Are Americans Overworked?

"Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." - Henry Ford

ARE AMERICANS OVERWORKED?

Two recent articles gave somewhat different views on the long work hours of Americans.  First, John de Graaf, writing in YES! magazine (Fall 2003; www.yesmagazine.org) observed:  

"Despite the promises of leisure made when the computer era was just beginning, we're working harder and longer than ever.  The US has traded all of its productivity gains for money and stuff, and none for time off.  We work more than do the citizens of any other industrial country.  Our work days are longer, our work weeks are longer, and our vacations are disappearing. . . . Even medieval peasants worked less than we do. . . . To address issues like this, the Simplicity Forum launched Take Back Your Time Day to be held on October 24, 2003 — nine weeks before the end of the year, to symbolize the fact that we Americans now work nine weeks more each year than do our trans-Atlantic neighbors."

On the other hand, the Economist (August 23, 2003; www.economist.com) made this point:

"Since 1990 average working hours have dropped sharply in Japan and in most European countries, but have scarcely fallen in America.  The gap in work effort is now the single biggest reason why GDP per head is lower in the European Union than in the United States.  By contrast, lower productivity is the main reason why other OECD countries are less prosperous than America."

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