The Myth That Americans Are Busier Than Ever(theatlantic.com)
theatlantic.com
The Myth That Americans Are Busier Than Ever
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/the-myth-that-americans-are-busier-than-ever/371350/?_ga=1.154308414.742779469.1395405048
11 comments
I've noticed that a lot of the "busiest" people are the least productive. I suspect its a defense mechanism for people who, at least on a subconscious level, realize how unproductive and meaningless their job and/or output at a job really is.
My wife's sister and her husband are both the two "busiest" people you will ever meet. Yet when I spend time with them, I'm reminded of the fact that neither of them is very intelligent (perhaps the wrong word, but put another way they have no depth of understanding about anything outside of their jobs in cargo transport, zero creativity or appreciation of any kind of art, and little to zero knowledge of world events) and they don't seem to progress any quicker in their careers. In fact, as my wife has noted, they have lagged behind us and all of our friends who enjoy a healthy work-life balance. There is nothing scientific here about this anecdote, of course. I think that perhaps the easiest way to be extremely busy all the time is to not step back, take a breath, and think about a more efficient way to accomplish task X.
In a culture where status is attained through work, if you lack the creativity and skills to be a standout wizard who breezes through and builds cool shit that others think they could never do (translations: anyone on HN) then perhaps "busy" is the other way to earn some semblance of status.
My wife's sister and her husband are both the two "busiest" people you will ever meet. Yet when I spend time with them, I'm reminded of the fact that neither of them is very intelligent (perhaps the wrong word, but put another way they have no depth of understanding about anything outside of their jobs in cargo transport, zero creativity or appreciation of any kind of art, and little to zero knowledge of world events) and they don't seem to progress any quicker in their careers. In fact, as my wife has noted, they have lagged behind us and all of our friends who enjoy a healthy work-life balance. There is nothing scientific here about this anecdote, of course. I think that perhaps the easiest way to be extremely busy all the time is to not step back, take a breath, and think about a more efficient way to accomplish task X.
In a culture where status is attained through work, if you lack the creativity and skills to be a standout wizard who breezes through and builds cool shit that others think they could never do (translations: anyone on HN) then perhaps "busy" is the other way to earn some semblance of status.
It may have something to do with their jobs in cargo transport. Making ends meet on a low paying, physically demanding job that probably has a long commute, and overtime, doesn't exactly leave lots of slack in the schedule to pursue anything much beyond taking care of chores and sleep. I know cause that was me in college.
The jobs are white collar in nature. They sit at desks and work on computers, dispatching freight.
Good lord man. The arrogance and superiority complex that you have towards other human beings is breathtaking. I don't know you from heck but I feel the need to become more humble just to reduce the amount of dickishness in the world.
If you don't know me "from heck", then perhaps you should dial down the rhetoric before you assume I'm arrogant towards other human beings.
I used to be a construction worker. I know what arrogance towards human beings looks like because I experienced it every day by being looked at like an insect by every white collar asshole that walked by. I also know that my wife's sister and her husband didn't think I was good enough for her back then, but now that I make a decent salary they think I'm kosher. Fuck them.
I used to be a construction worker. I know what arrogance towards human beings looks like because I experienced it every day by being looked at like an insect by every white collar asshole that walked by. I also know that my wife's sister and her husband didn't think I was good enough for her back then, but now that I make a decent salary they think I'm kosher. Fuck them.
maybe you should stop judging your wife's sister and her husband, and/or start being as critical of yourselves as you are of them.
Perhaps I am judgmental towards them. Recently we had a big argument because they both saw nothing wrong with innocent people being wrongfully executed, and view it as a necessary evil to allow for guilty to be executed.
The fact that they both told my wife that they feel art is a waste of time and that artists should all find better things to do didn't help me view them as remotely on our level.
I'm very critical of myself. It is people who lack the capacity to be critical of themselves who act and think like they do. I am better than they are, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'm not better than them by anything given to me, but because I recognize that I suck and constantly seek to improve myself. They view themselves as amazing people. They aren't.
