Almost everyone is dissatisfied at some point in their job. However, the work-life balance that we ponder so much about today was much less so in earlier times. For centuries, nine-to-five jobs were the exception rather than the rule. A maid in the imperial era could only dream of our current working conditions. In the Middle Ages the surgeon was still more of a doormat than a demigod in white and the Emperor of China did not have such a dazzling job as one might think today. Neither did the pirates – although they had at least fought for some concessions in terms of labour law.
WRITER: Martin Becker EDITOR: Marie Wilbers COMMISSIONING EDITOR: Johannes Geiger (ZDF), Tina Weimar (ZDF)
