THE NINETY-EIGHT HOUR WEEK.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3130, 14 August 1922, Page 2

THE NINETY-EIGHT HOUR WEEK.

!< J am within the mark when I. say that my average week of work for the hist 30 years has not been 48 hours, it has been nearer or has exceeded 98 hours a week." Tim- Lord [nchcape at Arbroath last week. Presuming that his lord-ship rests on Sunday, this means practically a iUV-liour day. It' J;'.- lordship labors also on Sunday. : t may mean either a 14-hour day seven days a week, or a 10-ho-ui' day six days : week, with a snatch of S hours' work en Sunday. .Many years ago. i had an inquiry made into the average day's programme of some ol our ablest industrial captains, frankly, nam of them appeared to be anything like so strenuous as Lord ; nchcape. ] think the late Sir Richard LSurbidge led the way. He was in the habit [.••f ris'ng at 5.30. At 6 o'clock he was mi horseback for a Ld-niinute gallop at [/'ttleten. Ten minuter alter that lie h■ d arrived at Harrod's and was looking round the store. He breakfasted at S, and was in his committee room dealing with tii-. 1 - post and meeting his managers at «.30. An hour later." he retired to !i:s private office for work requiring more intense appl'cation. The next two bourn hj ■ kept- open for appointments and board meetings. He allowed about three-quarters of an hour for lunch, and kept i readily at work, private or public, until 7 o'clock in the evening, when he arrived home. He retired to rest at the abnormallv early hour of 5.30. This gave him a working day of upward* of 1-! bonis. Lord Lev. rhulmc is another carlv riser. He, too, leaves the blankets at ".30 and a tends to business before breakfast at 7.15, or 7.H0 (when lie ; -- at Hampstead). He works practically straisrht through the dav until li e'elo: !•:. At- (i he mi rely ( : >as; s close detailed business—for frequently business is discussed in a- light, chatty and friendly way at dinner over a cigar. His l'erdshin retires an hour later than the late Sir Richard Burbidge—9.3o, as a. rule. T'o keep such hours a man must have a constitution of iron, as well as/an indomitable will to work! It is a remarkable fact that T ord Lever-li-ulme, although now nearly 70 years of a-go. does much of his desk work s.fatidin'2. Only the other day. while i was discussing a certain matter with him, he carried on intermittenl work at a 'd; sk built on snob a level that he cold write easilv while standiii"- befcio it. Of all the business men i have met, f believe that the German outs in on the average the longest hours of work. He is accustomed to start at abort H in the morning, and. to carry on till about 7 o'clock at night, But he works in a more leisurely way than we do. f-;e allows lrmself a long, long lunch, whiph lasts Front 12.30 til! '.',. The. Americans, too, used u put in a lone;' •■ day than we. But they are gradually seeing the benefit of harder work during the shorter hours. Also the American business man has acquired a taste for golf! I believe that this fact has speeded un American work, more than anything else in the last 20 years!