The fact that they both told my wife that they feel art is a waste of time and that artists should all find better things to do didn't help me view them as remotely on our level.
I'm very critical of myself. It is people who lack the capacity to be critical of themselves who act and think like they do. I am better than they are, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'm not better than them by anything given to me, but because I recognize that I suck and constantly seek to improve myself. They view themselves as amazing people. They aren't.
The arrogance of humility.
Question on those 6 weeks. I've heard before that some countries include national holidays in there 5-6 week count. Is that the case here? Generally when Americans are listing their vacation days they are not including what they view as mandatory holidays (Memorial day, july 4th, thanksgiving, christmas, new years, etc).
FWIW, I'm in the US and we have ~5-6 weeks vacation.
FWIW, I'm in the US and we have ~5-6 weeks vacation.
I am currently in Germany, 6 weeks is basically a standard excluding holidays (which is up to 13 extra days depending on the state and weekend overlay as there are no bank holidays). So in the end you can end up with ~8 weeks. Minimum vacation days as specified by the law is 4 weeks.
Most of my friends in the US start with 2 weeks, after a few years they get 3 weeks, then these are reset if they change the job, and if they take a vacation, they are either frowned upon or they have to be available to work on a moments notice. I find this utterly crazy.
Most of my friends in the US start with 2 weeks, after a few years they get 3 weeks, then these are reset if they change the job, and if they take a vacation, they are either frowned upon or they have to be available to work on a moments notice. I find this utterly crazy.
I have not, nor have I ever met anyone who has, been expected to work or even be available on a vacation. I've also never taken or been offered a job with less than 3 weeks vacation to start. Current job (been here for 2 months) is 25 paid days off plus ten or so holidays. This seems to be a common criticism of the US but I've been in the professional workforce for just about a decade and have never come across this. I've worked remotely, for small companies with ten employees and Fortune 500 companies. I just don't believe there are people taking jobs where they get 10 days off a year and are expected to answer a phone call from their boss on vacation, unless they are 1) interns; 2) non-professional jobs, service industry, etc; 3) at the very beginning of their career (I could see this happening with more predatory employers with the huge number of unemployed recent grads looking for works).
I think it depends on different factors. My wife has the same experience as you - never had less than 3 weeks of vacation time. She's a policy analyst in the non-profit sector. I've been in IT as a software developer for 20+ years and have been with 8 different employers across different industrial sectors and ranging from startup to Fortune 500. Most employer changes set me back to 2 weeks.
I know people who feel pressure to work on vacation. The pressure is very real and isn't always related to ambition on the part of those people. Usually they're being exploited by an ambitious manager who has a "hold" of some kind, e.g. exploited person has a child with 2 years left of college and can't afford to lose his/her job.
I know people who feel pressure to work on vacation. The pressure is very real and isn't always related to ambition on the part of those people. Usually they're being exploited by an ambitious manager who has a "hold" of some kind, e.g. exploited person has a child with 2 years left of college and can't afford to lose his/her job.
Well, 2 weeks were a starting offer from once the most valuable company on the planet for a senior SW engineer position in California, with automatic extension by 1 week after the first year, and another week after a promotion to a staff engineer.
One Seattle-based eCommerce company forced you to keep pager with you all the times, even on a vacation, if you were an unlucky part of operations.
This can't happen in most European countries, unless the company desperately wants to lose plenty of court cases.
One member of my US family in the midwest worked in an unionized menial job with 1 week of paid vacation including sick days. The rest was unpaid.
One Seattle-based eCommerce company forced you to keep pager with you all the times, even on a vacation, if you were an unlucky part of operations.
This can't happen in most European countries, unless the company desperately wants to lose plenty of court cases.
One member of my US family in the midwest worked in an unionized menial job with 1 week of paid vacation including sick days. The rest was unpaid.
I was expected to work or be available on vacation the entire time I worked at a startup. Once the company was bought by a larger company, I received 5 weeks of vacation, that I still was required to be available and work.
Only after I left the unit I was in, was it respected that I was not to be contacted.
