Background information on the idea of unconditional basic income and searches…
Time Thieves
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
If you are not affiliated with a college or university, and are interested in watching this film, please register as an individual and login to rent this film. Already registered? Login to rent this film. This film is also available on our home streaming platform, OVID.tv.
Forget water, oil and rare minerals – there is a new resource everyone wants: our time. TIME THIEVES reveals how companies monetize our time without our knowledge and how the social networks have, in their own words, become ‘the new clockmakers’.
Who hasn’t come across the situation where an airline has us printing our own boarding passes and checking in our own luggage, saving the company a fortune in working hours? Who hasn’t spent hours assembling a piece of furniture, or struggled with an automatic cashier? Haven’t we all asked ourselves who should be paying whom for doing all the work?
The documentary TIME THIEVES travels the globe to investigate how time has become money, how the clock has taken over both our working and personal lives, and how we can claim back control over this precious but finite resource.
"An incisive history of how the development of capitalism has turned time into an incredibly valuable commodity that shapes and misshapes nearly every aspect of our lives. Labor scholars, educators, and activists will appreciate how Time Thieves traces the manifestation of time theft in different nations and cultures.” —William Burchner, Ph.D., Rutgers University, in Labor Studies Journal
“Entertaining! Cosima Dannoritzer shows a mastery of her [subject:] the role of time in the context of business.” —Matt Nelson, Unreal TV
"Without realizing it, we have become our own travel agents and the cashiers at our supermarket and bank branch; we even take our own orders in many restaurants. Time Thieves is a documentary that travels around the world to investigate how time became a lucrative financial commodity, how the clock has taken over both our working and personal libes, and how we can reclaime control of time.” —Amos Lassen, Cinema Pride
"Essential viewing! Hones in on the ways in which the capitalist system makes us slaves to the clock. Of great value to sociology and political science." —Louis Proyect, Counterpunch
Citation
Main credits
Dannoritzer, Cosima (film director)
Dannoritzer, Cosima (screenwriter)
Brugueras, Carles (film producer)
Popp, Christian (film producer)
Bersselaar, Marieke van den (film producer)
Davison, Sarah (narrator)
Other credits
Editors, Guillermo Cobo, Georgia Wyss; camera, Nina Bernfeld; music, Marta Andrés & Joan Gil.
Distributor subjects
Economics; Ethics; Sociology; Business Ethics; SustainabilityKeywords
WEBVTT
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.583
(soft piano music)
00:00:02.583 --> 00:00:06.625
♪
00:00:06.625 --> 00:00:09.667
(all)
Happy birthday!
00:00:09.667 --> 00:00:17.625
♪
00:00:17.625 --> 00:00:19.792
(narrator)
We start out our lives carefree
00:00:19.792 --> 00:00:21.417
and without worries
about time,
00:00:21.417 --> 00:00:24.999
as we enjoy those things
that really matter to us:
00:00:24.999 --> 00:00:28.458
family, hobbies, travel.
00:00:28.458 --> 00:00:31.291
We have our whole lives
ahead of us,
00:00:31.291 --> 00:00:34.417
27,000 days, on average.
00:00:34.417 --> 00:00:38.500
Or, if you prefer,
650,000 hours.
00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:42.250
We feel like we have
all the time in the world.
00:00:42.250 --> 00:00:44.583
(music becomes urgent)
00:00:44.583 --> 00:00:47.625
But actually,
that\'\'s not true.
00:00:47.625 --> 00:00:51.750
Soon, time starts
slipping through our fingers.
00:00:51.750 --> 00:00:54.625
Everything we do
is timed with precision
00:00:54.625 --> 00:00:57.083
and done in a hurry.
00:00:57.999 --> 00:01:00.667
Why does this happen?
00:01:00.667 --> 00:01:01.458
Under capitalism,
00:01:01.458 --> 00:01:07.000
time has become a resource
with a huge economic value.
00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:08.834
And those profiting from it
00:01:08.834 --> 00:01:12.417
want as much of our time
as possible.
00:01:12.417 --> 00:01:15.792
They even steal it from us.
00:01:15.792 --> 00:01:16.542
♪
00:01:16.542 --> 00:01:20.500
So, who or what are
those time thieves,
00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:22.999
and how can we fight them?
00:01:22.999 --> 00:01:30.625
♪
00:01:35.667 --> 00:01:40.250
(woman speaking
foreign language)
00:01:41.208 --> 00:01:42.625
(narrator)
First of all,
00:01:42.625 --> 00:01:44.583
we have to learn
how to recognize
00:01:44.583 --> 00:01:46.875
the time thieves.
00:01:48.792 --> 00:01:51.999
(jaunty music)
00:01:51.999 --> 00:01:53.417
♪
00:01:53.417 --> 00:01:56.041
Take the opening
of this new restaurant,
00:01:56.041 --> 00:01:58.208
for example.
00:01:58.208 --> 00:02:02.750
♪
00:02:09.959 --> 00:02:22.125
♪
00:02:34.208 --> 00:02:37.667
♪
00:02:37.667 --> 00:02:39.583
(narrator)
The promise of self-service
00:02:39.583 --> 00:02:41.500
is that we buy
cheaper and faster
00:02:41.500 --> 00:02:43.875
and we even think
we\'\'re having fun
00:02:43.875 --> 00:02:46.000
doing some of the work.
00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:46.750
But actually,
00:02:46.750 --> 00:02:48.959
the time you spend
working in the kitchen
00:02:48.959 --> 00:02:53.125
is time skillfully
stolen from you.
00:03:22.208 --> 00:03:25.542
-(crash)
-We need a chef!
00:03:31.917 --> 00:03:35.125
(narrator)
Foodsy closed after
just three days.
00:03:35.125 --> 00:03:38.166
\"Be your own chef\"
hadn\'\'t taken off.
00:03:38.166 --> 00:03:40.333
In fact, it was
a publicity stunt
00:03:40.333 --> 00:03:43.125
cooked up by the hotel
and catering union
00:03:43.125 --> 00:03:46.208
with Edwin\'\'s complicity.
00:03:46.208 --> 00:03:48.458
But why?
00:03:57.125 --> 00:03:59.917
(tense music)
00:03:59.917 --> 00:04:03.542
(narrator)
Foodsy was set up
to denounce the time thieves
00:04:03.542 --> 00:04:05.625
that are already
stealing our time
00:04:05.625 --> 00:04:08.667
every day,
everywhere.
00:04:08.667 --> 00:04:10.625
♪
00:04:10.625 --> 00:04:12.792
It was meant
to open our eyes to the fact
00:04:12.792 --> 00:04:17.709
that we are working
even when we think we are not.
00:04:17.709 --> 00:04:20.375
Restaurants are
just one example.
00:04:20.375 --> 00:04:21.250
When we go on holiday,
00:04:21.250 --> 00:04:25.000
we search for our own
flights and hotels.
00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.125
And then, we still
have work to do.
00:04:29.125 --> 00:04:29.750
Remember?
00:04:29.750 --> 00:04:32.417
A few years ago,
these things were done
00:04:32.417 --> 00:04:33.583
by paid staff...
00:04:33.583 --> 00:04:40.166
until companies realized
that they could hire us instead.
00:05:08.834 --> 00:05:17.291
♪
00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:45.667
(narrator)
Chronos wasn\'\'t always in charge.
00:05:45.667 --> 00:05:47.417
For centuries,
the sun and the stars,
00:05:47.417 --> 00:05:51.000
the weather and the seasons
were our timekeepers,
00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:53.041
imprecise and subjective,
00:05:53.041 --> 00:05:57.625
until we decided
time is money.
00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:05.917
(streetcar\'\'s bell clangs)
00:06:05.917 --> 00:06:09.083
And this meant
quantifying and valuing time
00:06:09.083 --> 00:06:10.375
in precise units,
00:06:10.375 --> 00:06:12.750
with the help of Chronos.
00:06:12.750 --> 00:06:15.333
(male speaker)
How is it that
we became a culture
00:06:15.333 --> 00:06:19.375
that began to measure life
by clock time?
00:06:19.375 --> 00:06:23.000
And that becomes
a whole interesting story.
00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:25.834
(crossing bells clanging)
00:06:25.834 --> 00:06:28.375
(train whistle blares)
00:06:28.625 --> 00:06:32.375
(narrator)
Our perception of time
underwent a radical change
00:06:32.375 --> 00:06:33.959
about 150 years ago,
00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:36.125
at the start
of industrialization
00:06:36.125 --> 00:06:38.542
and long-distance travel.
00:06:38.542 --> 00:06:41.999
(soft rhythmic music)
00:06:41.999 --> 00:06:42.667
♪
00:06:42.667 --> 00:06:44.208
(Levine)
If you were moving on a train,
00:06:44.208 --> 00:06:47.999
you could be existing
in several different times.
00:06:47.999 --> 00:06:51.625
So, you just boarded the train
in Oakland, California,
00:06:51.625 --> 00:06:54.417
and you\'\'re getting ready
to take that train
00:06:54.417 --> 00:06:55.333
across the country,
00:06:55.333 --> 00:06:58.875
and you board that train
at 3:00 in the afternoon,
00:06:58.875 --> 00:07:03.750
and your first stop
is going to be in Sacramento,
00:07:03.750 --> 00:07:07.041
where you get there
in real, physical time
00:07:07.041 --> 00:07:08.375
45 minutes later,
00:07:08.375 --> 00:07:11.041
but you look at the clock
in the station
00:07:11.041 --> 00:07:13.542
and it says 2:45.
00:07:13.542 --> 00:07:15.083
(playful music)
00:07:15.083 --> 00:07:16.959
(narrator)
Standard time didn\'\'t yet exist,
00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:21.917
so each stop was in its own
time zone, so to speak.
00:07:21.917 --> 00:07:23.208
Timetables would tell travelers
00:07:23.208 --> 00:07:25.999
how many minutes
to add and subtract
00:07:25.999 --> 00:07:27.667
at each station.
00:07:27.667 --> 00:07:28.875
♪
00:07:28.875 --> 00:07:30.000
Crossing the US,
for instance,
00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.875
meant resetting one\'\'s watch
up to 220 times.
00:07:34.875 --> 00:07:38.917
♪
00:07:38.917 --> 00:07:42.125
And this had consequences.
