According to the United Nations’ International Labor Organization, the typical American worker puts in five weeks more on the job per year than his or her British counterpart and twelve-and-a-half weeks more than the Germans. While Canadians work somewhat less than Americans do, and enjoy longer vacations and paid family leave, they are also feeling the pressure of overwork. And, increasingly, arguments are being made that the results are not only harmful to one’s health, but to family and civic life, as well as to the environment.

On the topic of the environment, Conrad Schmidt, founder of the Work Less Party, in Vancouver, British Columbia, puts it this way: “If you want to protect the environment, you have to consume less, which means that you have to produce less, and you have to work less.”

An article in Natural Life Magazine’s November/December issue looks at this issue, and proposes some strategies for working less, including job sharing.