In Derek Thompson’s “A World Without Work” he cites John Maynard Keynes, who once predicted technological progress would allow for a 15 hour work week, yet according to the US bureau of labor statistics, in 2015 the average full time employee was working 8.06 hours a day. This adds up to be approximately 40.3 hours per week. In order to stay competitive in the global economy, America has kept the workforce working longer hours compared to other economically competitive countries even though it has been detrimental to the workforce’s health. The most bothersome part though is that the long hours are not even necessary. France, a country with a GDP per capita of $42,200 according to the C.I.A. World Fact Book, works on average 12 hours less a …show more content…
More time with their families means they can take care of domestic stress, because according to APA “73 percent of parents report family responsibilities as a significant source of stress”. Considering 73% of parents attribute family responsibilities as a main source of stress allowing more time for them to take care of their family and their family responsibilities as stated by Hartesh Pannu, who is a professor at Chandigarh Group Of Colleges in a study on the outcomes of stress “spending more time with kids” reduces stress. This would benefit the employee and the employer. The employee because they would have less stress to deal with in general. This would also help the employer, because a less stressed workforce means a more productive force. With this more productive workforce the employees themselves have less stress at …show more content…
With a lower unemployment rate the government is able to spend less time and money on the social services such as food stamps or welfare. Instead they could bring down national debt making America more prominent in the global economy or even reduce income taxes or taxes in general as they no longer have as much need for it, benefitting the average American. Further benefitting the American workforce through the reduction of hindering psychological issues leaving a stronger and healthier economy and workforce. Implementing a shorter work would take time though. There are two major issues that intertwine preventing a shorter workweek. The first being the current culture of America as Nixon states in his Labor Day address “work ethic holds that labor is good in itself… work ethic is ingrained in the American character”(Peters and Wooly). Americans like to work America is a nation of workaholics, which is negatively affecting their mentality and ability to productively work. The other issue being government implementation. A shorter work week would take massive amounts of legislation. It took from 1982 to 2004 for France to get a handle on a shorter work week (Gillies). Twenty two years is a long time considering they didn’t even have a two party system when trying to pass these laws. These
Ada: From Helpless to Productive In the novel Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, main characters are featured: Inman and Ada. Throughout the book, Ada struggles to survive on her late father’s estate. She goes from almost helpless to admitting she needed help to fully productive on the estate, but not without Ruby’s assistance.
Critical Review The Working Poor: Invisible in America David K. Shipler is a book that could be most accurately described as eye-opening. Shipler opens up the book on his claim that “nobody who works hard should be poor in America.” America is built upon the idea that the harder one works, the better off one will be. Shipler then goes on to explain how the poor, often times, work the hardest jobs and are put into the worse conditions, but still do not grow to become the most successful. Using their lives as examples, Shipler illustrates the struggles the working poor face while attempting to escape poverty.
The search of identity is an issue familiar to contemporary society as well as to the society of 1963 when Betty Friedan published her feminist manifesto The Feminine Mystique. The main idea of Friedan 's article, "The Importance of Work," is the question of how individuals can recognize their full capacities and achieve identity. She argues that human identity is meaningful purposeful work, and individuals are not identified as women or men, just human based upon their work. Friedan believes work is what an individual does in his or her life; for example, snowboarding, songwriting, hockey, football etc. Friedan was an author, an activist, and the first president of the National Organization for Women.
Workers fought for shorter work weeks and the government responded in January 1912 creating a 54-hour limit per work week. Companies responded with a lower take home per week due to the new law. This made workers go onto strike fighting for better pay and shorter hours, these strikes were
In her essay, “The Importance of Work,” from The Feminine Mystique published in 1963, Betty Friedan confronts American women’s search for identity. Throughout the novel, Betty Friedan breaks new ground, concocting the idea that women can discover personal fulfillment by straying away from their original roles. Friedan ponders on the idea that The Feminine Mystique is the cause for a vast majority of women during that time period to feel confined by their occupations around the house; therefore, restricting them from discovering who they are as women. Friedan’s novel is well known for creating a different kind of feminism and rousing various women across the nation.
The Progressive Era lasted from the 1890’s to the early 1920’s. It was centralized around socialism and political reform. One of the major changes that took place during this era, was the labor legislation. Many workers were working long shifts, for several days straight, making their work life just about unbearable, and unworkable conditions. The job environment had become to where it was unsafe, unsanitary, and unregulated conditions for very low wages.
As a student I am guaranteed time off year around so that I can relax and overcome the stress that school causes. Most workers, like my mother, work hours that are far longer than the time I spend in school. Considering this, what is stopping the government from guaranteeing a certain number of paid time days off to employees? My investigation originally began with “Save Our Vacation,” from Time magazine by Jack Dickey.
They had horrible working hours and usually had to work six days a week or maybe even seven. In some cases, laborers had to work from 3am till 7pm. The Government took notice and addressed this issue in the International Labor Congress in which representatives demand a reduction on working hours (6). Another issue that was addressed was the fact that workers had no health insurance if they suffered from any injuries while doing their jobs. The representatives called for factories to treat the lives and limbs of their workers as sacred and help pay for the injuries (6).
Before unions, the working class in the United States was subject to long, unforgiving hours. Sinclair describes in several cases how characters were victims of seemingly endless days in the factory. Sinclair writes, “She works in a canning factory, and all day long she handles cans of beef that weigh fourteen pounds” (Sinclair 9). Historically, there were no regulations on wages or hours. Employers would squeeze their employees out of all the work that they had.
They had to find a way to meet the needs of society and not just what the country wanted. The country around Europe wanted to make as much money as possible but it was at a big cost. William Alexander Abram, “ The Hours of Labor in Factories Act, passed in 1844… the excessive hours of labor have legally reduced to ten hours per day. Wages— thanks mainly to accelerated machinery and improved working conditions— have largely increased.”
Work Conditions in the 1800’s were worse than bad. A regular work day was 11.4 hours for Men women and children. Many factories had rapidly moving pieces of machinery. Those machines where very dangerous to work around. These machines being fast moving belts to crushers that wouldn't stop on a dime.
Factory owners also lengthened the hours of workers shifts, to the point where employees were working over 14 hours per day, regardless of age (Source G). The long hours workers of all ages were subjected to shows that the industrial revolution had a significant impact on the lives of textile workers. Secondly,
The life of an industrial worker was very hard. Workers had to work long shifts and get paid very little. Some worked ten to twelve hours a day, six days a week, and made less than one dollar per hour. Along with long hours and little pay, there was no regulation for breaks, safety, or age. Due to this, one in eleven workers died on the job.
As times became more modern, most healthcare facility turned a blind eye to mandatory overtime even though it is illegal, they still force nurses to work more hours than they are
There’s no typical family as nuclear families as in the past and not everyone lives in a multigenerational household. Same-sex families are also on the rise as sexual ambiguity is undergoing its own wave of acceptance in all political, social, and economic spheres. With the absence of the parents’ presence in the home due to an inability effectively balance work and home life, children could develop an emotional void/absence. Good communicative dialogue between children and their parents where the adults describe their work situation as it relates to the home to create resilient children, could possibly benefit the household.