People Debate Whether It’s Possible to Work Full Time and Still Have Time to Live

Author image for Mel Dawn
Mel Dawn
Feb 20, 2022 4:00 PM EST

The 'work-life balance' platitude is pretty rich considering the fact that the average full-time worker spends the better part of each weekday at their job. Sure, there's an extra handful of hours in the evenings to make dinner and maybe even do a few chores, but then that leaves a measly two days a week to feel like a human. Maybe some super humans out there know how to squeeze the potential out of every last minute, but most of us are tired. 

@merrittk is one of many Twitter users who is baffled by the 40-hour work week. She vented in a recent tweet, 'Bro how are you supposed to have a full time job, cook and clean, maintain relationships, and work on your own little projects. Seems fake.' The post resonated with so many people that it went viral, though more than a few weren't exactly on the same page. Some presumed that @merrittk simply had bad time management skills, which opened up the thread to a pretty lively debate. Keep scrolling to see what people said.

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  • 01
    Font - merritt k @merrittk Bro how are you supposed to have a full time job, cook and clean, maintain relationships, and work on your own little projects. Seems fake 19:56 · 11/16/21 · Twitter for iPhone 31.5K Retweets 2,923 Quote Tweets 245K Likes
    via @merrittk
  • 02
    Font - merritt k O @merrittk · 1d Replying to @merrittk Is the answer amphetamines. Is everyone doing amphetamines but me 86 t7 316 7,958 1 merritt k O @merrittk · 1d Bro we are simply trying to have it all. Problem? 16 L7 36 2,533 1,
    via @merrittk
  • 03
    Plant - Adipose Regina @adipose_regina ... Replying to @merrittk It is fake. At no other time in human history has this been the way we live. Most of us make sacrifices in some quarter and/or burn out. Why do we think mental illnesses like depression and anxiety keep rising?
    via @merrittk
  • 04
    Human - Henor @CoomarGadaffi 1d Replying to @merrittk It's entirely possible. You have poor time management skills, unless your work commute is an hour both ways or something else you're not telling us 37 27 10 95 Aud @audreyec_ · 1d THE WORKER HAS FALLEN IN LOVE WITH THE SYSTEM THAT EXPLOITS THEM 10 L7 105 5,900 1
    via @merrittk
  • 05
    Font - Friendly Jordan Peterson @inter.. · 1d Replying to @merrittk you're not, the 40hr week is predicated on having an unpaid servant-wife 20 t7 162 4,747 1 Avalanche Forever @citchmook · 1d Bro, come on. I'm single and manage all of these things just fine. 96 Most people are horrific at managing their time then complain about not having enough of it. There's always some excuse instead of looking at one's self. Too many video games, movies and Netflix. Shut them down. 45 27 8 93
    via @merrittk
  • 06
    Font - entropy @MorsVitaEst ... Replying to @merrittk Maintain interpersonal relationships Full-time job Choose Two Hobbies & Cook/Clean & self-care projects
    via @merrittk
  • 07
    Font - Arielle ... @alosar7 Replying to @merrittk Not a full fix but get a roomba, make food you can leave alone on the stove/in the oven/in the crockpot for a while as you do your own thing, and put everything you own on hooks. Easier to put things away that way lol
    via @merrittk
  • 08
    Font - Just watching Rome burn @lamDawnWebb1 ... Replying to @merrittk Courtney @PsychicxGoddess ... Gentle reminder that the 40 hour work week is outdated & was designed with the assumption someone else was going to be always taking care of cooking, cleaning & household errands. It wasn't designed for you to be doing it all & if you're having a hard time, you're not a failure.
    via @merrittk
  • 09
    Jaw - Abraham Blankenship @Abrah... · 18h Replying to @merrittk I'm 69, done all that and raised 4 kids. It's called working for what you want. 13 8 chris vibeswell TM @chrisvibes.. · 18h honestly you grew up in a different time than we did and the income and price of living ratio was totally different than it is now 1 60
    via @merrittk
  • 10
    Font - Abraham Blankenship @Abrah. 18h It sounds to me like you gave up, it's exactly the same there's no difference between what I made when I was your age than what you're going to make now when you consider the price back then and the price of things now versus the wages of back then versus the wages now ... 6. 1 gunk life @NoDoubtVEVO · 17h Bud you took about 20 words too many to say something completely, 100% wrong. In your language: If you consider the price of stuff back then compared to
    via @merrittk
  • 11
    Font - Daniel Moreno @dmorenoks · 1d Replying to @merrittk Here, let me help. Things took a turn for me since I started using the first 4 54 CHEATS CHEATS & RESULTS While playing the game, press (Ctrl] + [Shift] + C (or [Cmnd] + [Shift] +Con a Mac) to display the console window. Then, type one of the following codes and press (Enter] to activate the corresponding cheat function: rosebud or kaching 1,000 more Simoleons motherlode 50,000 more Simoleons freerealestate [on or off] Toggle free neighb
    via @merrittk
  • 12
    Font - eliza_huang_is_trying @ebeth1051 ... Replying to @merrittk I'm a housewife and the number of people in this thread using the phrase “servant spouse" to explain who does this unpaid home labor is.refreshingly nice given how many "soap operas and bonbons" jokes I've had to hear over the years.
    via @merrittk
  • 13
    Font - Wolfman Agenda @kedgarou · 23h Replying to @merrittk We're not. Humans have almost always lived in communal environments where the labor was distributed so that we could use resources more efficiently. The radical individuality that modern society has forced on us is not sustainable or even useful or efficient. 2 27 41 382 Wolfman Agenda @kedgarou - 23h We don't ALL need stoves, we need huge communal cooking equipment. We don't ALL need to cook, the cooks among us who want to do so can co
    via @merrittk
  • 14
    Font - Alun @Alun_B · 20h While I concede you make some very good points, the idea of living with multiple other people provokes a visceral, anxious revulsion in me that is stronger than even expected. 1
    via @merrittk
  • 15
    Font - Wolfman Agenda @kedgarou · 20h I think that's fine. We've largely been socialized to be isolated, but even if we weren't, there would be people who wouldn't want as much interaction. For example, at the commune I visited there were people who would take their meal from the big kitchen and eat elsewhere. 1 4 Wolfman Agenda @kedgarou · 20h My point being: We can exist with each other in a way that benefits all of us, without necessarily needing to be "available" to everyone else. I think th
    via @merrittk
  • 16
    Joint - The Red Fallows ... @TheRedFallows Replying to @merrittk My go to method A lot of projects to be done? try dissociating
    via @merrittk

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