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What exactly does One Hour Work Week imply?

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RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#1: Feb 12th 2011 at 4:41:48 AM

At first glance, One-Hour Work Week seems to mean simply that a character with a steady job is rarely shown performing the job in question. However, throughout the trope page, there seems to be an assumption that, because a character is rarely shown working on screen, they must not do very much work at all.

Doesn't that seem a bit presumptuous? It's not like most of the examples are supposed to be giving us a continuous, real-time look at the characters' lives. Heck, most of the examples are from television shows, which only show us 10 to 20 hours of the characters' lives per year.

I mean, when characters aren't shown sleeping, using the bathroom, or navigating traffic, we still assume they do those things on a more or less daily basis. Or, if a character's in a Work Com, we assume they probably do plenty of stuff outside the workplace, but we accept that that's not what the show's about.

There are some extreme examples where Fridge Logic comes into play (like how Homer Simpson can take an impromptu vacation or get a new job whenever he wants), but most of the time it can be easily assumed that the characters do work relatively normal shifts; they just do it off-screen.

edited 12th Feb '11 5:01:06 AM by RavenWilder

Atz Since: Jan, 2001
#2: Feb 12th 2011 at 6:31:03 AM

I think it's more for cases where characters rush off to have wacky adventures (or whatever) at a moment's notice, when they should really have to wait until the end of the workday, or take vacation time, or call in sick. Basically, they have a job, but they seem to be on ultimate flexi-time - nobody minds if they wander off to do other stuff whenever they want.

BigT grimAuxiliatrix Since: Jan, 2001
grimAuxiliatrix
#3: Feb 15th 2011 at 4:31:54 AM

Yeah. Not showing a certain uninteresting part of a character's day is not a trope. Examples for this trope must be more about apparently not even having to go to work that day. If it's feasible that the person has a regular 9-to-5 job, it doesn't fit.

It also doesn't fit if it's a job that normally has that much flex time, and that job actually takes up a non-token part of the plot. So this trope is both of what the first two posters said: Not shown at their job, and getting time off (or flextime) more easily than would be realistic.

Everyone Has An Important Job To Do
RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#4: Feb 15th 2011 at 5:51:35 AM

Examples for this trope must be more about apparently not even having to go to work that day.

Y'know, a lot of people do get a day or two off each week.

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#5: Feb 15th 2011 at 5:57:30 AM

And that's not this trope.

This trope is when they don't seem to go to work at all, or only very briefly at odd intervals. They're always available to take part in whatever the plot of the week is, no matter when it happens.

NateTheGreat Since: Jan, 2001
#6: Feb 15th 2011 at 5:24:13 PM

Perhaps split the two subtropes:

  • In theory this person has a full-time job, but we never see them do it. In fact they can and do hang out with the rest of the cast anytime and anywhere the plot requires.
  • This person explicitly has a glamorized version of a job that requires minimal hours. Thus when they're not at their jobs we can assume that they have the day off and we don't need to be explicitly told this.

RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#7: Feb 15th 2011 at 6:05:19 PM

If the characters had to miss out on the plot of the week because they had to work, then the plot of the week wouldn't happen, so we'd never get to see it anyway.

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#8: Feb 15th 2011 at 8:17:52 PM

That doesn't make it any less of a storytelling device to simply allow them to be away from their job whenever.

RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#9: Feb 16th 2011 at 3:49:30 AM

I agree that One-Hour Work Week is definitely a storytelling device, I'm just not keen on the assumption that it implies an extremely loose work schedule.

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