Most of us have fantasized about working less and how much happier we would be not dealing with a commute and heading to the office five days a week and now there’s new research out that shows it wouldn’t just be good for us, but better for the planet, too. That’s because the modern workday is really carbon-intensive when you look at the commute, the lighting, heating and cooling at the office, and all the electronics being used all day.
Anew studyfrom Autonomy, a European think tank, looks at the connection between greenhouse gas emissions and the number of hours people work each week to figure out how many hours a week of work would be good for the environment. And their research suggests it’s not many. Ecologically speaking, we’re talking less than 10 hours a week per person!
Of course, we can’t all just start working 10 hours a week and calling it quits. But we could make some changes and compromises that would benefit the planet. Just switching to a four-day work week or letting people ditch the commute to work from home would have a major impact. But if they need anyone to test out how much better working only 10 hours a week would be for the planet, we’re sure there will be plenty of volunteers.
Source:She Knows