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Presenter Welcome to Cover to Cover. Today we’re talking about Carl Honore’s book In Praise of Slow, which tells us that we’re all living too fast and should slow down. With me are two journalists, Kim Mayhew and Rob Davis - both workaholics, of course. Kim, what did you think of the book?
Kim Yes, very interesting and extremely funny at times too. Er, for example, I loved the bit about the group in Austria that goes into city centres and tries to stop people hurrying.
P Oh, yes.
K They actually time people with a stopwatch, and if someone hasn’t got a good reason for walking fast, then that person has to walk behind a tortoise for 50 metres!
P And what did you think of the book, Rob?
R Well, after I finished it I decided that I really must take more time off work.
K Yes, me too.
R Actually, the whole chapter on work was very interesting. For example, Honors says people should only work 35 hours a week.
P And do you think that’s a good idea?
R Yes, definitely. Most people work too hard, I think. And apparently some French employees are allowed to begin their weekend at 3 p.m. on Thursday. I think we should all do that.
P Kim, what do you think?
K Oh, yes, I agree with Rob, everyone works too hard these days. Honors definitely believes we ought to spend more time relaxing with our families.
P But that’s already happening in some countries, isn’t it? For example, Germans spend 15% less time at work now than in 1980.
R Yes, and Honore also says people can get their best ideas when they’re doing nothing. Albert Einstein was famous for just looking into space at his office at Princeton University. And you can’t say he didn’t have some good ideas!
K Yes, and I was interested to read that Americans work 350 hours a year more than Europeans, but in some American companies, employees can sleep whenever they want. Apparently they have special rooms where people can go and lie down if they’re tired.
R That sounds like an excellent idea.
P Yes, I’d be in there every afternoon, I can tell you!
R Actually, by law in the UK people are supposed to have a break every 4 hours, but a lot don’t. It’s amazing that 20% of British people work more than 60 hours a week. We work the most hours in Europe and it’s certainly not making us happier.
K Yes, and then lots of people have to take work home because they’re under so much pressure to meet deadlines. Apparently 60% of people in the UK who were interviewed said they didn’t take all their paid holiday. That’s just crazy!
R And now we’ve all got mobile phones and laptops, we’re able to continue working when we’re travelling. You know, when we’re on the train going to and from the office.
P Yes, and even illness doesn’t stop some people. According to Honore’s book, 20% of Americans don’t take time off work when they’re ill. It seems that some people can’t stop working, even when it’s nearly killing them.
R Yes, the Japanese even have a word for it - karoshi - which means ‘death from working too hard’.
P On that happy note, we’ll leave it there.