00:07:42.125 --> 00:07:43.208
(train chuffing)
00:07:43.208 --> 00:07:46.709
In August 1853,
a train left Providence
00:07:46.709 --> 00:07:48.542
and headed north.
00:07:48.542 --> 00:07:50.834
♪
00:07:50.834 --> 00:07:53.083
Approaching from
the opposite direction
00:07:53.083 --> 00:07:54.999
was a train heading south.
00:07:54.999 --> 00:07:56.667
(music turns urgent)
00:07:56.667 --> 00:08:00.750
(Levine)
The time that a conductor
was operating on in one train
00:08:00.750 --> 00:08:03.041
was not the same
as the other train.
00:08:03.041 --> 00:08:05.125
It was actually dangerous.
00:08:05.125 --> 00:08:08.792
♪
00:08:08.792 --> 00:08:13.709
(narrator)
Soon after, both trains entered
a section of single track.
00:08:13.709 --> 00:08:28.125
♪
00:08:28.125 --> 00:08:29.458
Fourteen people died
00:08:29.458 --> 00:08:32.041
because of just
a few minutes\'\' difference
00:08:32.041 --> 00:08:34.625
between the two conductors.
00:08:34.625 --> 00:08:36.834
This was just one
of twelve accidents
00:08:36.834 --> 00:08:40.542
that occurred in the US
that year.
00:08:41.125 --> 00:08:45.208
(Levine)
These train crashes
articulated the absolute urgency
00:08:45.208 --> 00:08:49.917
of people being able to speak
the same time language,
00:08:49.917 --> 00:08:51.458
to at least understand,
00:08:51.458 --> 00:08:53.999
at least to be able
to be clear about
00:08:53.999 --> 00:08:57.083
what time another person
was living on.
00:08:57.083 --> 00:08:59.875
(bell clanging)
00:08:59.875 --> 00:09:02.750
(whistle blares)
00:09:03.125 --> 00:09:08.000
(narrator)
Soon after, US train companies
adopted standard time zones,
00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:11.750
just as many other countries
had already done.
00:09:11.750 --> 00:09:13.792
(bell clanging)
00:09:13.792 --> 00:09:14.792
The good news?
00:09:14.792 --> 00:09:17.542
The number of accidents dropped.
00:09:17.542 --> 00:09:18.333
The bad news?
00:09:18.333 --> 00:09:21.208
Now we became
slaves of the clock.
00:09:21.208 --> 00:09:23.999
(playfully dramatic music)
00:09:23.999 --> 00:09:24.999
♪
00:09:24.999 --> 00:09:28.542
The new railroad time
became the norm for everyone,
00:09:28.542 --> 00:09:32.542
and selling watches,
a lucrative new business.
00:09:32.542 --> 00:09:35.166
♪
00:09:35.166 --> 00:09:37.375
(ticking)
00:09:37.375 --> 00:09:39.083
♪
00:09:39.083 --> 00:09:42.208
A new word appeared
in the dictionary:
00:09:42.208 --> 00:09:44.166
punctuality.
00:09:44.166 --> 00:09:45.792
♪
00:09:45.792 --> 00:09:47.917
(Levine)
The kind of person
that we respect
00:09:47.917 --> 00:09:51.250
is the sort of person
who keeps track of time,
00:09:51.250 --> 00:09:52.125
who lives by clock time.
00:09:52.125 --> 00:09:55.750
And the person who doesn\'\'t
is somebody who is--
00:09:55.750 --> 00:09:57.709
is not only a bad person
and somebody who is
00:09:57.709 --> 00:10:01.583
doomed to failure
and sometimes tragedy.
00:10:01.583 --> 00:10:05.625
(male speaker)
This is the clock.
00:10:05.625 --> 00:10:09.333
The time is 1:00.
00:10:09.333 --> 00:10:13.709
It is 1:00.
00:10:13.709 --> 00:10:16.999
One, two, three, four...
00:10:16.999 --> 00:10:19.709
(school bell rings)
00:10:19.709 --> 00:10:21.041
(chatter)
00:10:21.041 --> 00:10:22.083
(narrator)
Ever since then,
00:10:22.083 --> 00:10:24.999
it\'\'s been compulsory
to learn to read the clock
00:10:24.999 --> 00:10:26.417
and live by precise time,
00:10:26.417 --> 00:10:30.583
and this doesn\'\'t come
naturally to us.
00:11:21.834 --> 00:11:24.583
(school bell rings)
00:11:26.125 --> 00:11:26.625
(clamor)
00:11:26.625 --> 00:11:29.083
(narrator)
But education does
everything possible
00:11:29.083 --> 00:11:33.333
to suppress our subjective
perception of time.
00:11:34.834 --> 00:11:37.875
(murmur of conversation)
00:12:21.667 --> 00:12:24.333
(dark music)
00:12:24.333 --> 00:12:27.709
(narrator)
But conditioning us
to live by clock time
00:12:27.709 --> 00:12:29.834
is just the first step.
00:12:29.834 --> 00:12:33.041
A globalized world
needs all our clocks
00:12:33.041 --> 00:12:34.999
to be in sync.
00:12:34.999 --> 00:12:38.583
How was that made to happen?
00:12:38.583 --> 00:12:41.500
(lively music)
00:12:50.166 --> 00:12:52.291
(narrator)
This is where, in 1912,
00:12:52.291 --> 00:12:56.500
the International Time Bureau
was founded.
00:12:56.500 --> 00:12:58.083
(pensive music)
00:12:58.083 --> 00:13:02.250
Every day, the Bureau
transmitted a global time signal
00:13:02.250 --> 00:13:02.999
by radio,
00:13:02.999 --> 00:13:07.166
using one of the world\'\'s
most famous structures.
00:13:27.750 --> 00:13:29.625
(beeping)
00:13:29.625 --> 00:13:31.083
(narrator)
The signal from Paris
00:13:31.083 --> 00:13:34.208
was received by observatories
around the world,
00:13:34.208 --> 00:13:36.583
where it became the norm.
00:13:36.583 --> 00:13:41.792
♪
00:13:41.792 --> 00:13:45.375
The right time would be
communicated to the locals
00:13:45.375 --> 00:13:48.166
via a so-called time ball.
00:13:48.166 --> 00:13:53.458
It would send a signal
at the same hour every day.
00:13:55.542 --> 00:13:59.792
(various bells chiming)
00:14:01.792 --> 00:14:02.500
A century ago,
00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:05.792
there used to be hundreds
of working time balls,
00:14:05.792 --> 00:14:09.500
all visible and audible
from afar.
00:14:09.500 --> 00:14:15.792
♪
00:14:15.792 --> 00:14:19.333
They synchronized
an increasingly globalized
00:14:19.333 --> 00:14:21.583
and connected world.
00:14:21.583 --> 00:14:25.583
♪
00:14:25.583 --> 00:14:28.917
(music grows dark)
00:14:28.917 --> 00:14:32.083
Today, technology has advanced.
00:14:32.083 --> 00:14:35.500
We are now kept in sync
by a global network
00:14:35.500 --> 00:14:40.125
of 450 atomic clocks.
00:14:59.625 --> 00:15:01.208
(narrator)
Everything we do in life
00:15:01.208 --> 00:15:04.375
is controlled
with utmost precision
00:15:04.375 --> 00:15:07.208
and monetized.
00:15:50.667 --> 00:15:53.375
(electronic music)
00:15:53.375 --> 00:15:55.667
(narrator)
Governments and
private businesses
00:15:55.667 --> 00:15:57.750
are charged
a good amount of money
00:15:57.750 --> 00:15:59.625
for the official time signal.
00:15:59.625 --> 00:16:03.500
Precise time has become
a product.
00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:06.917
♪
00:16:26.458 --> 00:16:29.000
(mechanized female voice)
After the third stroke,
00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:34.542
it will be 7:02:40.
00:16:34.542 --> 00:16:36.625
(beeping)
00:16:42.375 --> 00:16:44.083
(soft music)
00:16:44.083 --> 00:16:48.709
(narrator)
Official studies conducted
by Robert Levine and his team
00:16:48.709 --> 00:16:51.083
show that in modern cities,
we are walking
00:16:51.083 --> 00:16:54.959
faster and faster
to gain precious minutes.
00:16:54.959 --> 00:16:55.959
♪
00:16:55.959 --> 00:16:59.750
(Levine)
It\'\'s really interesting to look
at some of the consequences
00:16:59.750 --> 00:17:00.667
of this pace of life.
00:17:00.667 --> 00:17:05.166
We find, for example,
that people in places that--
00:17:05.166 --> 00:17:08.959
where people walk faster
and they work faster
00:17:08.959 --> 00:17:10.417
and they talk faster,
00:17:10.417 --> 00:17:15.750
that they also have a tendency
to have higher rates
00:17:15.750 --> 00:17:17.792
of coronary artery disease.
00:17:17.792 --> 00:17:22.959
We find that places
with a faster pace of life
00:17:22.959 --> 00:17:27.208
are less likely
to assist a stranger in need,
00:17:27.208 --> 00:17:31.458
to take the time
to assist a stranger in need.
00:17:31.458 --> 00:17:33.875
♪
00:17:33.875 --> 00:17:35.166
(narrator)
In the US and Japan,
00:17:35.166 --> 00:17:38.166
it\'\'s even possible
to say goodbye to loved ones
00:17:38.166 --> 00:17:43.917
by using time-saving
drive-thru funeral services.
00:18:17.375 --> 00:18:21.792
(narrator)
The tyranny of the clock
has created a new business:
00:18:21.792 --> 00:18:23.333
time management workshops,
00:18:23.333 --> 00:18:28.417
where we learn to identify
and fight time thieves.
00:20:19.208 --> 00:20:22.083
(soft music)
00:20:22.083 --> 00:20:23.083
(narrator)
As a result,
00:20:23.083 --> 00:20:27.041
we count and valuate
every single minute of the day
00:20:27.041 --> 00:20:31.208
and put ourselves under pressure
to always be efficient
00:20:31.208 --> 00:20:32.667
and productive.
00:20:32.667 --> 00:20:36.417
Where does this come from?
00:20:36.417 --> 00:20:38.959
(punch clock chiming)
00:20:38.959 --> 00:20:42.750
A century ago, a new
time control tool was invented,
00:20:42.750 --> 00:20:43.458
the punch clock,
00:20:43.458 --> 00:20:46.291
recording the arrival
and departure of workers.
