It seems we in this country have never really thought this through. That how much does a person need to work in a day or a week, or a month for that matter? Internationally, there is a lot of debate on the issue with the developed countries constantly reducing the number of working hours per week. For them, it is the well-being of the worker that is at the centre of this debate.

We in Pakistan, on the other hand, are constrained to follow perhaps the rules that are laid down by the UN agencies. The maximum working hours in a day that is. Those too are followed only in theory and are impractical anyway for the 73 per cent or so population working in the informal economy. No laws are applicable in the informal sector and there is a lot of exploitation. This includes the domestic worker that most middle class people exploit without batting an eyelid.

In today’s Special Report, we want to draw attention to this crucial issue, without going into the intricacies of what work means for human beings and without bringing happiness and sense of purpose into the debate.

Read also: Work but how much

We at TNS are looking at it as something that involves producing goods and services in a capitalist world. That is perhaps why the reward of work in the form of money and the accompanying stresses are a part of the discussion. For us, flexibility of hours has meant that people are now working more than less. The facility of working from home means that along with work, the related stress is brought into the confines of homes and people who do that feel more exhausted than relaxed.

In today’s Special Report, we have also looked the critical issue of women’s working hours, how must they be calculated and what needs to be done for the working women of this country.

There is of course the quality angle, or work ethic if you like. But we think it is crucially linked to the working hours people are expected to put in.