November 8, 2009
sabine: STRIKING the right balance between life and work can be tricky. Employees in European countries tend to have a better deal than most, enjoying more days off work than their counterparts in Asia or America. Workers in Finland, France and Brazil have the most generous statutory allowance, getting 30 days of holiday every year. Americans work longer hours: theirs is the only rich country that does not give any statutory paid holiday. (In practice, most workers get around 15 days off.) This work ethic may in turn help to explain Americans’ material wealth. Even adjusting for purchasing-power parity, America generates more wealth per person than all but a handful of mainly oil-rich economies such as Norway. (via) While it would seem that the amount of hours American workers are paying off — building more wealth per person than any other county — I wish the Economist would look at the sociological cost of working so many hours: from personal health to family relations. Is it any wonder that the most-worked nation is also the fattest in the world’s leading economies? To make things worse, one-third of Americans don’t even use all of their vacation days. A survey by Expedia found that the average American didn’t use four of their allotted holiday time, putting $76 billion back into the pockets of their employers. (via)……….

sabine:

STRIKING the right balance between life and work can be tricky. Employees in European countries tend to have a better deal than most, enjoying more days off work than their counterparts in Asia or America. Workers in Finland, France and Brazil have the most generous statutory allowance, getting 30 days of holiday every year. Americans work longer hours: theirs is the only rich country that does not give any statutory paid holiday. (In practice, most workers get around 15 days off.) This work ethic may in turn help to explain Americans’ material wealth. Even adjusting for purchasing-power parity, America generates more wealth per person than all but a handful of mainly oil-rich economies such as Norway.

(via)

While it would seem that the amount of hours American workers are paying off — building more wealth per person than any other county — I wish the Economist would look at the sociological cost of working so many hours: from personal health to family relations. Is it any wonder that the most-worked nation is also the fattest in the world’s leading economies?

To make things worse, one-third of Americans don’t even use all of their vacation days. A survey by Expedia found that the average American didn’t use four of their allotted holiday time, putting $76 billion back into the pockets of their employers. (via)……….