00:20:46.291 --> 00:20:48.291
(Levine)
Once we had this
technology available--
00:20:48.291 --> 00:20:51.375
in fact, the owners realized
that they could use this
00:20:51.375 --> 00:20:53.166
not only to keep track
of the time
00:20:53.166 --> 00:20:57.667
but to keep track
of how people use their time.
00:20:57.667 --> 00:20:58.959
♪
00:20:58.959 --> 00:21:00.125
We begin to think about
00:21:00.125 --> 00:21:03.041
any time that\'\'s
not used productively
00:21:03.041 --> 00:21:06.041
is going to be wasted time.
00:21:06.041 --> 00:21:07.542
And this is when
we started to see
00:21:07.542 --> 00:21:13.667
the way that time could be used
in power relationships,
00:21:13.667 --> 00:21:17.834
that the more powerful
now began to control
00:21:17.834 --> 00:21:23.375
the less powerful
people\'\'s time,
00:21:23.375 --> 00:21:31.250
and where power, money, and time
began to converge.
00:21:31.250 --> 00:21:33.000
(dramatic music)
00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:36.625
(narrator)
Our time was now owned
by somebody else,
00:21:36.625 --> 00:21:38.166
who exploited it
in the same way
00:21:38.166 --> 00:21:41.166
as the machines
and raw materials.
00:21:41.166 --> 00:21:49.083
♪
00:21:49.083 --> 00:21:50.834
(film projector running)
00:21:50.834 --> 00:21:55.959
(Levine)
I have to use my time
in such a way that pleases
00:21:55.959 --> 00:21:58.999
the people who are
controlling me.
00:21:58.999 --> 00:22:03.750
And this relationship
between time, money, and power
00:22:03.750 --> 00:22:07.333
has been one that\'\'s had
a very profound influence
00:22:07.333 --> 00:22:12.166
on much of the way
we live our lives.
00:22:12.166 --> 00:22:17.083
♪
00:22:17.083 --> 00:22:18.917
(male speaker)
...assembling other parts.
00:22:18.917 --> 00:22:23.208
And this is a typical example
of mass production.
00:22:23.208 --> 00:22:24.041
So you see we have...
00:22:24.041 --> 00:22:27.500
(narrator)
Today, time control at work
has become a science,
00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:32.000
taught at engineering schools
around the world.
00:22:39.999 --> 00:22:40.959
(narrator)
The goal?
00:22:40.959 --> 00:22:44.917
To reduce human beings
to a sequence of timed motions.
00:22:44.917 --> 00:22:48.333
(male speaker)
So it\'\'s tracking our hands,
I think now it has
00:22:48.333 --> 00:22:50.542
tracked my hands,
and the first thing I\'\'m doing
00:22:50.542 --> 00:22:53.333
is getting this part,
moving it over here.
00:22:53.333 --> 00:22:58.417
(narrator)
Where are seconds being wasted
and, hence, productivity lost,
00:22:58.417 --> 00:23:02.375
and with it,
potential profits?
00:23:03.208 --> 00:23:05.959
(male speaker)
Maybe you could do
something over here.
00:23:05.959 --> 00:23:07.625
Did you have an idea?
00:23:07.625 --> 00:23:09.917
(narrator)
Tasks broken down into units
00:23:09.917 --> 00:23:14.166
as small as
a thirtieth of a second.
00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:37.083
♪
00:23:37.083 --> 00:23:38.250
(narrator)
All over the planet,
00:23:38.250 --> 00:23:41.458
from Europe to China,
India, and the US,
00:23:41.458 --> 00:23:46.208
production lines are
optimized this way.
00:23:46.208 --> 00:23:49.458
Who invented this system?
00:23:54.291 --> 00:23:57.834
First, there was Ford
and the assembly line.
00:23:57.834 --> 00:24:00.417
Soon after,
in the early 20th century,
00:24:00.417 --> 00:24:04.125
an eccentric New England family
took the next step.
00:24:04.125 --> 00:24:07.083
(Lancaster)
The people who used
to live in this house
00:24:07.083 --> 00:24:10.583
were the Gilbreths,
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
00:24:10.583 --> 00:24:14.291
and their dozen children.
00:24:14.291 --> 00:24:16.208
They bought this house
00:24:16.208 --> 00:24:19.208
just about the end
of the First World War
00:24:19.208 --> 00:24:20.709
as a summer place.
00:24:20.709 --> 00:24:22.834
It had two lighthouses--
this one,
00:24:22.834 --> 00:24:26.291
and the other one that\'\'s
the other side of the house.
00:24:26.291 --> 00:24:27.959
They used one of them
as a laboratory
00:24:27.959 --> 00:24:31.875
and the other they packed
the children in like sardines
00:24:31.875 --> 00:24:32.917
to sleep in.
00:24:32.917 --> 00:24:36.208
The children weren\'\'t encouraged
to waste time in the summer.
00:24:36.208 --> 00:24:39.250
Father thought they should
always be learning something,
00:24:39.250 --> 00:24:42.333
so Morse code was one of
the things that he taught them.
00:24:42.333 --> 00:24:45.917
And so, he would put the symbols
all over the house
00:24:45.917 --> 00:24:47.208
and he would leave messages,
00:24:47.208 --> 00:24:49.667
like the whereabouts
of a Hershey bar
00:24:49.667 --> 00:24:53.333
or a voucher to get
an ice cream soda in town,
00:24:53.333 --> 00:24:55.709
so the children learned
very quickly
00:24:55.709 --> 00:24:58.667
what these symbols meant.
00:24:59.875 --> 00:25:02.458
One summer, Frank Gilbreth
had this really good idea,
00:25:02.458 --> 00:25:05.583
to see if he could work out
the most efficient way
00:25:05.583 --> 00:25:06.375
of picking blueberries.
00:25:06.375 --> 00:25:10.166
He divided a section
of this moor up into squares
00:25:10.166 --> 00:25:13.166
and set the children
to see who could pick
00:25:13.166 --> 00:25:15.583
the most the fastest.
00:25:15.583 --> 00:25:16.959
(tense music)
00:25:16.959 --> 00:25:22.083
(narrator)
The children were guinea pigs
for the family business,
00:25:22.083 --> 00:25:25.291
and the clock was there
for a reason.
00:25:25.291 --> 00:25:29.375
♪
00:25:29.375 --> 00:25:33.583
Frank and Lillian Gilbreth
were America\'\'s most sought after
00:25:33.583 --> 00:25:36.792
time and efficiency
consultants.
00:25:36.792 --> 00:25:39.000
Their experiments would have
a lasting impact
00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:42.208
on factory workers
around the world,
00:25:42.208 --> 00:25:43.583
all the way up to today.
00:25:43.583 --> 00:25:47.125
(Lancaster)
The Gilbreths were
kind of cutting edge.
00:25:47.125 --> 00:25:50.125
They were using film very early.
00:25:50.125 --> 00:25:53.917
♪
00:25:53.917 --> 00:25:57.709
Film was a new
and exciting medium.
00:25:57.709 --> 00:26:01.000
♪
00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:05.750
(narrator)
They called the results
time and motion studies.
00:26:05.750 --> 00:26:07.875
♪
00:26:07.875 --> 00:26:10.999
(Lancaster)
They showed the films they made
to the workers
00:26:10.999 --> 00:26:15.125
and got them to say,
\"Oh, look what Fred\'\'s doing.
00:26:15.125 --> 00:26:17.999
Oh, I wouldn\'\'t do it that way.\"
00:26:19.667 --> 00:26:24.000
(narrator)
Here\'\'s an example of
how they improved efficiency.
00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:25.750
The managers
of this soap factory
00:26:25.750 --> 00:26:29.917
wanted to gain time
in their packing department.
00:26:29.917 --> 00:26:30.750
(clock ticking)
00:26:30.750 --> 00:26:34.959
(Lancaster)
You\'\'ve got the Gilbreth clock
there going round and round.
00:26:34.959 --> 00:26:39.041
So that movement
compared with that clock
00:26:39.041 --> 00:26:43.333
is a really irrefutable,
if you like,
00:26:43.333 --> 00:26:44.999
scientific measurement
00:26:44.999 --> 00:26:47.750
of how long
something is taking.
00:26:47.750 --> 00:26:50.125
♪
00:26:50.125 --> 00:26:51.792
(narrator)
After surveying the worker,
00:26:51.792 --> 00:26:54.667
they designed an improved
sequence of motions
00:26:54.667 --> 00:26:58.500
that would exploit her time
to the maximum.
00:26:58.500 --> 00:27:03.583
♪
00:27:03.583 --> 00:27:08.041
The solution goes far beyond
simply applying time pressure.
00:27:08.041 --> 00:27:10.834
By making the workstation
more ergonomic,
00:27:10.834 --> 00:27:14.792
the worker\'\'s output
is nearly doubled.
00:27:14.792 --> 00:27:16.834
♪
00:27:16.834 --> 00:27:18.750
(Lancaster)
They wanted them
to work faster.
00:27:18.750 --> 00:27:20.583
Yes, that\'\'s the whole point
of this.
00:27:20.583 --> 00:27:25.291
But they\'\'re saying that we can
help them to work faster,
00:27:25.291 --> 00:27:29.041
which will benefit us,
the employers,
00:27:29.041 --> 00:27:31.417
by making them less tired.
00:27:31.417 --> 00:27:32.667
(lively music)
00:27:32.667 --> 00:27:36.208
(newsreel announcer)
Time, the most vital
natural resource
00:27:36.208 --> 00:27:37.999
of a country at war.
00:27:37.999 --> 00:27:38.583
♪
00:27:38.583 --> 00:27:43.999
(narrator)
The Gilbreths\'\' method
soon conquered the world.
00:27:43.999 --> 00:27:45.792
♪
00:27:45.792 --> 00:27:46.834
During World War II,
00:27:46.834 --> 00:27:49.709
it was applied
in ammunition plants,
00:27:49.709 --> 00:27:52.250
plus some serious
rationing of breaks.
00:27:52.250 --> 00:27:53.667
(newsreel announcer)
Let\'\'s visit Jean.
00:27:53.667 --> 00:27:56.083
Well, she gets tired
in the afternoon sometimes,
00:27:56.083 --> 00:27:58.834
likes to take extra time off
for a smoke.
