Property News · December 30, 2017

We’re hardwired to sleep, not to work | Letters


The Conservative MP Nick Boles’s condemnation of universal basic income is rejected by Dr David Hardman, Jonathan Grudin and Patricia WhittakerNick Boles MP states that “mankind is hardwired to work” (Tories should morally object to universal basic income, says MP, 29 December). This claim is based in ideology, not evidence. Some jobs may have associated benefits, such as physical activity (unless you are a desk worker) and social contact (unless you are a lone worker or bullied by colleagues), but the term “work” is too all-encompassing to assert that evolution has hardwired us for it. There were no oil rig workers, cardiac surgeons or train drivers when the evolution of the modern human brain was under way.By contrast, the need for sleep really is hardwired, yet the world of work does not cater for the body’s natural rhythms of sleeping and waking, and most of us depend on a psychoactive drug (caffeine) to get us through the day. Sometimes this is supplied by our employer. There would be less sickness absence if people were able to sleep more (the afternoon siesta in some cultures is related to the body’s natural rhythms). However, such is the Tories’ lack of care about real human needs that it now appears that they are planning to scrap the working time directive (Report, 18 December). Progressive thinkers should view increasing automation as an opportunity to rethink work, including an expansion of leisure time for all and a universal income to support those displaced by robots in finding new work.Dr David HardmanTrustee, London Hazards Centre Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
Read more…We’re hardwired to sleep, not to work | Letters

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