As a self-employed person, my approach to working differs markedly from most employees (and quite probably from other self-employed people too). Disclaimer: I don’t have kids.
Whatever your job is, if you’re employed you probably have set hours. Whether this is the desk-job ‘9–5’, or a shift pattern, or whatever, you’ll have a contract that states your expected amount of working hours per week (if you’re going above and beyond this without proper compensation, you’re an idiot). Many self-employed people too, especially those with family responsibilities, most likely quite rigidly box off the time for paid work, and then get on with everything else in their ‘life’ time.
I don’t have fixed hours as the paid work I do is not regular. In the middle of a big project with a hard deadline, I might find indeed myself working 8 hours in a day. More if I’ve taken on something else smaller from another client(s) at the same time. The project’s all wrapped up? Then maybe it’s just that little job, or a couple hours of admin, networking and promotion.
I used to panic in these quiet times, unsure when (or if) the next project would arrive. I’d be frantically looking for work, then a contact would pop up needing my help and I was back to busy again.
So after nearly 20 years I’ve learned to ride these waves – the crashing crests of busyness (why does everyone always want me at the same time?), and the calm troughs of not much to do. Although the instability and uncertainty is exhausting, I appreciate the freedom and flexibility it gives me. And I guess it’s also influenced my philosophy when it comes to work.
For me, work=life and life=work. I don’t have a work–life balance because I don’t separate the two; instead, I redefine what ‘work’ is.
The way I see it, in my ‘on’ time (which is during the working week for about 10 or 11 hours a day) I do various things, some of which earn me money, some don’t. I’d like to give everything equal value, but let’s face it, I have to prioritise the paid projects (and when I’m doing chargeable work, I’m totally on it).
But to keep myself occupied and make sure my time has a more expansive purpose than earning myself a living, I’ve created my own projects. It could be writing something like this, some creative writing or some armchair environmental activism (passivism? inactivism?). It could be some learning, professional or otherwise (I’m always doing a course!). Recently, I’ve been rather caught up in my health rehabilitation project, which has taken a lot of time and energy. And then there’s getting involved with community work when I can.
I wonder if this is more how it used to be, before industrialisation turned us into productivity automatons, expected to perform like a machine for the majority of the day. And we’ve totally bought into it. Surely we’d be so much happier if we, as a society, also redefined ‘work’.
Just because you’re not ‘at work’ doesn’t mean you’re ‘at leisure’. Many people already spend their time outside of their paid job working. This may be caring for dependents, domestic tasks, community volunteering…which is also work. But because it isn’t financially rewarded, it has less value in our culture.
This forms part of the case for what is known as Universal Basic Income (or UBI), an unconditional regular payment to everyone. This may be unorthodox thinking, but it’s not an unrealistic utopian idea. It’s a social reform worth debating, and has already had many trials the world over.
Below are my simple responses to some of the main objections to UBI, but watch this video from the Financial Times for a really well-argued case.
People will become lazy layabouts
I see the Puritan work ethic – the belief that working hard is inherently virtuous – lurking here. Idleness = vice. Lounging around may be what rich toffs do when they have a guaranteed income, but I doubt most people will want to live their lives in endless days of leisure or hedonism, even if they can. We humans need our existence to be purposeful, don’t we?
Instead, an unconditional income (which is basic, remember?) liberates people from the constant anxiety of just surviving. Of spending all their time labouring in some meaningless job simply to be able to afford a roof over their head or to put food on the table. Or alternatively, it allows people to keep doing the meaningful but poorly paid job that they love.
As opposed to welfare benefit payments that disincentivise doing a job or study programme because the payments stop when you do, you get UBI whatever. This gives you the freedom to upskill, to take a risk (like setting up a business), to spend time creating art, to contribute to your community, and acknowledges unpaid but essential work like caregiving. You even get it if you’re already wealthy (it’s Universal after all).
Getting something for nothing
Much of the private wealth that is created in our current economic model is founded upon commonly held resources. For instance, elements from our planetary ecosystem that belong to everyone/no-one, like water or air, or technology that arises from research funded by public money, or data harvested from our daily activities. These can all be thought of as common goods.
In which case, we (collectively) are the same as any owner of any income-generating enterprise. So we don’t need to ‘do’ anything to enjoy the rewards. I think it comes down to an ideological perspective: are we separate individuals in competition (this is capitalist thinking, by the way) or a collective, members of society? And that Puritan work ethic that has pervaded our culture has a lot to answer for too.
It’s too expensive
Where the money comes from to pay for a basic income for all is an area of much debate among economists. I won’t get into the detail here, but however it’s done, it seems clear to me that there is plenty of money in our rich Western economies to do this. It’s just that at the moment it’s badly distributed.
There are arguments to increase taxation of the most wealthy, but I favour the more egalitarian dividend approach, where we all get a share of common profits.
Welcome to the 21st Century
How we work has changed, is changing, and will continue to evolve. In our culture, it’s become central to who we are. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Generally, I feel it’s time to refresh our approach to the society we’ve created. Specifically with work, why are we still adhering to the practices of 17th Century religious extremists and models from the Industrial Revolution?
The medial malleolus 