00:27:58.834 --> 00:28:01.875
That\'\'s all,
only a few minutes.
00:28:01.875 --> 00:28:04.208
(narrator)
The unscheduled
cigarette break
00:28:04.208 --> 00:28:07.583
leads to dire consequences.
00:28:07.583 --> 00:28:10.500
(dramatic music)
00:28:10.500 --> 00:28:11.583
♪
00:28:11.583 --> 00:28:16.959
Whereas a responsible
use of time equaled victory.
00:28:16.959 --> 00:28:21.875
(male singers)
♪ ...for victory ♪
00:28:21.875 --> 00:28:34.709
♪ For victory ♪
00:28:34.709 --> 00:28:38.709
Motion study,
particularly after the war,
00:28:38.709 --> 00:28:41.291
was really taking off.
00:28:41.291 --> 00:28:43.999
(pensive music)
00:28:43.999 --> 00:28:46.125
Efficiency became a religion
00:28:46.125 --> 00:28:49.709
in many, many fields of life.
00:28:49.709 --> 00:28:50.125
♪
00:28:50.125 --> 00:28:53.834
(narrator)
The Gilbreths\'\' technique spread
to more and more companies
00:28:53.834 --> 00:28:57.458
and helped spawn
a whole new industry,
00:28:57.458 --> 00:28:58.375
fast food.
00:28:58.375 --> 00:29:01.709
As workers\'\' breaks became
more regimented everywhere,
00:29:01.709 --> 00:29:06.250
the quick lunch required
even quicker preparation.
00:29:06.250 --> 00:29:15.417
♪
00:29:15.417 --> 00:29:17.417
In the modern
fast food industry,
00:29:17.417 --> 00:29:19.166
just as in many
other industries,
00:29:19.166 --> 00:29:23.834
the search for efficiency
has reached an extreme.
00:29:23.834 --> 00:29:25.375
♪
00:29:25.375 --> 00:29:27.542
(Gottfried)
Americans eat a lot of chicken.
00:29:27.542 --> 00:29:29.041
There\'\'s so many different
kinds of chicken,
00:29:29.041 --> 00:29:30.750
so many different places
that you can have chicken,
00:29:30.750 --> 00:29:33.667
it\'\'s very hard as a consumer
in the United States
00:29:33.667 --> 00:29:35.000
not to eat chicken.
00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:35.917
(chickens clucking)
00:29:35.917 --> 00:29:38.291
(narrator)
This billion-dollar industry
00:29:38.291 --> 00:29:39.208
owes its growing profits
00:29:39.208 --> 00:29:43.166
to the ever-present methods
of the Gilbreths.
00:29:44.917 --> 00:29:46.709
(Gottfried)
There are a certain
number of chickens
00:29:46.709 --> 00:29:48.625
that are delivered to
poultry plants in the morning,
00:29:48.625 --> 00:29:50.583
and all of those chickens
need to be processed
00:29:50.583 --> 00:29:52.291
and out the door
by the end of the day.
00:29:52.291 --> 00:29:53.917
It\'\'s a highly
industrialized process
00:29:53.917 --> 00:29:56.291
that the poultry companies
have scripted down
00:29:56.291 --> 00:29:58.166
to the individual second.
00:29:58.166 --> 00:29:59.834
♪
00:29:59.834 --> 00:30:03.208
(narrator)
And this script
doesn\'\'t allow for any absence
00:30:03.208 --> 00:30:07.625
from the production line,
whatever the reason.
00:30:07.625 --> 00:30:09.834
♪
00:30:09.834 --> 00:30:13.999
(Qasrawi)
A toilet break can take
five, ten minutes.
00:30:13.999 --> 00:30:16.625
A boss will see this
as five or ten minutes
00:30:16.625 --> 00:30:18.834
of productivity lost.
00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:07.999
(narrator)
The workers in this plant
are not alone.
00:31:07.999 --> 00:31:09.917
According to
an Oxfam investigation,
00:31:09.917 --> 00:31:14.291
a quarter of a million
US workers are affected.
00:31:14.291 --> 00:31:16.083
(Gottfried)
I was very shocked.
00:31:16.083 --> 00:31:18.125
You just assume that
these kind of conditions
00:31:18.125 --> 00:31:20.625
only exist
in developing countries
00:31:20.625 --> 00:31:22.542
and third world countries.
00:31:22.542 --> 00:31:23.917
(ominous music)
00:31:23.917 --> 00:31:25.333
(Qasrawi)
This is Toilet Break News.
00:31:25.333 --> 00:31:27.959
It\'\'s where we\'\'ve published
all of our stories
00:31:27.959 --> 00:31:30.208
about workers
being denied the right
00:31:30.208 --> 00:31:31.959
to use the toilets at work.
00:31:31.959 --> 00:31:36.291
We found the problem
in Spain, Germany, Sweden,
00:31:36.291 --> 00:31:41.959
the UK, Scotland, Wales,
Ireland, you name it.
00:31:42.458 --> 00:31:43.667
(narrator)
In many workplaces,
00:31:43.667 --> 00:31:48.250
high-tech surveillance is used
to control bathroom time.
00:31:48.250 --> 00:31:52.417
Nature calls,
but at a price.
00:31:52.417 --> 00:31:54.125
(Qasrawi)
They\'\'ll use chip cards,
00:31:54.125 --> 00:31:56.417
where a worker
might have to swipe out
00:31:56.417 --> 00:31:59.125
to go to the toilet,
and then swipe back in,
00:31:59.125 --> 00:32:01.834
that time being taken off
their overall pay.
00:32:01.834 --> 00:32:06.999
We\'\'ve heard tales of this
costing up to £50.
00:32:06.999 --> 00:32:09.000
♪
00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:11.917
So GPS trackers
are used on workers
00:32:11.917 --> 00:32:13.875
such as pickers in warehouses
00:32:13.875 --> 00:32:16.375
to track their route
to the toilet,
00:32:16.375 --> 00:32:17.959
how often they use the toilet
00:32:17.959 --> 00:32:21.667
and how long
it\'\'s taking them to go.
00:32:21.667 --> 00:32:25.000
So if their route
is not the fastest route,
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:28.917
they will be questioned
about this.
00:33:06.250 --> 00:33:09.208
(solemn music)
00:33:09.208 --> 00:33:17.917
♪
00:33:17.917 --> 00:33:22.500
(Levine)
What we\'\'ve done is taken
the most ambiguous,
00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:28.709
subjective, amorphous idea
that one can think of, time,
00:33:28.709 --> 00:33:32.417
and we\'\'ve translated it
into the most objective,
00:33:32.417 --> 00:33:36.625
most tangible entities
that I know,
00:33:36.625 --> 00:33:38.999
and that\'\'s money.
00:33:38.999 --> 00:33:44.709
♪
00:33:44.709 --> 00:33:48.208
(narrator)
The capitalist hunger
for efficiency and profit
00:33:48.208 --> 00:33:51.542
has contaminated
our perception of time,
00:33:51.542 --> 00:33:53.291
and not only at work
00:33:53.291 --> 00:33:56.041
but also in our personal lives.
00:33:56.041 --> 00:34:03.291
♪
00:36:00.792 --> 00:36:04.709
(water lapping)
00:36:04.709 --> 00:36:11.625
♪
00:36:11.625 --> 00:36:14.625
(narrator)
We have started feeling guilty
even about things
00:36:14.625 --> 00:36:19.875
we used to feel entitled to
after work in our leisure time.
00:36:19.875 --> 00:36:23.250
♪
00:36:52.667 --> 00:37:00.625
♪
00:37:00.625 --> 00:37:03.709
(narrator)
But how to spend time
on what really matters,
00:37:03.709 --> 00:37:07.166
if many of us not only
feel guilty during our time off
00:37:07.166 --> 00:37:11.750
but guilty about any time
not spent at work.
00:37:11.750 --> 00:37:13.834
Let\'\'s have a look
at 1980s Japan,
00:37:13.834 --> 00:37:16.709
where the imbalance
between work and leisure
00:37:16.709 --> 00:37:19.458
reached an extreme.
00:37:19.458 --> 00:37:22.333
(paper crinkling)
00:37:46.333 --> 00:37:47.999
(narrator)
In fact, in the \'\'80s,
00:37:47.999 --> 00:37:54.250
Japan\'\'s strong work ethic
caused a major economic crisis.
00:37:54.250 --> 00:37:55.959
(Levine)
It was at a time when Japan,
00:37:55.959 --> 00:37:59.583
which has a fairly generous
vacation time schedule,
00:37:59.583 --> 00:38:01.583
people weren\'\'t taking
their vacation time,
00:38:01.583 --> 00:38:03.709
which, if you were in
the United States of course,
00:38:03.709 --> 00:38:05.333
you would think,
\"Oh, this is great.
00:38:05.333 --> 00:38:06.667
My employees,
I just love it.
00:38:06.667 --> 00:38:09.917
I\'\'m not paying them
and they\'\'re--you know,
00:38:09.917 --> 00:38:11.041
and they\'\'re still working,\"
00:38:11.041 --> 00:38:13.959
But what happened is
that economists in Japan found
00:38:13.959 --> 00:38:16.250
that it was hurting the economy
00:38:16.250 --> 00:38:18.375
because people
weren\'\'t spending money,
00:38:18.375 --> 00:38:22.333
they weren\'\'t taking the time
to spend money.
00:38:22.333 --> 00:38:24.667
(narrator)
The government decided
to take action
00:38:24.667 --> 00:38:30.000
to make the Japanese
spend more time consuming.
00:38:31.750 --> 00:38:34.083
A senior official
in the labor ministry
00:38:34.083 --> 00:38:38.875
became the poster child
for the campaign.
00:38:45.583 --> 00:38:48.417
(eerily upbeat music)
00:38:48.417 --> 00:38:53.417
♪
00:38:53.417 --> 00:38:57.083
(narrator)
The message was simple
and everywhere:
00:38:57.083 --> 00:39:01.625
Take some time off
to save the economy.
00:39:01.625 --> 00:39:10.625
♪
00:39:10.625 --> 00:39:14.999
(Levine)
A good worker is a worker
that goes out and shops.
00:39:14.999 --> 00:39:16.750
And there were
advertising slogans.
