We Need to Reform Society.

As a student whose life has primarily been affected by the closure of my university during the lockdown, a relatively minor impact compared with those that have had their livelihoods thrown about like a box of matches coating the floor.

The main impact on my life has been the relatively severe impact on my own finances or rather the family around me. However I (and you too may have also noticed this) have observed a society that is becoming distinctly calmer and more, dare I say it, European in its outlook.

No longer are we rushing to work on the tube, or on busy motorways, or eating expensive meal deals because we don't have time to make lunch for ourselves. Instead we're working from home, having lunch with the kids.

Perhaps this new world isn't so bad. Perhaps we might prefer to keep it this way.

Me and my Brother had the relatively lucky experience, as young children, of spending 18 months within the French educational system. It was quite scary. Perhaps because both me... and my brother spoke little - if any - French and together, though in separate classes, were essentially thrown in the deep end.

We made many good friend and some who I occasionally get a postcard off; I was tested to see if I was mentally capable of moving on with my education (I was). Enough about that.... but the point is, what it did teach me was that it's perfectly normal for the whole school to go home for lunch and meet their parents (or Guardians) and to actually engage in family life.

It seems almost impossible to me that we Britons will continue to live the rushed lives that we did, only a few months ago, without questioning - is it really worth it anymore?

The average employee now takes their work home. Their phone is constantly on - potentially on a work WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger group chat, or something similar. So, we never really get to completely switch off - yet we haven't received substantial pay rises since 2008 or recognised for these extra hours of work.

I'm not saying we should have a revolution - or not a traditional one at least - but perhaps it's time we started a conversation on what type of society we actually want to be. Do we really need to be working for forty hours every week? Productivity has increased exponentially since the 1990s, yet we work the same hours as we did in 1992 and 2019, 38.1 and 37.1 hours/week respectively. We have less holiday, lunch breaks are gone. Perhaps, it is time for a rift change. A change in tune with reality but one with dreams.