While people shouldn’t be overworked, the concept of the weekend and 9–5 schedules is a truly archaic tradition.

Monday through Friday, 9–5. That’s how much of the world’s population spends its day working. But why? And whose 9–5? New York’s? Tokyo’s? In a global economy, 9–5 loses its meaning. It’s time for the work week to catch up to the way people actually live their lives and interact with one another.

The Religious Origin of the Weekend

Why do we take off Saturday and Sunday? It’s simple. These days are the days of rest for Christians and Jews. Businesses close and people are off from work, for these two days, because the Jewish sabbath is Friday night into Saturday, and the Christian day of rest and prayer is Sunday. We need time to relax and unwind, but our days of rest should not be bound to religious tradition. Some people can take off Monday, others Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on.

Global Economy

Moreover, we live in a global economy. We live in a world where people are working, or playing, or doing whatever else, at all times of the day, and during any time of the week. Sure, it might be midnight in New York, but it’s midday in Japan. Especially for businesses that have customers in multiple countries, there is no excuse for being closed. Nor is there an excuse for markets to be closed. Business hours for banks? Why? Do we only have to deal with financial matters during those business hours?

Un(der)employment

I don’t care if the official numbers say that the job market is healthy. Unemployment is a major issue. We see this issue in our stagnant wages. This problem is nothing new either. According to Pew Research, wages for many people have been stagnant for decades.

How many people would be willing to work unusual shifts if businesses were open? I’d venture to guess that it’s quite a few, given just how many people are underpaid or out of work. Expanding hours of operation would vastly increase the demand for labor. More people will be able to get jobs, the surplus in labor would drop, causing wages to increase, and the economy overall will grow.

Creating a World for Non-Conformists

While not a formal study, an informal survey conducted by Carolyn Schur, Birds of a Different Feather: Early Birds and Night Owls Talk About Their Characteristic Behaviors, suggests that while 80% of the population follows an intermediate schedule, many do so because they are required to conform to these schedules, not because they are the preferred schedule. And this conformity could have significant negative consequences.

Research conducted by Kristen Knutson on the mortality rates of people with varying sleep habits indicates that night owls live significantly shorter lives than early birds. Her research does not establish a causative pathway, only an association, but one of the potential causes of the lower quality of health is that our world is designed for early birds. There aren’t many jobs available for those who prefer evening shifts. Therefore such people are forced into conforming to a sleep schedule which does not match their natural sleep rhythm.

“Night owls trying to live in a morning lark world may have health consequences for their bodies,” said co-lead author Kristen Knutson, associate professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. — Science Daily

As a left-handed person, I understand living in a world that is designed for someone with different characteristics. It’s not pleasant trying to conform. And I can see how conforming to a work and life schedule which does not jive with one’s natural schedule could result in poor health conditions.

I also understand how annoying it can be to have nothing to do when you’re awake in the middle of the night. While I’m not a night owl, I suppose I do have a naturally biphasic sleep schedule: I’ll wake up in the middle of the night, and will be active for a few hours, before going back to sleep. When I lived in New Paltz, which is a college town, I could wander around at midnight or later, and find something to do. Now that I’m back in my home town, there is absolutely nothing to do, and in fact there’s little to do after 8–9pm.

Interestingly, there is some research which suggests that humans naturally conform to this sleep cycle, which further emphasizes the importance of ridding ourselves of this rigid work schedule.

Summary

Our modern world is not the world of a 9–5 job. It is not a world that stops functioning when the sun goes down or when Friday afternoon arrives. And yet, in many ways, it still tries to be. Neither is our world the world of our nature. Many people do not naturally conform to the 9–5 schedule. Many people suffer because of this mismatch. In a world like ours, there is no reason to require such rigidity. By making the workweek more flexible, not only would more services be available throughout all hours of the day, regardless of the day, but more people would be able to fit into their own niche, and live as they wish to live. It would be a healthier, happier, and more productive world.

Originally published on Medium.