Edit: I'd also add I had to work all day on Christmas one year, and I know others in very similar situations.
Friends with a security engineer at a company everyone would know. He can't even get a normal work day right now, or a single day off in a week.
It certainly happens.
Only after I left the unit I was in, was it respected that I was not to be contacted.
Edit: I'd also add I had to work all day on Christmas one year, and I know others in very similar situations.
Friends with a security engineer at a company everyone would know. He can't even get a normal work day right now, or a single day off in a week.
It certainly happens.
That 5-6 weeks is well outside he norm in the US.
In my experience, to get that much leave, you have to work at the same company for 5+ years. And either be highly-paid white collar OR highly paid union.
http://www.psmag.com/navigation/business-economics/the-unite... http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ebs.t05.htm
In my experience, to get that much leave, you have to work at the same company for 5+ years. And either be highly-paid white collar OR highly paid union.
http://www.psmag.com/navigation/business-economics/the-unite... http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ebs.t05.htm
UK guy here; it's 5-6 weeks in addition to national holidays (which are normally 8 days/year).
Highschool I worked for Lufthansa here in North America, it was common to see Germans fly over their bikes to go on a 2 month road trip while on paid vacation.
> I don't believe people can be super-productive more than 5 hours a day unless they work on something they are passionate about or are on drugs.
I assume you're a software engineer? It's a particularly mentally intensive job, and I don't think your experience is easily generalizable. Jobs that don't require that level of creativity and where you can rely more on memorized processes are easier to do for extended periods of time. Say you're an insurance adjuster. Most of the claims that cross your desk are not unusual and do not require special handling. I bet you could do that productively for 8 hours a day.
I assume you're a software engineer? It's a particularly mentally intensive job, and I don't think your experience is easily generalizable. Jobs that don't require that level of creativity and where you can rely more on memorized processes are easier to do for extended periods of time. Say you're an insurance adjuster. Most of the claims that cross your desk are not unusual and do not require special handling. I bet you could do that productively for 8 hours a day.
I can very easily be productive for 8 hours at my second job at a beer distributer.
My other job doing email tech support I struggle to not take a five minute break every hour to clear my head. I still get bellow five hours a day of productivity because I have to sit in a ton of meetings on the off chance that I might need to say something or they just want more eyes on whatever they're doing.
My other job doing email tech support I struggle to not take a five minute break every hour to clear my head. I still get bellow five hours a day of productivity because I have to sit in a ton of meetings on the off chance that I might need to say something or they just want more eyes on whatever they're doing.
> It could also help individual people to cope with social anxieties by being "busy".
I can't even tell you how incredibly "busy" I was during recess in high school. Also during free hours and any kind of down time... so much to do!
I can't even tell you how incredibly "busy" I was during recess in high school. Also during free hours and any kind of down time... so much to do!
You had recess in high school?
I had breaks. That's what I meant. What did you think I meant? Something other than that? Or where you just being a pedant?
Sorry, I was being sincere. We had "recess" in elementary school, where we'd go out for 15-30 minutes and play. If you meant the 5 minute breaks between classes I don't remember what we called them, probably breaks. I wondered if you went to some odd high school that had breaks to go play in the fields.
Sure, we had 5 minutes or whatever short breaks between classes. Though I said that I was "busy" during all periods of free time that I had to spend within the school (lunches, free hours, etc.), so I don't think the distinction matters in this case. :)
(For that matter: I didn't really go to "high school", I'm just using that as the name for my school system's equivalent of year 11 to 13.)
(For that matter: I didn't really go to "high school", I'm just using that as the name for my school system's equivalent of year 11 to 13.)
> It could also help individual people to cope with social anxieties by being "busy".
Yes, and sometimes meetings serve only this purpose. For example, oh I'm sorry Mr. X is in a meeting that he has scheduled for every time you call.
Yes, and sometimes meetings serve only this purpose. For example, oh I'm sorry Mr. X is in a meeting that he has scheduled for every time you call.
The stats for the Netherlands are partially skewed by the fact that although there is technically a high participation of women in the workforce, but many if not most of them only work part-time. That significantly brings down the average.
