Do Americans Work Too Much?

Today, Americans are logging longer hours on the job than ever--more than medieval peasants. We are working ourselves to death, said the co-author of "Affluenza" and national coordinator of the "Take Back Your Time" movement.

"It's not good for our health, for our families and communities, or for our environment," said de Graaf. "We don't have to make work (the center of) our entire lives."

But many of us do. The average American works nine weeks more each year than their European counterparts, according to de Graaf's book, "Take Back Your Time."

We also have the shortest paid vacations in the industrialized world--an average of two weeks compared to the four or five weeks of paid leave many Europeans get by law. Twenty-six percent of workers take no vacation at all.

"That's pretty shocking when you understand that for vacation to do its work, to improve our health, our productivity and mental health, (studies show) you usually need at least two weeks," he said.

The toll is tangible: An annual vacation can cut a man's risk of heart attack by 30 percent and a woman's by 50 percent, he said, citing research studies. Europeans over age 55 are only half as likely to have the kinds of chronic diseases from which many Americans suffer, including heart disease and hypertension.

"We are by far the least healthy nation (among industrialized nations) and we spend twice as much on health care," he said.

Our children are paying a price, too. Unstructured, outdoor playtime is largely a thing of the past. And the number of American families eating dinner together at least four times a week is falling, from 83 percent in 1997 to 75 percent in 2004. That's crucial since researchers say the nightly ritual can help prevent teens from smoking cigarettes or marijuana, drinking alcohol, getting lower grades, suffering depression or attempting suicide.

What will happen when we retire and don't have the job to go to? We had better learn how to do something other than work now. There's no time like the present to have some fun!

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http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=LEISURETIME-04-12-07


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