----- Original Message ----- From: "MichaelP" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, September 03, 2001 1:23 AM Subject: U$ working week too long !! (fwd) > > > > > > > The Guardian (London) Monday September 3, 2001 > Michael Ellison in New York > > US workers suffer labour pains > > The United States is closed today for all but the most important business > - such as shopping - while it marks the official end of summer with a day > of rest for the men and women who work the longest hours in the > industrialised world. > > Average Americans now spend so much time at work that they are putting in > another week a year compared with 10 years ago, says a new study published > to coincide with the Labour Day holiday weekend. > > In 1990 Mr and Ms America worked 1,942 hours a year each; now they toil > for 1,978 hours, says the report by the International Labour Organisation. > > "The increase in the number of hours worked within the US runs counter to > the trend in other industrialised nations where we are seeing declining > hours worked," said Lawrence Jeff Johnson, the economist who headed the > team that drew up Key Indicators of the Labour Market 2001-2002. > > Each Australian, Canadian, Japanese and Mexican worker devotes about 100 > hours a year - or 2.5 weeks - fewer to their job, it says. Britons and > Brazilians work 250 fewer hours (roughly six weeks) and Germans do 500 > fewer hours, or about 12 weeks. > > Of countries categorised as developing or in transition, only South > Koreans (500 more hours) and Czechs (an extra 100 hours) put in more time > than Americans. > > "I think it's a lot to do with the American psyche," said Mr Johnson, who > lives in Switzerland. "Americans define themselves by their work. When you > meet the average European it takes a while for them to tell you what they > do for a living. They talk more about their families. Americans tell you > immediately what they do." > > Part of the apparent appetite for toil is explained by the increasingly > blurred line between work and free time. > > "I played golf recently for the first time in a year," said Mr Johnson, > who describes himself as a workaholic. "My friend's phone rang three times > with work calls. The line between time at work and time not at work is > blurred. Years ago we used to clock on and clock off but we don't do that > any more." > > But mobile phones and computers are not unique to the US. Nor is ambition, > though it might find its strongest expression there. > > "America has labour flexibility and Americans have a tendency to move > quickly from job to job," said Mr Johnson. "We want to progress, to move > on to the next level. To do that they're putting in more hours." > > Americans typically get vacations of only two or three weeks a year, > though there are 10 public holidays. Many fall on Mondays, allowing for > long weekends. > > But long working weeks do not equate with wealth. "A job should keep you > out of poverty, not keep you in it," said Holly Sklar, author of Raise the > Floor: Wages and Policies that Work for all of us. "But as we celebrate > Labour Day, hardworking Americans paid the minimum wage have to choose > between eating or heating, healthcare or childcare. > > "At $5.15 an hour [the minimum wage], they earn just $10,712 > a year. That's a third less than in 1968, when the minimum wage > was about $8, adjusting for inflation. > > "A couple with two kids would have to work a combined 3.3 full-time > minimum-wage jobs to make ends meet." > > Mr Johnson suggested that the US could learn much from Ireland, where the > productivity of people with jobs had increased even though each employee > now spent 1,520 hours a year working, down from 1,728 hours in 1990. > > "The education and training is something to look at. Labour Day is a time > for reflection for Americans, to see we're doing some things very well but > we can learn from others. > > "We're all striving for balance, we want to do it at a cost that's not too > great to society. Nobody on their deathbed has ever said 'I wish I'd spent > one more hour on that job'." > ====================== > > *** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material > is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest > in receiving the included information for research and educational > purposes. Feel free to distribute widely but PLEASE acknowledge the > original source. *** > > > > >
