The symptoms are everywhere. They disrupt the organization of work.
One could even say that they are the ultimate opponent of the Legault government.
The fed up with always doing more.
Nurses who do not want to return to the health network full time. Daycare educators who do not have the courage to type the few extra hours that would entitle them to a big pay rise. And what about those family doctors who are mainly criticized for not having the work ethic of their predecessor.
Objectively, this new evil would contribute to the decline of our national sport. Parents are turning their backs on hockey to escape the slavery of practices and tournaments.
What is this epidemic that is shaking up everything in its path? Life quality.
Pandemic gift
Millennials have long been criticized for clinging to this myth of their right to a quality of life. It has even been associated with a generational laziness.
However, it is clear that they were only the precursors of a larger phenomenon.
Exhausted from an illusory work-family balance, Generation X is beginning to understand that the concept is not that crazy.
This will be the only beautiful side of this pandemic which has poisoned our lives for a year and a half.
Confined, without the artifices of our consumer society, life has slowed down. It had to be furnished. For some, taking the time to cook has become a pleasure rather than a chore. Others have rediscovered the pleasure of playing with children, of going for a walk with a loved one.
What used to be a luxury has become part of a new routine.
The list of accommodations is long. She offered an epiphany. Time is not just money, it is also peace of mind, happiness, life.
Question from the ballot box?
Québec solidaire’s decision to take on this issue of quality of life with a view to the next elections is more than clever.
Who doesn’t want a 35-hour week? Who doesn’t need four weeks of vacation a year? One holiday a month, just to breathe?
Especially by placing the quality of life at the center of its political offer, solidarity offers a modern and eloquent contrast with the more traditional vision of a Prime Minister Legault who wants to see everyone work harder and earn more money.
There will certainly be some to ridicule the solidarity proposal, reproach QS for swapping its traditional socialist utopia in favor of a utopia of work-family balance.
But the statistics don’t lie. While Quebec does better than the Canadian average in terms of holidays, it does not even manage to rank in the top 30 countries in the world!
It is an understatement to say that the debate is legitimate. Legitimate for society. Legitimate especially in the face of a Legault government which claims to speak for the silent majority.