Laura Camps de Agorreta: "Being able to go on vacation every summer is not a privilege, it's a right."

BarcelonaYou might follow her on social media (@congafas_ on Instagram), where, with humor, illustrations and heartbreaking messages, Laura Camps de Agorreta (Barcelona, ​​1984)She defends the rights of the working class. She also addresses parenting, the physical and mental exhaustion of mothers, the lack of support, and the difficulty of work-life balance. This digital activist and communications consultant has now published an essay. We don't have enough time. (Bruguera 2025), where she reflects on the scourge of our times: the lack of time and the relationship between work and life.

I like a phrase you write in the book that says: "The most important thing we have is time." And I think we're not aware of that, since we dedicate so many hours to work.

— Time is the raw material of life, and it's a matter of class. Wealthy people are born with time and money to buy other people's time, while working people are born with time but must sell it for money to make ends meet. So, we run out of time at the end of the day, at the end of the week, at the end of the month... And it's the most precious commodity, because without time, we can't live.

You support the 32-hour work week.

— I support the 32-hour week because it's a model that worked when it was tested in Valencia, and the 4-day week worked in Portugal. If someone advocates for working less, I'm also in favor. It's a shame that the 37.5-hour week wasn't passed into law here, but it's not the end of the world, because we can reduce working hours ourselves by organizing and fighting for them.

But to organize, to fight, whether it's for reduced working hours, to participate in the school's Parents' Association or to ask for a reduction in the rent price, we need time, and we have to get it from somewhere.

— It's clear that this first battle requires a significant effort, but it's worth it because it will allow us to fight for many other things later. Right now, our two biggest problems are housing and time.

We all rush through life, whether it's because we have more than one job, or because we have family members to care for, young or old... Nobody ever has enough time. It's a widespread problem. However, some argue that working less increases productivity.

— I'm not the one advocating for this; scientific evidence supports it. The fact is, we work so many hours now that many of us aren't producing anything. We're at work, fed up, tired, exhausted, just passing the time watching the clock. I don't like talking about reducing the workday so we have more time to be productive. I want us to work less so we can be better, happier, and able to do more fulfilling things. The business sector says that we'll then be less productive. And that's a lie. If we worked fewer hours and produced the same amount as we are now, we would already be more productive.

My generation was led to believe that working overtime and long hours was acceptable, and we felt guilty about taking any sick leave or time off. However, Generation Z has a much clearer understanding of work-life balance. How will this affect companies?

— Older millennials too We grew up with the discourse of meritocracy and hard work, and when we realized it was a scam Perhaps it was too late; we already had people to support. Younger Millennials and Generation Z have never believed in meritocracy or a culture of hard work because they saw from the beginning that they wouldn't have a home, that they wouldn't be able to become independent, and that they would have very low wages. Knowing that this is the reality, you approach life differently. I think the new generations are much more aware of the importance of time. How will this change companies? It will all depend on whether or not they organize themselves.

There are individual solutions like quitting your job and working for yourself, but in the end it's also precarious.

— Individual solutions usually end up being self-exploitation, except in a few cases of success. I know many women who became self-employed after becoming mothers because it was the only way they could balance work and family life. But in the end, they work many more hours and end up working nights and weekends... Individual solutions don't exist; the solutions that work are collective.

I'm 47 years old and I earn less than my parents did, even though they're retired and have no higher education. And I'm still lucky compared to younger generations. Can we even live on current salaries?

— We can't live on our current salaries, but salaries have risen significantly. The problem is that prices have risen even more. There's a loss of purchasing power. Generation Z can't afford to move out or plan for starting a family. But the truth is, families can't make ends meet either. Many families my age rent, and their rent can go up at any moment. If they're evicted, they have to move to another neighborhood and change schools. It's affecting all age groups. But perhaps the solution isn't just raising wages, but guaranteeing prices: setting a price ceiling for housing, basic food items... Because, ultimately, no matter how much our salaries increase, those who own the goods and the means of production will always be able to raise prices even more. But with a price ceiling and quality public services, we can truly live with dignity on what we have. Because being working class means being able to go on vacation every summer. Let no one be mistaken. This isn't a privilege; it's a right.