00:39:16.750 --> 00:39:22.625
\"A good employee is an employee
who takes their vacation time.\"
00:39:22.625 --> 00:39:25.208
(cameras snapping)
00:39:40.166 --> 00:39:44.959
(narrator)
But only very few Japanese
felt able to truly enjoy
00:39:44.959 --> 00:39:46.875
those holidays.
00:39:46.875 --> 00:39:47.709
♪
00:39:47.709 --> 00:39:50.875
(Levine)
What they produced
was a great culture clash,
00:39:50.875 --> 00:39:54.000
because here you have people
who were feeling,
00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:57.583
inside their guts,
that as a good Japanese,
00:39:57.583 --> 00:39:59.458
I shouldn\'\'t stop working.
00:39:59.458 --> 00:40:00.834
I need to keep on going.
00:40:00.834 --> 00:40:02.999
I know this is loyalty
to my company,
00:40:02.999 --> 00:40:05.458
and now somebody\'\'s
telling me that--
00:40:05.458 --> 00:40:09.417
that if you really want to be
loyal to your company,
00:40:09.417 --> 00:40:11.333
you have to stop working,
00:40:11.333 --> 00:40:13.709
and it was
a very difficult thing--
00:40:13.709 --> 00:40:17.333
it was very difficult
for people to embrace.
00:40:17.333 --> 00:40:19.999
(pensive music)
00:40:19.999 --> 00:40:21.500
♪
00:40:21.500 --> 00:40:23.834
(narrator)
The campaign was a failure.
00:40:23.834 --> 00:40:27.000
In fact,
the opposite happened.
00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:30.917
People spent
even more time working.
00:40:30.917 --> 00:40:33.041
♪
00:40:58.333 --> 00:41:02.125
(public address announcement)
00:41:02.125 --> 00:41:04.625
♪
00:41:04.625 --> 00:41:08.999
(narrator)
In today\'\'s Japan,
people work so much overtime
00:41:08.999 --> 00:41:11.333
that even employers
have realized
00:41:11.333 --> 00:41:13.667
that this is a problem.
00:41:13.667 --> 00:41:17.999
♪
00:41:56.250 --> 00:41:58.750
(narrator)
To force his staff to work less,
00:41:58.750 --> 00:42:01.959
Kimura shut down the office
at 9:00 p.m.
00:42:01.959 --> 00:42:07.083
No lights, no Wi-Fi,
no connected computers.
00:42:15.083 --> 00:42:17.875
(melancholy music)
00:42:17.875 --> 00:42:20.709
♪
00:42:36.792 --> 00:42:39.291
(beeping)
00:42:48.375 --> 00:42:50.000
♪
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:55.625
(narrator)
And this kind of overtime
can only lead to one thing.
00:42:55.625 --> 00:42:58.041
♪
00:43:24.792 --> 00:43:28.709
(narrator)
Burnout is on the increase
all over the world.
00:43:28.709 --> 00:43:30.875
With time, one can recover.
00:43:30.875 --> 00:43:34.834
But what if you never
get that time?
00:43:55.999 --> 00:43:58.500
(somber music)
00:43:58.500 --> 00:43:59.625
(narrator)
Their idyllic life
00:43:59.625 --> 00:44:01.959
and his enjoyment
of working as a chef
00:44:01.959 --> 00:44:05.750
would soon be
a thing of the past.
00:44:05.750 --> 00:44:06.458
♪
00:44:06.458 --> 00:44:08.834
When Teranishi was promoted
to manager,
00:44:08.834 --> 00:44:12.875
his work started eating up
all his waking hours.
00:44:12.875 --> 00:44:17.625
He would regularly work
75 hours a week.
00:44:19.250 --> 00:44:21.000
(ding)
00:44:46.959 --> 00:44:49.458
(narrator)
One year on St. Valentine\'\'s Day,
00:44:49.458 --> 00:44:53.583
Emiko\'\'s husband
reached his limit.
00:45:12.959 --> 00:45:18.709
♪
00:45:37.250 --> 00:45:40.583
♪
00:45:40.583 --> 00:45:44.417
(narrator)
Teranishi had been told
to work even more hours.
00:45:44.417 --> 00:45:47.208
Feeling physically
unable to do so,
00:45:47.208 --> 00:45:50.625
he jumped off a building.
00:45:50.625 --> 00:45:53.417
(telephone ringing)
00:45:53.417 --> 00:45:55.667
♪
00:45:58.917 --> 00:46:02.208
(narrator)
Work-related suicides
are a global problem
00:46:02.208 --> 00:46:06.125
and so are deaths
from stress-related disease.
00:46:06.125 --> 00:46:08.709
In Japan,
there are an estimated
00:46:08.709 --> 00:46:10.667
10,000 cases every year,
00:46:10.667 --> 00:46:13.208
and an official term
has been coined:
00:46:13.208 --> 00:46:17.250
\"Karoshi,\" death by overwork.
00:46:33.166 --> 00:46:34.750
(static crackling)
00:46:34.750 --> 00:46:38.166
(dark music)
00:46:38.166 --> 00:46:40.000
(narrator)
Karoshi is so widespread
00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:42.291
that a macabre
video game exists
00:46:42.291 --> 00:46:44.250
where players
reach the next level
00:46:44.250 --> 00:46:47.041
by how fast you can
work yourself to death.
00:46:47.041 --> 00:46:50.999
But unlike video games,
those affected by karoshi
00:46:50.999 --> 00:46:53.083
only reach one level:
00:46:53.083 --> 00:46:56.000
Game over.
00:47:25.417 --> 00:47:28.166
(electronic music)
00:47:28.166 --> 00:47:35.166
♪
00:47:35.166 --> 00:47:37.834
(dark music)
00:47:37.834 --> 00:47:38.583
♪
00:47:38.583 --> 00:47:40.000
(narrator)
It\'\'s normal and healthy
00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:43.625
to spend at least a quarter
of our lives asleep,
00:47:43.625 --> 00:47:46.166
but in a world
where every second counts,
00:47:46.166 --> 00:47:48.917
our nights have become
yet another gold mine
00:47:48.917 --> 00:47:52.500
for the time thieves
to exploit.
00:47:52.500 --> 00:47:54.500
(flames bellowing)
00:47:54.500 --> 00:47:56.792
(melancholy music)
00:47:56.792 --> 00:48:01.375
♪
00:48:01.375 --> 00:48:04.041
Accordingly, in October 1992,
00:48:04.041 --> 00:48:06.750
a group of post-Soviet
entrepreneurs
00:48:06.750 --> 00:48:10.417
launched an ambitious project.
00:48:10.417 --> 00:48:12.417
♪
00:48:12.417 --> 00:48:14.458
It started with
a Russian space shuttle
00:48:14.458 --> 00:48:18.500
heading for
the space station Mir.
00:48:18.500 --> 00:48:19.125
Its mission:
00:48:19.125 --> 00:48:22.917
The ultimate
daylight saving time.
00:48:22.917 --> 00:48:25.000
(Crary)
Whether someone sleeps
for eight hours a night,
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:27.041
whether someone sleeps
for five hours a night,
00:48:27.041 --> 00:48:30.291
from the point of view
of a global marketplace,
00:48:30.291 --> 00:48:35.458
it\'\'s an absurd span of time
00:48:35.458 --> 00:48:38.000
that cannot be monetized,
00:48:38.000 --> 00:48:41.208
that cannot be financialized.
00:48:41.208 --> 00:48:42.542
♪
00:48:42.542 --> 00:48:44.625
(speaking foreign language)
00:48:44.625 --> 00:48:48.208
(Crary)
There was something almost
19th century about the scale,
00:48:48.208 --> 00:48:51.417
something like
out of a Jules Verne book.
00:48:51.417 --> 00:48:54.375
(speaking foreign language)
00:48:54.375 --> 00:48:54.834
♪
00:48:54.834 --> 00:49:00.458
(narrator)
They planned to set up
a so-called \"solar sail.\"
00:49:00.458 --> 00:49:04.542
♪
00:49:29.166 --> 00:49:32.583
♪
00:49:32.583 --> 00:49:34.750
(narrator)
When the solar sail unfolded,
00:49:34.750 --> 00:49:37.291
a streak of sunlight
flashed across Europe
00:49:37.291 --> 00:49:40.542
for eight minutes,
all the wayfrom France
00:49:40.542 --> 00:49:42.959
to Western Russia.
00:49:42.959 --> 00:49:44.291
♪
00:49:44.291 --> 00:49:44.917
The plan?
00:49:44.917 --> 00:49:48.917
Hundreds of solar sails
would extend daylight hours
00:49:48.917 --> 00:49:52.417
for both work and leisure.
00:49:52.417 --> 00:49:53.834
♪
00:49:53.834 --> 00:49:57.792
Of course, that didn\'\'t happen.
00:49:57.792 --> 00:50:11.500
♪
00:50:11.500 --> 00:50:14.417
(Crary)
It was a project
that was ill-fated
00:50:14.417 --> 00:50:15.999
from the beginning.
00:50:15.999 --> 00:50:19.000
Cloud cover was
going to interfere,
00:50:19.000 --> 00:50:21.083
and many people
were distressed
00:50:21.083 --> 00:50:24.125
that it would have
effectively made it impossible
00:50:24.125 --> 00:50:28.375
to ever see the stars at night.
00:50:28.375 --> 00:50:30.792
(dark music)
00:50:30.792 --> 00:50:34.208
It was part
of a larger imaginary
00:50:34.208 --> 00:50:36.291
of the fantasy or the belief
00:50:36.291 --> 00:50:41.999
that we could inhabit
a 24/7 illuminated world.
00:50:41.999 --> 00:50:49.750
♪
00:50:49.750 --> 00:50:54.375
(narrator)
But even without solar sails
turning the night into day,
00:50:54.375 --> 00:50:57.250
we are already
permanently on call
00:50:57.250 --> 00:50:59.959
as workers and consumers.
00:50:59.959 --> 00:51:03.083
(Crary)
So, it\'\'s that idea
of nonstop operations,
00:51:03.083 --> 00:51:07.291
that idea of continual exposure
00:51:07.291 --> 00:51:10.083
and of the abandonment
00:51:10.083 --> 00:51:12.583
of the idea of rest,
00:51:12.583 --> 00:51:15.583
recuperation, regeneration,
00:51:15.583 --> 00:51:17.375
whether it\'\'s in terms
of individuals,
00:51:17.375 --> 00:51:19.125
whether it\'\'s in terms
of communities,
00:51:19.125 --> 00:51:22.375
or whether it\'\'s in terms
of living systems
00:51:22.375 --> 00:51:26.834
environmentally
or ecologically.
