‘Running Out of Time’ Punches the Clock

Maybe slackers have something. Deliberately avoiding a time clock could be the most radical act one can make in this time-driven culture.

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The stressed folk in the spry, smart, one-hour “Running Out of Time” (produced by PBS affiliate KCTS-TV in Seattle) would certainly consider trading places with the slackers.

Problem is, they don’t have time to think about it. Host Scott Simon, who has finally found his TV metier after his brief “Today” stint, amusedly shows us why we seem to have less time than ever.

The lauded time-saving devices of the ‘90s are just as ineffective as those lauded in the ‘50s. (Remember the Monsanto home of the future at Disneyland?)

The sheer buying of things and the increase in overtime work patterns, as well as the virtually de rigueur two-parent income syndrome, have dramatically reduced leisure time. And leisure time, says University of Iowa’s Benjamin Hunnicutt, is perhaps capitalism’s finest product.

It used to be, at least. Until the Industrial Age began, the balance between work and leisure was entrenched and crossed cultures. Simon points to the work ethic of the Benedictine monks and their church clocks as being the start of time obsession. But the change was just as much the result of the expansion of world trade and the systemic expectation of goods delivered on time.

This spunky report reveals a fascinating corner of American corporate culture: Kellogg’s, the cereal company, once instituted (and later suspended) a six-hour work day with leisure and recreation programs--with a resulting rise in productivity.

U.S. workers now see their peers in Germany, France and the Netherlands enjoying five- to six-week vacations, and some U.S. “downshifters” have opted out of the clocked rat race for rural life.

But real solutions for those of us wed to city life, such as 30-hour work weeks and increased vacations, are going to run up against business opposition that “Running Out of Time” conveniently avoids discussing.

* “Running Out of Time” airs at 9 tonight on KCET-TV Channel 28.