The downside of many jobs today is hyperconnectivity. We've gained flexible hours, but this means you can still be answering an email or working at 10 pm.

— There's no one-size-fits-all solution for every job. What is clear, however, is that there needs to be a healthy balance. The right to disconnect must be guaranteed, without pressure or fear of whether your colleague will actually reply to that email at 10 p.m. Without the pressure of having to work overtime because your colleague is doing so. And the right to respected remote work, which doesn't mean being available all day. If you're happy at work, you might have an idea on Saturday because you've been working on a project all week, but that's perfectly fine. The problem arises when you experience emotional and mental overload, when it leads to discomfort and illness.

Many women, when they become mothers, try to reduce their working hours, and many of us give up as soon as we realize that the workload is the same, but done in less time and for less pay. Is reducing working hours worthwhile?

— With reduced working hours for childcare, you're essentially paying for time off. In other words, you're paying the company the money they deduct from your pay, the money they don't actually pay you, because you're doing the same work in fewer hours: therefore, you're more productive. The benefit is having more time. In any case, since women's salaries are lower than men's, we're the ones who end up requesting reduced hours, because it's a smaller loss for the family budget. Therefore, it creates a gap. Reduced working hours for childcare should be at 100% of the salary. That way, men would request it, and there wouldn't be gender discrimination.

Do you think it has made a difference that men now also have 17 weeks of paternity leave?

— It has been especially useful for fathers, in the case of heterosexual couples, to experience parenting differently and become more involved in it. They are alone with a very vulnerable person in their care, and that is very important in terms of caregiving. It is also true that fathers request this leave because it is 100% paid. This is key, because they don't request unpaid leave.

Does reconciliation exist?

— I use the word a lot because it's the one everyone understands, but it doesn't quite convince me. Ultimately, it's about work-life balance. The thing is, we often use it to talk about caregiving, but I think it's about finding balance with yourself. If I finish at 7 p.m. and go home exhausted, then I can't achieve work-life balance. But if I finish at 5 p.m., then maybe I'll go for a walk, or to the gym, or to the movies, or just stretch out on the sofa because I'm tired, but I'll have energy afterward. And for me, that would be work-life balance. Basically, it's about dividing your time in a way that benefits both you and society.Not having enough time costs us more. Time scarcity costs us money: buying things at the last minute is more expensive, not having time to cook is more expensive, only being able to go to the gym at the same time as everyone else is more expensive...

Some also say that grandparents are the key to work-life balance when you have children.

— When I was little, grandparents were essential, but now they're even more so because the system is less organized. But often they don't live as close anymore. And we have children much later, so grandparents are older and more tired. Besides, some grandparents have their own life plans and things to do. They're absolutely necessary, but they shouldn't be replacing the welfare state. They should be able to spend as much time with their grandchildren as they want, not just to fill schedules. Grandparents love being with their grandchildren; what they might not be interested in is having to drive them across town every Tuesday and Thursday for an extracurricular activity.

What role has intensive parenting played in this exhaustion and lack of personal time that we mothers suffer?

I wonder: was there intensive parenting before social media? It's like an aspirational product we can never achieve, and in reality, it generates more anxiety and frustration. It's both a trap and a challenge. Because there are some elements of intensive parenting that might interest you, but it's a matter of class. To apply many of the parenting things you read or see on social media, you need to have time and be well, and not have to do laundry, fold clothes, load the dishwasher, prepare capers, clean, or tidy the sink... So,Being able to dedicate so many hours to parenting is a privilege, because the way things are going, we arrive exhausted and don't have the energy to be assertive or explain things properly. We're back to square one: lack of time. If we have more time each day, we can put more tenderness and more attention into parenting. If you're completely exhausted, I'd say that intensive parenting is a fancy.