Danish professor James W. Vaupel says that in this day and age, we should work more when we're old, and that we should only be working 25 hours a week when we're young. We're wondering how many hours a week you put in, and how far that is from your ideal.

Vaupel explains his reasoning:

We're getting older and older here in Denmark. Kids who are ten years old today should be able to work until the age of 80. In return, they won't need to work more than 25 hours per week when they become adults," says Professor James W. Vaupel, who heads a new research centre at the University of Southern Denmark, which opened earlier this week.

In socio-economic terms it makes a lot of sense. The important thing is that we all put in a certain amount of work—not at what point in our lives we do it. In the 20th century we had a redistribution of wealth. I believe that in this century, the great redistribution will be in terms of working hours.

25 hours may seem crazy by today's standards—particularly since the last time we asked you this, many of you worked well over 40 hours a week—but there is a certain logic to Vaupel's argument. Research shows that elderly people who work part-time are healthier than those that don't, meaning that later-life work could actually be beneficial—plus, it gives you more time to spend with your family when you're young.

How many hours do you work per week now? What do you think is your ideal workload? Do you agree with the 25-hour work week? Share your thoughts below, and hit the link to read more about Vaupel's research.

We should only work 25 hours a week, argues professor | ScienceNordic via Hacker News

Photo by Horia Varlan.