This article only focuses on one aspect of "busy" -- working.
The real problem is "time inflation." This is the name given to the fact that there is more to DO than ever because life is generally becoming more complicated, and because companies and government entities have decided to make you responsible for large portions of their business processes as a cost saving measure. Government is always the worst since the relationship is not voluntary.
Some real examples from my own life: * IRS sends me a letter saying I didn't pay taxes from a stock transaction in 2011, tells me I have 60 days to prove otherwise or I automatically owe the money.
* When I was a kid, grocery stores removed the items from your basket and rang them up. Then conveyor belts became more common and you were expected to place your groceries on the belts. Now, some stores don't even have checkers, you scan and bag your own groceries (fresh and easy for instance).
* Target has a security breach and I need to sign up for credit card monitoring and do due diligence, read my statements etc-- the banking industry has created a massively vulnerable payment system which requires my constant vigilance.
* I ordered an electric weed whacker from woot. It arrived broken (I'm already being used as product testing-- they should have tested it not me). Woot won't take it back, they suggest calling the manufacturer. The manufacturer actually asks me if I have a multimeter and screwdriver so I can test various components so they can send me a new part. Buying a weed whacker has now cost me 5 hours of my weekend, as I have become product tester and repair staff.
* Get pulled over for a missing tail light, police officer writes a "fix-it" ticket for "incorrect instrumentation" or some such nonsense. What was weird about this was, the CHP officer who inspected my car said he had NEVER seen a ticket for this before.
* The city I live in apparently goes through your tax returns, and saw that I had $400 of 1099 income. The city defines ANY 1099 income as operating a business and requires me to get a business license and pay taxes on the income, I have to spend a whole day at the city hall getting a business license (I in no way operate a business) under threat of going to jail.
* Apple recalls my phone, I have to make two pilgrimages to the Apple store, each time backing up my phone completely and restoring it. Total cost, 4 hours.
* Anything relating to medical care is a CLUSTER, I could write a novel on just this.
Some more mundane annoyances are simply plays for my attention:
* Despite being very diligent about unsubscribing I get 40 or so emails a day from random companies I have done business with sometime in the last 10 years.
* The USPS brings me junk mail every day that I never, ever look at. It goes straight to the trash. Still about 30 seconds/day goes to this.
MASSIVE time sinks in my life:
* Inadequate transportation infrastructure in my county means I spend needless hours on the road.
* Purposefully poorly designed store ques. In the US most store ques are about 30% less efficient than optimal and all is required is a slight redesign of the area. The correct type of store que is where there is one line that feeds all registers-- in that way nobody can get stuck behind a customer whose taking a long time. (Think Fry's vs. Costco). I shop as much as I can online but cannot purchase groceries online obviously.
While none of these examples is particularly egregious the net effect of this and hundreds of other of annoyances is that I always have something to worry about. All of these companies / government entities waste my time on to infinity because it costs them nothing to do so and I am powerless to stop them.
The real problem is "time inflation." This is the name given to the fact that there is more to DO than ever because life is generally becoming more complicated, and because companies and government entities have decided to make you responsible for large portions of their business processes as a cost saving measure. Government is always the worst since the relationship is not voluntary.
Some real examples from my own life: * IRS sends me a letter saying I didn't pay taxes from a stock transaction in 2011, tells me I have 60 days to prove otherwise or I automatically owe the money.
* When I was a kid, grocery stores removed the items from your basket and rang them up. Then conveyor belts became more common and you were expected to place your groceries on the belts. Now, some stores don't even have checkers, you scan and bag your own groceries (fresh and easy for instance).
* Target has a security breach and I need to sign up for credit card monitoring and do due diligence, read my statements etc-- the banking industry has created a massively vulnerable payment system which requires my constant vigilance.
* I ordered an electric weed whacker from woot. It arrived broken (I'm already being used as product testing-- they should have tested it not me). Woot won't take it back, they suggest calling the manufacturer. The manufacturer actually asks me if I have a multimeter and screwdriver so I can test various components so they can send me a new part. Buying a weed whacker has now cost me 5 hours of my weekend, as I have become product tester and repair staff.