00:51:26.834 --> 00:51:27.417
♪
00:51:27.417 --> 00:51:30.291
A number of people, I\'\'m sure,
have read my book and said,
00:51:30.291 --> 00:51:34.208
\"Oh, Crary, he\'\'s nostalgic
for this older world
00:51:34.208 --> 00:51:37.291
that\'\'s based on
the temporalities
00:51:37.291 --> 00:51:39.333
of agrarian civilizations
00:51:39.333 --> 00:51:44.041
which were very much bound up
in the movement
00:51:44.041 --> 00:51:46.250
of the planets,
of the moon, the sun,
00:51:46.250 --> 00:51:48.375
and the cycle of the seasons.\"
00:51:48.375 --> 00:51:52.208
But I don\'\'t think anyone
has convincingly showed
00:51:52.208 --> 00:51:54.333
that we can
completely do without
00:51:54.333 --> 00:52:00.333
some fundamental attachment
to those rhythms.
00:52:00.333 --> 00:52:05.917
♪
00:52:18.959 --> 00:52:22.000
♪
00:52:22.000 --> 00:52:25.333
(narrator)
But is recreation
actually possible
00:52:25.333 --> 00:52:27.375
in our nonstop world?
00:52:27.375 --> 00:52:31.542
If we take the time we have,
on average, 650,000 hours,
00:52:31.542 --> 00:52:34.250
and subtract the time
spent working and sleeping,
00:52:34.250 --> 00:52:38.625
that still leaves about
350,000 hours for leisure,
00:52:38.625 --> 00:52:40.625
at least in theory.
00:52:40.625 --> 00:52:42.999
But the reality is
that even then,
00:52:42.999 --> 00:52:46.750
time thieves
are putting us to work.
00:53:10.333 --> 00:53:12.083
(soft music)
00:53:12.083 --> 00:53:15.166
(narrator)
Yes, it is work.
00:53:15.166 --> 00:53:15.583
♪
00:53:15.583 --> 00:53:19.041
Management literature
calls the working consumer
00:53:19.041 --> 00:53:21.750
a \"partial employee.\"
00:53:21.750 --> 00:53:22.125
♪
00:53:22.125 --> 00:53:26.583
Everywhere there are machines
that manage us with instructions
00:53:26.583 --> 00:53:28.667
and with time limits.
00:53:28.667 --> 00:53:32.709
(beeping)
00:53:45.542 --> 00:53:46.458
♪
00:53:46.458 --> 00:53:48.417
(narrator)
So, using business speak,
00:53:48.417 --> 00:53:51.792
is there a return
on investment of our time
00:53:51.792 --> 00:53:53.000
by doing all this?
00:53:53.000 --> 00:53:56.291
For instance, a cost saving?
00:54:11.500 --> 00:54:12.625
♪
00:54:12.625 --> 00:54:15.542
(narrator)
At other times,
we have overhead costs.
00:54:15.542 --> 00:54:19.417
We pay for internet access
and a printer.
00:54:19.417 --> 00:54:22.458
And our smartphones,
not exactly cheap,
00:54:22.458 --> 00:54:26.041
have become essential
working tools.
00:54:26.041 --> 00:54:27.917
(guitar music)
00:54:27.917 --> 00:54:29.625
(announcer)
Take whatever you like.
00:54:29.625 --> 00:54:34.250
No lines, no checkouts,
no registers.
00:54:34.250 --> 00:54:34.750
♪
00:54:34.750 --> 00:54:37.458
(narrator)
And as partial employees,
00:54:37.458 --> 00:54:41.667
we miss out
on something important.
00:55:06.208 --> 00:55:09.458
(melancholy music)
00:55:09.458 --> 00:55:10.625
Traditional employees
00:55:10.625 --> 00:55:14.417
are in the process
of disappearing.
00:55:14.417 --> 00:55:17.500
For example,
European banks closed
00:55:17.500 --> 00:55:21.625
10,000 branches in 2016.
00:55:21.625 --> 00:55:26.083
50,000 jobs were lost
to home banking.
00:55:26.083 --> 00:55:26.917
♪
00:55:26.917 --> 00:55:29.792
When we let companies
steal our time,
00:55:29.792 --> 00:55:32.583
we help them steal
something else:
00:55:32.583 --> 00:55:34.625
somebody\'\'s job.
00:55:34.625 --> 00:55:38.333
And our own job might be next.
00:56:20.875 --> 00:56:21.417
♪
00:56:21.417 --> 00:56:24.500
(narrator)
Our working contracts,
so to speak,
00:56:24.500 --> 00:56:25.875
with the online platforms
00:56:25.875 --> 00:56:29.291
are hidden behind
seductive interfaces,
00:56:29.291 --> 00:56:34.375
and those hide
another insidious time thief.
00:56:34.375 --> 00:56:42.959
♪
00:57:04.667 --> 00:57:07.834
♪
00:57:07.834 --> 00:57:10.959
(narrator)
We spend, on average,
four hours a day
00:57:10.959 --> 00:57:11.792
on social networks
00:57:11.792 --> 00:57:15.125
working for the so-called
\"attention economy\"
00:57:15.125 --> 00:57:18.875
which sells our time
to advertisers.
00:57:18.875 --> 00:57:19.750
♪
00:57:19.750 --> 00:57:21.917
(Schull)
You\'\'re profiting from time,
00:57:21.917 --> 00:57:25.291
and time spent
is a kind of micro-labor.
00:57:25.291 --> 00:57:28.709
And what you\'\'re doing,
the value comes
00:57:28.709 --> 00:57:30.166
from the presses and the likes
00:57:30.166 --> 00:57:34.709
and all of these
little tiny movements in time,
00:57:34.709 --> 00:57:36.083
which is why I call it
00:57:36.083 --> 00:57:39.000
a \"nano-monetization
profit model.\"
00:57:39.000 --> 00:57:40.917
So, you\'\'ve no longer got
an economy
00:57:40.917 --> 00:57:45.917
that\'\'s based on single,
sporadic, big purchases.
00:57:45.917 --> 00:57:50.417
It\'\'s based on continuous
little tiny purchases
00:57:50.417 --> 00:57:53.875
that don\'\'t even look
and feel like purchases
00:57:53.875 --> 00:57:57.208
to those who are doing them.
00:57:57.208 --> 00:57:58.667
(beeping)
00:57:58.667 --> 00:58:03.417
(narrator)
These little purchases
are an inherent behavior,
00:58:03.417 --> 00:58:07.583
the building blocks
of this business model.
00:58:07.583 --> 00:58:08.583
♪
00:58:08.583 --> 00:58:10.291
It is based on
a scientific experiment
00:58:10.291 --> 00:58:13.750
that took place in the 1940s,
about the same time
00:58:13.750 --> 00:58:16.999
the first computers
were developed.
00:58:16.999 --> 00:58:17.583
♪
00:58:17.583 --> 00:58:21.500
Behavioral scientist
B.F. Skinner taught a pigeon
00:58:21.500 --> 00:58:24.083
that pecking at a lever
released food
00:58:24.083 --> 00:58:27.583
but only occasionally
and randomly.
00:58:27.583 --> 00:58:31.000
The pigeon learned to peck
however long it took
00:58:31.000 --> 00:58:33.041
until the food arrived.
00:58:33.041 --> 00:58:36.083
Then, Skinner stopped
providing food,
00:58:36.083 --> 00:58:40.625
but the pigeon, ever hopeful,
never gave up,
00:58:40.625 --> 00:58:43.250
just like us today.
00:58:43.250 --> 00:58:47.291
(tapping)
00:58:47.792 --> 00:58:52.667
(Schull)
If you present rewards
to people or animals
00:58:52.667 --> 00:58:55.125
in a way where
there\'\'s a lot of uncertainty,
00:58:55.125 --> 00:58:57.333
where you never know
what you\'\'re going to get
00:58:57.333 --> 00:59:01.625
and you never know when
in time it\'\'s going to come,
00:59:01.625 --> 00:59:05.417
you will keep persisting
at trying to get it,
00:59:05.417 --> 00:59:07.458
you\'\'ll keep pressing
that button.
00:59:07.458 --> 00:59:10.166
If you\'\'re an animal,
you\'\'ll ignore the water
00:59:10.166 --> 00:59:11.667
over in the corner of a cage.
00:59:11.667 --> 00:59:14.583
If you\'\'re a person,
you might ignore the fact
00:59:14.583 --> 00:59:18.000
that you have to go
to the bathroom.
00:59:18.000 --> 00:59:20.291
♪
00:59:20.291 --> 00:59:23.458
You scroll down to see,
you know, what\'\'s new
00:59:23.458 --> 00:59:25.792
and what\'\'s new,
and what\'\'s new,
00:59:25.792 --> 00:59:27.208
and you keep refreshing,
00:59:27.208 --> 00:59:30.375
and refreshing,
and refreshing.
00:59:30.375 --> 00:59:40.875
♪
00:59:40.875 --> 00:59:43.792
(video game sound effects)
00:59:43.792 --> 00:59:45.709
♪
00:59:45.709 --> 00:59:48.667
The past disappears
and the future disappears,
00:59:48.667 --> 00:59:51.083
and it\'\'s just
a continuing present.
00:59:51.083 --> 00:59:53.542
So, it\'\'s a relationship to time
00:59:53.542 --> 00:59:57.583
that telescopes to the now.
00:59:57.583 --> 01:00:00.333
♪
01:00:00.333 --> 01:00:03.709
(narrator)
The ferocity of the battle
for our eyeball time
01:00:03.709 --> 01:00:07.917
matches that of the earnings
of the digital entrepreneurs,
01:00:07.917 --> 01:00:09.542
billions of dollars every year.
01:00:09.542 --> 01:00:13.417
And the value of our time
is on the rise.
