Working 9 to 5, not a way to make a living

Not enough hours in the day? That could be a thing of the past. Photo: Nick J Webb

Self improvement: It's about time

 January is traditionally a time of New Year resolutions. It’s the time when we tell ourselves (and anyone around who will listen) that this is the year that we’ll mend some of our less noble personal traits and finally  commit ourselves to ‘the good life’ through a programme that combines equal measures of self denial and dogged self improvement.

It was this happy-go-lucky outlook that I got myself along to the LSE public discussion, ‘About Time: examining the case for a shorter working week’. What I discovered both reactivated my love of policy and induced a severe bout of self-loathing. Allow me to explain...

21 is the magic number

For those of you lucky enough to have avoided my pun-heavy Tweeting on the subject, About Time was an in-depth look at the case for a shorter working week, as set out by the New Economics Foundation (or nef) last year in their report, 21 hours. The report sets out a case for how a ‘normal’ working week of 21 hours could help to address a range of urgent, interlinked problems: overwork, unemployment, over-consumption, high carbon emissions, low well-being, entrenched inequalities, and the lack of time to live sustainably, to care for each other, and simply to enjoy life.

An impressive selection of speakers had been assembled for Wednesday’s event. In addition to 21 hour’s co-author and nef’s head of social policy, Anna Coote, who chaired proceedings, we heard from three notable academics with expertise in this field. First up was Juliet Schor, Professor of Sociology at Boston College, and author of Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth, and The Overworked American. Next up was Lord Robert Skidelsky, Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick. Lastly, Tim Jackson, Professor of Sustainable Development at Surrey University, and author of Prosperity without Growth, reflected on the discussion.

The Amazing Jimmy

Jimmy contemplating the next hors d'oeuvre

As some of you may know, I am currently supporting The Amazings, a new social enterprise based in East London that helps people who are about to retire or have retired create amazing experiences with the skills, knowledge and passion they’ve picked up throughout their life.

It was thanks to this connection that last week I had the pleasure to attend an experience delivered by Jimmy, a rising star of The Amazings and all-round nice bloke. Jimmy showed me and the others who attended the session how to prepare a range of classic hors d'oeuvres. Suffice to say, after my evening in the company of Jimmy, dinner parties at my flat will never be the same again. I'd now like to tell you a little bit more about my experience.

My first impressions of the evening were very positive. I was greeted at Hackney Community College and brought up to a well-equipped professional kitchen where the culinary magic would be made. Jimmy was a fine host, immediately putting me and the others at ease with some friendly chat, stories from his youth and and the odd glass of wine or two.

Jimmy's carefully prepared hors d'oeuvres menu

Once we were suitably refreshed, Jimmy presented us with a hand-written menu he had carefully prepared. We then worked through a series of classic hors d'oeuvres, each course slightly more challenging than the last. Each course followed the same pattern: Jimmy would demo a dish, making it look easy; we would then try to replicate his approach with our own efforts, with varying degrees of success. Despite not being the most confident of cooks, I found that with Jimmy's support I was pleasantly surprised with the dishes I produced.

Here's one of Jimmy's hors d'oeuvres

And here's one of my efforts ...

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet Jimmy and prepare lots of tasty food. If I were to make a couple of suggestions for how the experience could be improved, I would suggest the inclusion of one or two contemporary hors d'oeuvres so that we can impress even our Masterchef-watching friends. More importantly, though, I would ask that The Amazings remind people to bring a lunchbox so that they can more easily bring back their tasty treats on public transport. Balancing all those plates of food wasn't easy but I managed it!