4-Hour Workweek

I recently started reading a book by the title of The 4-Hour Workweek. It is definitely one those self-help/become rich quick guides, which I enthusiastically devoured back in the college years. It has the smooth undertones of a Rich Dad, Poor Dad and the earthy hues of a E-Myth Revisited. I just began reading it, so it would be unfair for me to begin making any definitive assertions, but it did get me thinking. How would it be possible for anyone to work a 4-hour workweek for a non-profit or microfinance institution?

It was standard procedure for a person to put in at least a 12-hour day. The worst part is that people working in development are often paid much less that peers working at equivalent skill levels but in higher paid industries. I don’t think the 4-hour work week would cut it in the developing world. What if you were inoculating children against hepatitis? What would you say to them? ‘Sorry, my 4-hours are up…I will see you next week’.

There are some types of work, which requires people to devote themselves to the cause. These are the people who work in the remote regions of the world, who are paid at poverty level rates, who do not even have the luxury of indoor plumbing and who work 12+ hours. However, it is interesting to find that many of these people are satisfied with their lives. They have a mission—a worthwhile goal—that sustains them through the physical harsh realities.

Then there are those living in the western world. The people who have all the physical amenities—the car, nice apartment, 9-5 routines. However, these people seem to have an emptiness. They lack purpose, meaning and motive. They work to sustain their physical comfort.

What I came to realize is that when working in development, it is necessary to balance these two worlds. I realized that I am not able do the extreme all or nothing development experience. Furthermore, I would go insane if I worked the mindless 9-5 grind. There needs to be a combination of both experiences. I want a comfortable home and to be compensated appropriately, but I also want to be helping people and making lasting impact. Of course, finding where these two worlds meet is the real challenge.