Productivity in many European countries is actually higher per hour than in the U.S. The U.S. merely leads productivity in annual numbers, and this is simply because we work so many hours a year. But we pay a heavy price for it. We suffer far more stress-related illnesses, and we pay higher medical costs than in other nations but have worse outcomes, largely because the typical American workstyle leaves little time for people to take care of their own health and well-being.
We are the only industrial society in the world that does not guarantee some sort of paid vacation to its workers. The average American gets 14 paid vacation days annually, but also gives back 4 days, simply by not taking them, for fear of being seen as "slackers" by their bosses, or because of a lack of support at work in the form of there being anyone to cover for them while vacationing. It's hard to enjoy time off when you know that you'll return to stacks of tasks undone and will probably have to work even harder for weeks after your vacation just to catch up.
25% of the workforce here gets no paid vacation. 37% of women earning under $40k get no paid vacation.
Vacation time is actually lower now than in the past. Only 14% of Americans will get a vacation of two weeks or longer this year. (The number is somewhat higher for Canadians, who generally get longer vacations and more paid family leave than Americans. But Canadians are working more now than a generation ago and feeling the pressure of time stress and hurried lifestyles.)
In the U.S. families take 1/3 fewer vacations now than in the 70's. Few people take blocks of time for vacation, such as the two-week family trip that some of us can still remember from our childhoods. Today, most of us fortunate enough to even have paid time off at all spread out our vacation days, opting for long weekends and "mini-vacations", which don't actually do much to reduce worker stress or to refuel the mind, body and spirit. Also, many parents wind up having to use vacation days to deal with sick children or their own illnesses. Some vacation, eh?
Take Back Your Time is a major U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, our families and relationships, our communities and our environment. October 24th Is Take Back Your Time Day.
From the Take Back Your Time website:
* We're putting in longer hours on the job now than we did in the 1950s, despite promises of a coming age of leisure before the year 2000.
* In fact, we're working more than medieval peasants did, and more than the citizens of any other industrial country.
* Mandatory overtime is at near record levels, in spite of a recession.
* On average, we work nearly nine full weeks (350 hours) LONGER per year than our peers in Western Europe do.
* Working Americans average a little over two weeks of vacation per year, while Europeans average five to six weeks. Many of us (including 37% of women earning less than $40,000 per year) get no paid vacation at all.
Contemporary Americans complain of unprecedented levels of busyness in everyday life. They worry about frenetic schedules, hurried children, couples with no time together, families who rarely eat meals together, and an onslaught of "hidden work" from proliferating emails, junk mail, and telemarketing calls. The Girl Scouts recently introduced a "Stress Free" merit badge for today's harried young girls.
CANADIANS FEEL THE PRESSURE TOO
While Canadians work somewhat less than Americans do, and enjoy longer vacations and paid family leave, they are also working more now than a generation ago and feeling the pressure of time stress and hurried lifestyles. Many have joined our campaign.
TIME STRESS HURTS ALL OF US IN DIFFERENT WAYS
* Time stress threatens our health. It leads to fatigue, accidents and injuries. It reduces time for exercise and encourages consumption of calorie-laden fast foods.
* Job stress and burnout costs the U.S. economy more than $300 billion a year.
* Time stress threatens our marriages, families and relationships as we find less time for each other, less time to care for our children and elders, less time to just hang out.
* It weakens our communities. We have less time to know our neighbors, supervise our young people, and volunteer.
* It reduces employment as fewer people are hired and then required to work longer hours, or are hired for poor part-time jobs without benefits.
* It leaves many of us with little time to vote, much less be informed, active citizens.
* It leaves us little time for ourselves, for self-development, or for spiritual growth.
* It leads to growing neglect and abuse of pets.
* It even contributes to the destruction of our environment. Studies show that lack of time encourages use of convenience and throwaway items and reduces recycling.
Check out the website and get involved in the movement to change the laws (and cultural expectations) so that we can all work for a living, instead of having to live for work.