* Get pulled over for a missing tail light, police officer writes a "fix-it" ticket for "incorrect instrumentation" or some such nonsense. What was weird about this was, the CHP officer who inspected my car said he had NEVER seen a ticket for this before.
* The city I live in apparently goes through your tax returns, and saw that I had $400 of 1099 income. The city defines ANY 1099 income as operating a business and requires me to get a business license and pay taxes on the income, I have to spend a whole day at the city hall getting a business license (I in no way operate a business) under threat of going to jail.
* Apple recalls my phone, I have to make two pilgrimages to the Apple store, each time backing up my phone completely and restoring it. Total cost, 4 hours.
* Anything relating to medical care is a CLUSTER, I could write a novel on just this.
Some more mundane annoyances are simply plays for my attention:
* Despite being very diligent about unsubscribing I get 40 or so emails a day from random companies I have done business with sometime in the last 10 years.
* The USPS brings me junk mail every day that I never, ever look at. It goes straight to the trash. Still about 30 seconds/day goes to this.
MASSIVE time sinks in my life:
* Inadequate transportation infrastructure in my county means I spend needless hours on the road.
* Purposefully poorly designed store ques. In the US most store ques are about 30% less efficient than optimal and all is required is a slight redesign of the area. The correct type of store que is where there is one line that feeds all registers-- in that way nobody can get stuck behind a customer whose taking a long time. (Think Fry's vs. Costco). I shop as much as I can online but cannot purchase groceries online obviously.
While none of these examples is particularly egregious the net effect of this and hundreds of other of annoyances is that I always have something to worry about. All of these companies / government entities waste my time on to infinity because it costs them nothing to do so and I am powerless to stop them.
>* Purposefully poorly designed store ques. In the US most store ques are about 30% less efficient than optimal and all is required is a slight redesign of the area. The correct type of store que is where there is one line that feeds all registers-- in that way nobody can get stuck behind a customer whose taking a long time. (Think Fry's vs. Costco). I shop as much as I can online but cannot purchase groceries online obviously.
Just to let you know, Whole Foods does this in its New York stores. Oh, and you can order groceries online here, Google will deliver stuff from Target, Costco, etc in the same day, public transportation is good and fast. Next time, tell the weed whacker manufacturer to screw themselves and honor their warranty or you'll file a Deceptive Trade Practices Act suit; you're not their diagnostician.
Add to your list: reading social link aggregation sites and writing long comments on them :)
Just to let you know, Whole Foods does this in its New York stores. Oh, and you can order groceries online here, Google will deliver stuff from Target, Costco, etc in the same day, public transportation is good and fast. Next time, tell the weed whacker manufacturer to screw themselves and honor their warranty or you'll file a Deceptive Trade Practices Act suit; you're not their diagnostician.
Add to your list: reading social link aggregation sites and writing long comments on them :)
I'm not really sure what this "work-hours" data is capturing.
My parents were teachers and I remember them marking after school and some weekends. My wife is now a teacher and she has after school meetings at least once a week, spends hours marking every night and weekends, plus a lot of her holiday preparing new lessons and admin. Contractually she has the exact same hours and holidays my parents had but her life is nothing like theirs.
For myself I'm a scientist and people have worked long hours since I was a student - but it used to tail off as people got into their 30s and became more secure, maybe got a stable position, teaching, and students of their own. Now this seems to have been pushed back to an ever receding horizon and people work long long hours competing to get the next grant or next placement, to keep their heads above water right up till retirement. Of course academics all contractually work a 40 hour week.
I guess its anecdotal but I see the same sort of things amongst my friends in tech and pharma. Their laptops and mobiles have enslaved them.
Maybe I was blind to it when young but I don't remember my parents generation - their friends, my relatives working like that.
My parents were teachers and I remember them marking after school and some weekends. My wife is now a teacher and she has after school meetings at least once a week, spends hours marking every night and weekends, plus a lot of her holiday preparing new lessons and admin. Contractually she has the exact same hours and holidays my parents had but her life is nothing like theirs.