01:00:13.417 --> 01:00:13.875
♪
01:00:13.875 --> 01:00:19.041
(Schull)
Many of these online websites
have created this new category
01:00:19.041 --> 01:00:23.834
of value which is called
hypothetical lifetime value,
01:00:23.834 --> 01:00:28.291
so they are actually
calculating for each user
01:00:28.291 --> 01:00:32.375
or consumer
their \"lifetime value.\"
01:00:32.375 --> 01:00:36.875
And this means over the course
of this person\'\'s life,
01:00:36.875 --> 01:00:39.458
how can--how much do we predict
01:00:39.458 --> 01:00:41.667
they are of value to us?
01:00:41.667 --> 01:00:44.417
How intensively
and repetitively
01:00:44.417 --> 01:00:50.125
are they going to use
our--our service?
01:00:50.125 --> 01:00:51.959
♪
01:00:51.959 --> 01:00:55.000
(narrator)
If our data and time
are used as a currency,
01:00:55.000 --> 01:01:00.291
shouldn\'\'t we be able to choose
if we want to spend it or not?
01:01:00.291 --> 01:01:02.208
♪
01:01:20.625 --> 01:01:24.083
♪
01:01:24.083 --> 01:01:25.667
(narrator)
Ironically, the internet
01:01:25.667 --> 01:01:28.417
is not only one
of the biggest time thieves,
01:01:28.417 --> 01:01:31.375
but it also offers
to help us fight them
01:01:31.375 --> 01:01:35.500
with new time control apps.
01:01:35.500 --> 01:01:38.542
♪
01:01:38.542 --> 01:01:43.417
(Schull)
So, that\'\'s part of
this next wave of technology
01:01:43.417 --> 01:01:47.875
that\'\'s following on the heels
of things like Candy Crush
01:01:47.875 --> 01:01:50.542
and Facebook
that suck and absorb us.
01:01:50.542 --> 01:01:53.834
Now we see all of these
technologies coming along
01:01:53.834 --> 01:01:57.375
to help us regulate ourselves
and protect us
01:01:57.375 --> 01:02:00.000
against those temptations.
01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:03.999
♪
01:02:03.999 --> 01:02:07.999
(narrator)
But are these new
time control tools just a fad
01:02:07.999 --> 01:02:12.542
designed to get us to spend
even more time online?
01:02:12.542 --> 01:02:16.667
♪
01:02:16.667 --> 01:02:19.000
(Greenberg)
Evolution definitely
did not endow us
01:02:19.000 --> 01:02:20.999
with the ability
to think rationally
01:02:20.999 --> 01:02:23.375
about the value of our time.
01:02:23.375 --> 01:02:25.208
I was with a friend
in a bookstore,
01:02:25.208 --> 01:02:26.917
and she was trying
to figure out
01:02:26.917 --> 01:02:28.375
how to spend
a $20 gift certificate
01:02:28.375 --> 01:02:30.291
she\'\'d been given,
and she was going through
01:02:30.291 --> 01:02:31.834
a lot of stress
figuring this out.
01:02:31.834 --> 01:02:34.000
And I realized,
given the amount of money
01:02:34.000 --> 01:02:34.999
she makes at her job,
01:02:34.999 --> 01:02:37.792
she\'\'d actually spent,
essentially, far more money
01:02:37.792 --> 01:02:39.792
than the gift certificate
was worth
01:02:39.792 --> 01:02:42.333
just worrying about
how to use it.
01:02:42.333 --> 01:02:45.875
(cars honking)
01:02:46.875 --> 01:02:48.917
Hundreds of thousands
of years ago,
01:02:48.917 --> 01:02:49.709
when our brains evolved,
01:02:49.709 --> 01:02:52.333
we just never had situations
where we had to trade
01:02:52.333 --> 01:02:54.166
time versus money
or vice versa.
01:02:54.166 --> 01:02:55.208
So, there\'\'s no particular reason
01:02:55.208 --> 01:02:58.083
to think our brains would be
particularly good at this.
01:02:58.083 --> 01:03:00.625
And actually, the data
we\'\'ve collected suggest
01:03:00.625 --> 01:03:03.750
that people are
quite bad at it.
01:03:03.750 --> 01:03:07.667
(narrator)
Spencer has developed
a free online calculator
01:03:07.667 --> 01:03:11.291
to help you choose
between time and money.
01:03:11.291 --> 01:03:12.625
We asked one
of the participants
01:03:12.625 --> 01:03:17.709
of the time management workshop
to give it a try.
01:03:17.709 --> 01:03:18.917
♪
01:03:18.917 --> 01:03:21.667
(tapping of computer keys)
01:03:39.917 --> 01:03:42.166
There are a lot of examples
that come up in everyday life
01:03:42.166 --> 01:03:45.500
where you have to think about
trading your time for money
01:03:45.500 --> 01:03:47.250
or vice versa.
01:03:47.250 --> 01:03:52.667
(narrator)
For instance, when you buy
a new piece of furniture...
01:03:52.667 --> 01:03:54.000
(tapping)
01:03:54.000 --> 01:03:57.458
...pay with your time
or just pay.
01:03:57.458 --> 01:04:00.250
(Greenberg)
For example, should I order
something online
01:04:00.250 --> 01:04:01.625
where I have to pay
a shipping fee
01:04:01.625 --> 01:04:03.999
or go pick it up
which will take more time?
01:04:03.999 --> 01:04:04.834
Should I buy a device
01:04:04.834 --> 01:04:06.917
like a laundry machine
or a dishwasher?
01:04:06.917 --> 01:04:10.458
Should I hire someone
to help me with my chores?
01:04:22.834 --> 01:04:25.458
(soft music)
01:04:25.458 --> 01:04:28.959
♪
01:04:42.125 --> 01:04:45.333
(speaking foreign language)
01:04:45.667 --> 01:04:49.709
(narrator)
Now that Tanya knows
how much her hour is worth,
01:04:49.709 --> 01:04:53.166
she can make
an informed choice.
01:04:56.709 --> 01:05:00.000
And she can even choose
to spend the saved time
01:05:00.000 --> 01:05:03.250
on something
completely different.
01:05:03.250 --> 01:05:06.875
(Greenberg)
It\'\'s inevitable that
you sometimes have to think
01:05:06.875 --> 01:05:07.959
of your time as money.
01:05:07.959 --> 01:05:09.625
On the other hand,
there are other situations
01:05:09.625 --> 01:05:12.667
where you really better not
think about your time as money
01:05:12.667 --> 01:05:14.083
because if you do,
it\'\'s going to start
01:05:14.083 --> 01:05:17.709
seeping into the amount
you enjoy those activities,
01:05:17.709 --> 01:05:18.875
like time spent with family
01:05:18.875 --> 01:05:21.000
or on passion projects
you really enjoy.
01:05:21.000 --> 01:05:23.959
In those cases, you don\'\'t
want to think about money.
01:05:23.959 --> 01:05:25.542
You just want to focus
on the value
01:05:25.542 --> 01:05:27.083
you\'\'re getting from them.
01:05:27.083 --> 01:05:29.999
-Cough up.
-Are you sure?
01:05:29.999 --> 01:05:31.542
(Tanya)
Yes, cough up.
01:05:31.542 --> 01:05:32.458
Give me the money!
01:05:32.458 --> 01:05:34.542
(Schull)
They\'\'re really putting
the burden
01:05:34.542 --> 01:05:37.125
of self-regulation
onto the person,
01:05:37.125 --> 01:05:40.500
and what that means
is buying other services
01:05:40.500 --> 01:05:42.417
and engaging in other websites
01:05:42.417 --> 01:05:46.291
to regulate the ones that are
sapping all your time.
01:05:46.291 --> 01:05:48.959
So, I think all of that
needs to sort itself out,
01:05:48.959 --> 01:05:52.999
and whether it\'\'s a question
of, you know,
01:05:52.999 --> 01:05:56.291
collective nonprofit apps
that people develop
01:05:56.291 --> 01:05:58.834
for themselves,
or whether it\'\'s a question
01:05:58.834 --> 01:06:03.583
of government coming in,
that remains to be seen.
01:06:03.583 --> 01:06:04.667
(siren wailing)
01:06:04.667 --> 01:06:08.125
(narrator)
To win the battle
against the time thieves,
01:06:08.125 --> 01:06:10.542
political action is needed.
01:06:10.542 --> 01:06:13.875
In Spain, one man
has taken up the fight.
01:06:13.875 --> 01:06:17.041
(speaking foreign language)
01:06:35.583 --> 01:06:37.959
(narrator)
Fabian is fighting
for Spaniards
01:06:37.959 --> 01:06:41.000
to have a legal right
to more free time,
01:06:41.000 --> 01:06:45.291
and that includes fixing
an historical anomaly.
01:06:54.500 --> 01:06:57.041
(soft music)
01:07:13.125 --> 01:07:18.125
(narrator)
Post-war, Spain remained
in the same time zone.
01:07:18.125 --> 01:07:19.834
Then, in the 1960s,
01:07:19.834 --> 01:07:23.917
the time problems
got even worse.
01:07:31.125 --> 01:07:36.166
(narrator)
But Spanish wages were too low
to afford all this.
01:07:36.166 --> 01:07:36.875
The answer?
01:07:36.875 --> 01:07:41.583
Exchange some free time
for new possessions.
01:07:50.875 --> 01:07:52.500
(speaking foreign language)
01:07:52.500 --> 01:07:55.208
(narrator)
To make this possible,
long working days
01:07:55.208 --> 01:07:58.000
with several breaks
became the tradition
01:07:58.000 --> 01:08:01.083
which carries over to today.
01:08:01.083 --> 01:08:02.208
(melancholy music)
01:08:02.208 --> 01:08:05.458
Typically, Spaniards
take a breakfast break
01:08:05.458 --> 01:08:07.083
during midmorning.
01:08:07.083 --> 01:08:12.208
At midday, the rest of Europe
takes a short lunch break.
01:08:12.208 --> 01:08:12.625
♪
01:08:12.625 --> 01:08:16.583
At 2:00, the Spaniards start
a two-hour lunch break
01:08:16.583 --> 01:08:20.166
while the rest of Europe
is at work.
01:08:20.166 --> 01:08:21.125
♪
01:08:21.125 --> 01:08:24.083
At 5:00,
many Europeans leave work
01:08:24.083 --> 01:08:27.250
and start their social lives.
01:08:27.250 --> 01:08:31.792
But Spaniards often work
past 8:00 p.m.
01:08:31.792 --> 01:08:32.709
♪
01:08:32.709 --> 01:08:35.625
Dinner is not until 10:00 p.m.
