on Facebook, or watching six consecutive episodes of a television series.

Human beings will always be human beings!

But at least the opportunity would exist.

You cannot demand greater family involvement while creating a system that leaves families fighting for whatever time remains.

The Irony of Our Education and Development Systems

Here is another issue we need to confront.

We spend enormous amounts of money organizing conferences, seminars, training sessions, community meetings, and public awareness programmes.

We hire speakers.

We rent venues.

We print banners.

We prepare refreshments.

We take photographs.

We post them on social media.

And everyone congratulates themselves on a successful event.

But how often do we ask whether the people who genuinely needed that information were able to attend?

If a financial literacy seminar is attended primarily by people who already understand financial management, have we reached the people most in need?

If a parenting workshop is held while parents are working, who exactly are we helping?

If an entrepreneurship seminar is scheduled during normal business hours, are we expecting struggling employees to risk losing wages just to learn how to improve their financial circumstances?

We cannot keep designing programmes around the convenience of organizers and then blaming the public for low participation.

An event is not successful simply because the room was full. It is successful when the right people receive information they can actually use.

This is where institutions must become more creative.

Evening sessions, weekend workshops, repeated presentations, online access, workplace partnerships, and recorded programmes should become standard considerations rather than occasional afterthoughts.

And employers should recognize that allowing staff access to useful educational opportunities can benefit the organization as well.

An employee who understands financial management may experience less financial stress.

An employee who learns better parenting and communication skills may become more emotionally balanced.

An employee who develops new skills may bring greater value to the workplace.

Personal development and professional development are not enemies.

They are connected.

We Need to Stop Confusing Being Busy With Being Successful

Somewhere along the way, society developed an unhealthy admiration for busyness.

Ask someone how they are doing.

“Busy, busy, busy!”

And they say it with pride.

As though exhaustion is an achievement.

We celebrate people who work two jobs, sacrifice their weekends, miss family gatherings, and barely sleep.

We call them hardworking.

And yes, many deserve enormous respect for the sacrifices they make.

But should survival require that level of sacrifice?

Should parents have to choose between earning enough money to support their children and having enough time to actually raise them?

Should employees feel guilty for wanting a life outside their workplace?

Should success be measured only by how much money we accumulate, or should it also be measured by the quality of the relationships we maintain?

Because there is a difference between providing for your family and being present in your family.

Your children need more than the things your salary can buy. They also need the person who earns that salary.

A beautiful house cannot replace meaningful conversation.

The latest phone cannot replace guidance.

Expensive clothes cannot replace character development.

And a well-stocked refrigerator cannot teach a child how to become a responsible adult.

Money matters. We cannot pretend otherwise.

But so does time.

And unlike money, time cannot be earned back once it is gone.

This Conversation Must Include Employers Too

As an entrepreneur, I understand that businesses must remain profitable.

Salaries must be paid.

Rent must be paid.

Customers must be served.

And the bills certainly do not take Fridays off!

But I also understand that a business is only as strong as the people who help operate it.

If employees are constantly exhausted, disconnected from their families, and struggling to maintain a healthy balance, businesses may eventually feel the effects through morale, absenteeism, retention, and performance.

We need more employers willing to ask whether their current schedules are genuinely necessary.

Could some positions operate on shorter hours?

Could employees rotate days?

Could performance be measured through results rather than attendance?

Could training and personal development be incorporated into paid working time?

Could flexible arrangements help working parents without placing unreasonable burdens on coworkers?

These are questions worth asking.

And the answers will differ across industries and businesses.

For hourly workers, especially those already struggling financially, reduced hours without adequate income protection could make life worse rather than better. Any serious reform must address that reality.

The goal should not be to transfer the financial burden from employers to employees.

The goal should be to explore arrangements that support productivity, financial stability, and family life together.

Perhaps We Are Asking the Wrong Question

Instead of asking:

“How can we get people to work more?”

Perhaps we should ask:

“How can we help people live better while still working productively?”

Instead of asking why parents are not more involved, perhaps we should examine the systems that compete for their time.

Instead of asking why people fail to attend educational programmes, perhaps we should examine when those programmes are offered.

Instead of asking why children are increasingly influenced by strangers, perhaps we should create more opportunities for parents to become the strongest influences in their children’s lives.

And instead of defending the traditional working week simply because it is familiar, perhaps we should have the courage to test alternatives.

Progress does not always mean doing more.

Sometimes progress means discovering how to achieve what matters with less unnecessary sacrifice.

Before We Lose Another Generation to the Clock

I want to leave you with something to think about.

One day, the children we are working so hard to provide for will become adults.

They may not remember every bill we paid.

They may not remember every overtime shift we worked.

They may not remember how exhausted we were while trying to give them a better life.

But they may remember whether we listened.

Whether we showed up.

Whether we taught them.

Whether we corrected them with love.

Whether we made them feel important.

And whether we were present when they needed us.

The purpose of work should be to support life.

Life should not become something we squeeze into the few hours work leaves behind.

We need a serious conversation about working hours, educational access, family responsibilities, and what genuine progress should look like.

Not every problem can be solved by reducing the working week.

But perhaps the willingness to question it is a good place to start.

Because if we continue giving employers the best hours of our days and our families whatever energy remains, we should not be surprised when our relationships begin to suffer.

And if we continue organizing educational opportunities when the intended audience is busy working, perhaps the next workshop should be titled:

“How to Attend a Workshop While You’re at Work Without Losing Your Job.”

I suspect that one would be fully booked.

Now I Want to Hear From You

Would you support a genuine four-day working week with reduced hours if productivity and reasonable income protection could be maintained?

Do you believe our current working schedules are contributing to weaker family relationships?

Should governments, employers, and educational institutions be required to think more carefully about when they schedule public development programmes?

And most importantly:

Are we working to give our children a better life, or are we working so much that we are missing the opportunity to be part of their lives?

Let’s have the conversation.

Not simply to complain, but to explore solutions.

Because sometimes the most important change begins when someone is willing to question what everyone else has accepted as normal.

— Kerwin Boxill
The Positive Interrupter

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