For myself I'm a scientist and people have worked long hours since I was a student - but it used to tail off as people got into their 30s and became more secure, maybe got a stable position, teaching, and students of their own. Now this seems to have been pushed back to an ever receding horizon and people work long long hours competing to get the next grant or next placement, to keep their heads above water right up till retirement. Of course academics all contractually work a 40 hour week.
I guess its anecdotal but I see the same sort of things amongst my friends in tech and pharma. Their laptops and mobiles have enslaved them.
Maybe I was blind to it when young but I don't remember my parents generation - their friends, my relatives working like that.
The data looks like it comes from the American Time Use Survey.
http://www.bls.gov/tus/
It's collected via time diaries, not contractual hours worked.
http://www.bls.gov/tus/
It's collected via time diaries, not contractual hours worked.
> My parents were teachers and I remember them marking after school and some weekends. My wife is now a teacher and she has after school meetings at least once a week, spends hours marking every night and weekends, plus a lot of her holiday preparing new lessons and admin. Contractually she has the exact same hours and holidays my parents had but her life is nothing like theirs.
Same experience here. This was in the middle of Africa yet students will have to be graded and life has to go on.
> Now this seems to have been pushed back to an ever receding horizon and people work long long hours competing to get the next grant or next placement, to keep their heads above water right up till retirement.
In the U.S. academia is not that competitive after tenure (most of the time). Of course, you may have a drive to have students, which may drive you to acquire grants and so on.
> I guess its anecdotal but I see the same sort of things amongst my friends in tech and pharma.
My experience in tech has been an upward increase in work load with increase in experience. Funnily enough this has been correlated with greater freedom. The less freedom I had, the more I was inclined to put in my 8 hours and check out. Now, the more the freedom that I have, the more I realize that I am always on and I have to force myself to switch off and do other things.
Same experience here. This was in the middle of Africa yet students will have to be graded and life has to go on.
> Now this seems to have been pushed back to an ever receding horizon and people work long long hours competing to get the next grant or next placement, to keep their heads above water right up till retirement.
In the U.S. academia is not that competitive after tenure (most of the time). Of course, you may have a drive to have students, which may drive you to acquire grants and so on.
> I guess its anecdotal but I see the same sort of things amongst my friends in tech and pharma.
My experience in tech has been an upward increase in work load with increase in experience. Funnily enough this has been correlated with greater freedom. The less freedom I had, the more I was inclined to put in my 8 hours and check out. Now, the more the freedom that I have, the more I realize that I am always on and I have to force myself to switch off and do other things.
As a European I am always amazed how much the US-citizen work. Very little vacation, very little security and a atmosphere of a very (very very, haha) competetive nature.
As an American I am always laughing each time I read this. There are people on both sides who choose to work a long number of hours. I would not be surprised to read the numbers are not to dissimilar.
Far too much of this workaholic issue only occurs because people want lifestyles they otherwise could not afford. Two cars, the big house or exclusive location, the island vacations, and such, are not necessary for a happy life. Yet there are many who think so and adapt to make it happen. I don't begrudge them for a minute
Far too much of this workaholic issue only occurs because people want lifestyles they otherwise could not afford. Two cars, the big house or exclusive location, the island vacations, and such, are not necessary for a happy life. Yet there are many who think so and adapt to make it happen. I don't begrudge them for a minute
I will disagree with your first point. As a European who has lived in the US now for over a decade, I can say the OP is correct. Yes, there are people in Europe who do put in long hours, but the overall atmosphere/attitude (for lack of better terms) of work is remarkably different. In the US, you can work without abandon, all day, every day, take no vacation or personal time, neglect your time at home and be hailed as an exemplary for your work ethic. In Europe, the pervasive attitude towards a lifestyle like this is quite contrary to being exemplary. Failing to take vacation time is frowned upon to say the least and often is forbidden depending on your location. Even something a small as working on Sundays will bring disdain from your neighbours. Again, this is not to say that you cannot find the US "work lifestyle" in Europe, it's just that it is not as glorified as it is in the US.