01:08:35.625 --> 01:08:40.792
This leaves little time
for any social activities.
01:09:01.250 --> 01:09:02.792
(speaking foreign language)
01:09:02.792 --> 01:09:04.625
(narrator)
As part of
the political struggle,
01:09:04.625 --> 01:09:08.709
Fabian has already changed
his personal schedule.
01:09:22.458 --> 01:09:25.917
(narrator)
He also takes
a much shorter lunch break
01:09:25.917 --> 01:09:27.083
so he can go home earlier.
01:09:27.083 --> 01:09:32.709
But most Spaniards don\'\'t have
such flexible working hours.
01:10:35.250 --> 01:10:37.959
(piano music)
01:10:37.959 --> 01:10:46.417
♪
01:10:46.417 --> 01:10:49.375
(speaking foreign language)
01:10:49.375 --> 01:10:50.583
♪
01:10:50.583 --> 01:10:52.959
(Levine)
People are beginning
to react to this
01:10:52.959 --> 01:10:55.875
the way time is used
against them.
01:10:55.875 --> 01:10:56.625
♪
01:10:56.625 --> 01:11:00.041
We see people fighting
for their temporal rights,
01:11:00.041 --> 01:11:01.375
and there are power struggles.
01:11:01.375 --> 01:11:05.417
It\'\'s often the more powerful
who are being rebelled against
01:11:05.417 --> 01:11:10.125
because they\'\'re--they\'\'re
either controlling our time
01:11:10.125 --> 01:11:13.250
or they\'\'re abusing our time.
01:11:17.125 --> 01:11:18.083
(narrator)
In the US,
01:11:18.083 --> 01:11:22.125
the poultry workers
have taken up the fight.
01:11:22.125 --> 01:11:23.917
(whistle blowing)
01:11:23.917 --> 01:11:28.000
(Gottfried)
We\'\'ve had over 150,000 people
from all 50 states
01:11:28.000 --> 01:11:29.834
in the United States
sign petitions,
01:11:29.834 --> 01:11:31.458
and so, to speak
to Tyson in a way
01:11:31.458 --> 01:11:33.250
that we felt
they would understand,
01:11:33.250 --> 01:11:36.875
we packaged those signatures
in chicken trays.
01:11:36.875 --> 01:11:39.208
We went to their headquarters
in Springdale, Arkansas,
01:11:39.208 --> 01:11:43.458
to deliver those petitions
to them directly.
01:11:43.458 --> 01:11:45.125
Workers need to be able
to have the time
01:11:45.125 --> 01:11:47.250
to use the bathroom
when they need to.
01:11:47.250 --> 01:11:49.208
Workers need to be
treated with respect
01:11:49.208 --> 01:11:50.542
and dignity
no matter where they work,
01:11:50.542 --> 01:11:52.667
whether they\'\'re in
a textile factory in Bangladesh
01:11:52.667 --> 01:11:54.834
or whether they\'\'re in
a poultry factory
01:11:54.834 --> 01:11:56.166
in the United States.
01:11:56.166 --> 01:11:59.041
(clock chiming)
01:12:02.166 --> 01:12:03.333
(Qasrawi)
In the U.K.,
01:12:03.333 --> 01:12:06.000
toilet breaks have even
made it into Parliament.
01:12:06.000 --> 01:12:07.792
A Welsh MP raised the question
01:12:07.792 --> 01:12:10.625
about a worker who\'\'d had
50 pounds taken from him.
01:12:10.625 --> 01:12:14.125
(female speaker)
His payslip contained
a deduction of 50 pounds.
01:12:14.125 --> 01:12:18.125
When he asked why, he was told
it was for toilet visits.
01:12:18.125 --> 01:12:21.875
Can we have a debate
on the toilet tax?
01:12:21.875 --> 01:12:23.041
(malespeaker)
Well, uh,
01:12:23.041 --> 01:12:27.709
that is a new proposition
for the House.
01:12:27.709 --> 01:12:30.875
(speaking foreign language)
01:12:31.709 --> 01:12:34.917
(narrator)
In Japan, the government
could no longer ignore
01:12:34.917 --> 01:12:39.667
the epidemic of karoshi
and tightened up the law.
01:12:49.417 --> 01:12:52.917
(narrator)
The new laws allowed Emiko
to sue the company
01:12:52.917 --> 01:12:56.667
that had worked
her husband to death.
01:13:24.458 --> 01:13:27.208
(melancholy music)
01:13:27.208 --> 01:13:29.999
♪
01:13:29.999 --> 01:13:31.333
(narrator)
At Iken Engineering,
01:13:31.333 --> 01:13:37.041
the stealth overtime workers
were caught red-handed.
01:13:37.041 --> 01:13:39.583
♪
01:14:18.333 --> 01:14:19.583
Kimura recruited help
01:14:19.583 --> 01:14:22.208
from a brand-new profession
in Japan:
01:14:22.208 --> 01:14:25.999
experts in reducing
working hours.
01:14:25.999 --> 01:14:28.417
♪
01:14:38.000 --> 01:14:41.333
♪
01:14:41.333 --> 01:14:45.917
(narrator)
Staff had to learn to complete
the same amount of work
01:14:45.917 --> 01:14:47.250
in fewer hours.
01:14:47.250 --> 01:14:51.375
However, this affected
their salaries.
01:15:08.125 --> 01:15:11.542
(narrator)
But the new measures
increased productivity,
01:15:11.542 --> 01:15:13.333
so Kimura was able to replace
01:15:13.333 --> 01:15:17.166
overtime payments
with bonuses.
01:15:17.166 --> 01:15:19.125
Now, he makes absolutely sure
01:15:19.125 --> 01:15:22.291
there is no more
nighttime work.
01:16:19.792 --> 01:16:21.834
(chiming)
01:16:21.834 --> 01:16:25.000
(speaking foreign language)
01:16:53.333 --> 01:16:55.000
(somber music)
01:16:55.000 --> 01:16:58.125
(narrator)
Like it or not,
time is a currency
01:16:58.125 --> 01:17:00.458
that we exchange
for other things
01:17:00.458 --> 01:17:01.583
as part of the economy.
01:17:01.583 --> 01:17:05.959
But the important thing is
to start valuing it differently
01:17:05.959 --> 01:17:08.999
and, then, fight to make
the time economy
01:17:08.999 --> 01:17:10.125
work in our favor,
01:17:10.125 --> 01:17:15.083
with our personal needs
and wants as a priority.
01:17:15.083 --> 01:17:17.834
♪
01:17:17.834 --> 01:17:20.417
(laughing)
01:17:20.417 --> 01:17:23.917
♪
01:17:23.917 --> 01:17:25.500
(cheering)
01:17:25.500 --> 01:17:27.875
Like the parents
of a little French boy
01:17:27.875 --> 01:17:30.959
who found out the hard way
how much the time
01:17:30.959 --> 01:17:33.875
with their son
was really worth.
01:17:33.875 --> 01:17:36.709
(shouting)
01:17:54.583 --> 01:17:58.166
(narrator)
But when Mathys
was nine years old,
01:17:58.166 --> 01:18:01.375
everything changed.
01:18:22.792 --> 01:18:25.834
(helicopter droning)
01:18:26.999 --> 01:18:28.291
(narrator)
With the dire diagnosis,
01:18:28.291 --> 01:18:33.875
Christophe and Lydie took time
off work to be with Mathys.
01:18:34.999 --> 01:18:41.125
Multiple treatments,
including a transplant, failed.
01:20:08.000 --> 01:20:10.375
(narrator)
But how to find extra hours
01:20:10.375 --> 01:20:14.041
in an economic system
that owns our time.
01:20:14.041 --> 01:20:18.417
Under French labor law,
workers can save up overtime
01:20:18.417 --> 01:20:23.000
in a time account
and later take that time off.
01:20:23.000 --> 01:20:26.250
The transfer of these hours
was not permitted,
01:20:26.250 --> 01:20:30.208
but Christophe\'\'s managers
wanted to help.
01:20:57.542 --> 01:21:00.709
(narrator)
People gave up
their holidays, leisure,
01:21:00.709 --> 01:21:03.500
and time with their family
and friends.
01:21:03.500 --> 01:21:06.375
In just two weeks,
Christophe was donated
01:21:06.375 --> 01:21:09.125
the equivalent of six months.
01:21:09.125 --> 01:21:11.583
(clicking)
01:21:40.542 --> 01:21:42.375
(speaking foreign language)
01:21:42.375 --> 01:21:46.667
(narrator)
Since then, time donations
on behalf of sick children
01:21:46.667 --> 01:21:49.625
have become legal in France.
01:21:49.625 --> 01:21:52.417
(speaking foreign language)
01:22:13.709 --> 01:22:15.709
♪
01:22:15.709 --> 01:22:18.291
(applause)
01:22:18.291 --> 01:22:20.333
♪
01:22:45.000 --> 01:22:46.333
♪
01:22:46.333 --> 01:22:51.750
(Levine)
The way we use our time
and the quality of experience
01:22:51.750 --> 01:22:55.333
in our time is very personal.
01:22:55.333 --> 01:22:59.125
And the best way,
I think, to deal with it
01:22:59.125 --> 01:23:00.959
is to try to be introspective,
01:23:00.959 --> 01:23:04.959
perhaps try to carefully track
the way you use your time
01:23:04.959 --> 01:23:07.333
and try to track
the way you feel
01:23:07.333 --> 01:23:10.250
during those periods of time.
01:23:10.250 --> 01:23:14.500
And once we can come to grips
01:23:14.500 --> 01:23:19.250
with what is best for ourselves,
01:23:19.250 --> 01:23:23.375
it often enables us
to make decisions
01:23:23.375 --> 01:23:24.625
to change our lives
01:23:24.625 --> 01:23:30.333
in ways that we might not
otherwise have done.
01:23:30.333 --> 01:24:31.667
♪
01:24:31.667 --> 01:24:35.125
(clock ticking)
Distributor: Icarus Films
Length: 85 minutes
Date: 2018
Genre: Expository
Language: German; French; English / English subtitles
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
Existing customers, please log in to view this film.
New to Docuseek? Register to request a quote.
Related Films
An ambitious six-part series examining the history of ideas and the social…
From the producer of the classic AFFLUENZA, this film shows why vacations…