Work to Live

by Joe Robinson and Joe Robinson

Why do Americans' vacations range from "none" to "not much" when other industrialized nations mandate breaks of four to six weeks or more? More importantly, what can you do about it? The founder of the Work to Live Campaign strives to set all Americans on the path towards a happy, healthy balance between work and life-and in this lively book, he offers tips on... Breaking out of the burnout trap Increasing vacation time (it can be done!) Working fewer...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399528504
• ISBN13: 9780399528507
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Perigee Books
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Work to Live Works

At a time when the relentless drive of the corporate profite-imperative has swept up so many of us in a mindless labor habitrail-whose only reward seems to be more and faster-paced work-Joe Robinson has done some hard thinking and insightful research and come up with a number of unique solutions to help us break the dysfunctional employer-worker relationship that's quickly eroding life in this country. (If you're the type who blames MTV and other red herrings on societal woes, stop and think how much time away from family mothers and fathers are forced to spend these days just to hang on to their paychecks.) It's interesting to me that an author calling for basic rights in the workplace-things that labor unions supposedly won for the work force decades ago-can be viewed in some quarters as an extremist. I've read some of the reviews that equate Robinson's ideas with socialism or that accuse him of somehow being oposed to "the American way." This is knee-jerk reaction at its worst: "Robinson wants fairness so be must be socialist!" "Robinson enjoys vacations so he must hate work!" Granted, debate in this country has become dangerously polarized, Still, it's depressing to see how easily people can twist nuanced, reasoned argument into black and white polemic. I can't say I agree with everything Robinson says in this book, but I do recognize much of what he describes in the fact that I work harder than my father ever did, with far less time off, and probably a slightly lower overall quality of life. I certainly live in a smaller house and spend less time with my family than he did. Americans are fond of believing we have "the highest standard of living in the world." Guess what? We don't, even though we now work more and have less time off than even the famously workaholic Japanese. Check the health stats-this country's human machines are breaking down. And if you think our current obesity problem is simply a lack of self-control and an insidious fast-food industry, ask yourself when the last time you said, "I'd love to get in shape, jog every night after work, but I just don't have the time." That's the point. Fewer and fewer of us have the time any more to take care of our basic human needs for mental and physical and spiritual rest and improvement. Robinson doesn't want a life of vacation. He doesn't advocate the end of capitalism. He just wants us to fix the machine, so we can improve our lives, keep our economy strong before our own ignorance and insatiable demands for more, more, more break it down completely. This is an important book, a step toward a more prosperous and fulfilling United States.

Time to get a clue

Joe Robinson is on to something with "Work to Live." It seems like everyone I know is crying for more free time, but the days just get longer, the weekends shorter and there seems to be no relief in sight. Emails, voicemail and fearful days are eating into our peace of mind and keeping us on duty 24/7. Show your boss this book the next time he or she gives you a hard time about taking time off. There's great information here to support your cause because a break from the job is a good thing for the workplace, not just the workers. After spending years putting in 60 hour weeks, missing weddings and funerals, and most of my life, I was downsized. "Work to Live" and Joe Robinson can help us all realize that if we don't take care of ourselves, no one will. Learn from the Europeans who would never dream of giving up their vacations. Why do we? It's time to get a life...now.

STOP OVERWORK! TAKE A LONGER VACATION!

This is a must-read for all Americans! Because most Americans work too much and have very little vacation, they are stressed out, eat too much junk food, don't get enough sleep, have very little leisure time, rarely see their friends, and have little time for their spouse, children and pets! Joe Robinson is trying to get ALL Americans a minimum of 3 weeks paid vacation per year (Europeans and Australians get 4-6 weeks by law, while Americans get ZERO). In this book, Joe shows you how to work less and get more vacation time! He also talks about how we are constantly busy and don't know how to slow down. There's a lot to learn in this book!

Read this book!

I decided last year that I would like to learn the Spanish language. Like many such wishes, this one has fallen victim to a lack of time... But now there is a wonderful motivational book on making time for such things -- and for our families and communities. Joe Robinson's "Work to Live: The Guide to Getting a Life" ... pulls out all the stops, from the stories to the numbers, in making the case for less work and more time, tells us how to do this personally, and ends with a roadmap for achieving legislation making a few weeks of vacation each year a right. Much of the writing is very funny, and some of the stories of folks who 'saved' their vacations for periods of years only to lose them in a corporate takeover, or due to ill health, are heartwrenching. My favorite stories involved those courageous souls who did go to the boss and ask for some time off, either in the form of a reduced workweek or for that most unAmerican of events, the month-long vacation. These stories are inspiring; indeed, I now have Joe's suggested list of "things I'm going to do before it's all over" on the refrigerator (and, yes, it starts with "learn Spanish" :-). Great stuff, and many thanks to Joe for writing the book! See the ...worktolive...web site for more.

Going beyond escape

Highly recommended. Our workaholic-fueled corporate world pressures us to live in a way completely inconsistent with our own best interests. This is in stark contrast to the European model of healthy balance between work and leisure. This is a subversive book - read it! Join the campaign.