> In Europe, the pervasive attitude towards a lifestyle like this is quite contrary to being exemplary. Failing to take vacation time is frowned upon to say the least and often is forbidden depending on your location. Even something a small as working on Sundays will bring disdain from your neighbours.
Make sure you're not the tallest poppy...
Make sure you're not the tallest poppy...
This is only an anecdote, but I am a German contractor and when I work long hours, I usually send my emails and push my code on the next morning - still being at work after 20:00 would seem unprofessional and awkward :)
> a atmosphere of a very (very very, haha) competetive nature.
I would call it fear. There is very little actual competitiveness in the workforce, but it looks that way as people go about trying to look important as they fear the next guy who can and will do the same job for $1/h less. The fear of taking vacation is part of this, well, for the few that get vacation time.
American priorities are messed up, work yourself to death so you can retire and enjoy life when your too useless to work.
I would call it fear. There is very little actual competitiveness in the workforce, but it looks that way as people go about trying to look important as they fear the next guy who can and will do the same job for $1/h less. The fear of taking vacation is part of this, well, for the few that get vacation time.
American priorities are messed up, work yourself to death so you can retire and enjoy life when your too useless to work.
Yeah, it's absolutely disgusting how desperate and beaten down the American proliteriat is. We have to ask permission to take vacation or sick days, and both are frowned upon. How long you are seen to be working is a very important statistic for workplace prestige, far eclipsing the actual amount or quality of work done. It's important to be seen working long hours, that way when the lay-offs come (and they will come) you aren't in the "slacker" pile like the people only working 9 to 6. Most people think this is the normal and right way to do things, and are fearful of "lazy" systems practiced by the effeminate Europeans. I'm not exaggerating. People actually think this.
I'm not sure there's anyone with a spine to make it change; when I've raised the issue of unionization to my co-workers I tend to get blank or vaguely fearful stares for bringing up something so untouchably controversial.
I'm not sure there's anyone with a spine to make it change; when I've raised the issue of unionization to my co-workers I tend to get blank or vaguely fearful stares for bringing up something so untouchably controversial.
You are right, and not exaggerating; the workplace culture is more toxic than the labor laws themselves.
In the US, the capital is the big winner (business owner, investors, etc.) Labor loses hard -- even if you are a highly paid professional you are still going to succumb to an unsustainable culture that ruins your QOL.
And please, nobody counter this with stories about how your cool startup or tech job isn't like that. I'm talking about the majority, not various niches and exceptions to the rules.
In the US, the capital is the big winner (business owner, investors, etc.) Labor loses hard -- even if you are a highly paid professional you are still going to succumb to an unsustainable culture that ruins your QOL.
And please, nobody counter this with stories about how your cool startup or tech job isn't like that. I'm talking about the majority, not various niches and exceptions to the rules.
Oh please, enough with this already. I work in the U.S. for a European company. Those who are competitive are competitive irrespective of nationality or culture; it transcends the atlantic. It is not like there is a magical government employee nature of things in Europe either.
If you include all Americans, not just working Americans, the amount of time spent not working has spiked dramatically. Kids are staying in school longer; the labour force participation rate is dropping as blue collar jobs disappear; people are retiring earlier and living longer.
Recently posted, related article (New Yorker) and discussion (144 comments)
Article: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2014/05/26/14052...
Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7769610
Article: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2014/05/26/14052...
Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7769610
This article defines leisure as "time spent not working" and then observes that the underemployed segment of our society gets to enjoy an abundance of (presumably, in large measure, involuntary) "leisure."
"High pay is highly rewarding," Kolbert writes, and in a winner-take-all economy, we're motivated to put in extra-long hours to, well, win.
We trade time for money. If you enjoy your work, and someone is willing to give you a large sum of money for your time, then working long hours makes sense... but only if you couldn't be doing something that you'd like even more than money with that time. For example, a reasonably high level executive position might pay you $250k/year for 20 years - so $5m - but it'd take you away from your family doing business travelling for 2 weeks out of every month. Would you trade a total of 10 years away from your family for $5m? Some people would. I wouldn't.
We trade time for money. If you enjoy your work, and someone is willing to give you a large sum of money for your time, then working long hours makes sense... but only if you couldn't be doing something that you'd like even more than money with that time. For example, a reasonably high level executive position might pay you $250k/year for 20 years - so $5m - but it'd take you away from your family doing business travelling for 2 weeks out of every month. Would you trade a total of 10 years away from your family for $5m? Some people would. I wouldn't.
A lot of the time it's not particularly a fair trade, either.
Salaried employees can typically be forced to work upwards of the 40 hours they are officially bartering with for money. The money doesn't scale with time or effort put in, which is one of the contributing causes to burnout and do-nothing-but-still-so-"busy"-ism.
Salaried employees can typically be forced to work upwards of the 40 hours they are officially bartering with for money. The money doesn't scale with time or effort put in, which is one of the contributing causes to burnout and do-nothing-but-still-so-"busy"-ism.
Here is a blog post by a psychiatrist on work/life balance. Basically: One of our time's great sociological questions is why we filled downtime back up with work, and the reason is it's better than alcoholism.
Try to look past the writing style you probably won't like at first: http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2014/01/randi_zuckerberg.html
Try to look past the writing style you probably won't like at first: http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2014/01/randi_zuckerberg.html
Work hours have been steady to slightly declining, especially factoring in higher unemployment, longer between-jobs periods, and (one good change) the increase of remote work, as people just get sick of spending 8 hours in an white-painted anxiety-box that, in many cases, has nothing to do with getting work done.
Work-related anxiety has gone way up. People work slightly shorter days (8-9 hours for white-collar workers instead of 9-10) but are a lot more drained at the end of them. In software, this is due to tightly-packed open-plan offices, increasingly unreasonable expectations regarding availability and timeframe, and declining autonomy due to the abuse of technology and processes (like "Agile", which started with great intentions).
The real work has gotten easier (in some cases, so much easier as to be an anxiety-causing factor in its own right, due to boredom) and hours have gone down slightly (but with more variance) but the full-time impression management job has become more competitive, much more mean-spirited, and far more draining.
Watch Mad Men. It explains so much more about white-collar culture than I could ever get into here. At the time, that was the most stressful, painful, and socially demanding white-collar job in the country-- which is why people doing it, by the standards of the time, were paid extremely well. Now, that's the mainstream corporate culture.
Work-related anxiety has gone way up. People work slightly shorter days (8-9 hours for white-collar workers instead of 9-10) but are a lot more drained at the end of them. In software, this is due to tightly-packed open-plan offices, increasingly unreasonable expectations regarding availability and timeframe, and declining autonomy due to the abuse of technology and processes (like "Agile", which started with great intentions).
The real work has gotten easier (in some cases, so much easier as to be an anxiety-causing factor in its own right, due to boredom) and hours have gone down slightly (but with more variance) but the full-time impression management job has become more competitive, much more mean-spirited, and far more draining.
Watch Mad Men. It explains so much more about white-collar culture than I could ever get into here. At the time, that was the most stressful, painful, and socially demanding white-collar job in the country-- which is why people doing it, by the standards of the time, were paid extremely well. Now, that's the mainstream corporate culture.
I wouldn't be surprised if the same were happening in the States. I don't believe people can be super-productive more than 5 hours a day unless they work on something they are passionate about or are on drugs.
From my experience, just walking away from a difficult problem, taking time to walk in the forest, relax on the beach, playing sports with friends, doing completely unrelated relaxing things with total focus often leads to sudden inspirations on how to tackle difficult problems. It's like life is telling me to relax and rewards me with great ideas that can be immediately executed, for being just well balanced.
I remember flying with one US businessman between Hawaiian islands, and he curiously asked me how many vacation days do I have - when I told him it's 6 weeks, he went on to complain about how crazy is it in the States, with average of 8.5 day or so of vacation per year.
People, please live your lives!