DABASINSKAS

Alissa Dabasinskas
Professor James Celestino
English 2010
10 November 2015
Get a Life

The alarm clock rings, and you grudgingly look at your phone that reads 6:30AM.
Its time for you to get out of bed and be to work by 8AM. By the time you get to work, you are
already stressed and dreading the day. You will have hours of hectic work load and others where
you cant seem to focus on any task at hand. You work hard, stressed, and you may even work
through lunch just to get more overtime or finish the project you started. Then you go home, to
friends and family, where you spend the next 4-6 hours before you are too tired, and you head to
bed.
Americans stay slaves to their work desks and computers for long hours, and
many view the 40-hour work week as slacking. But are we really accomplishing more with
longer work hours? Not necessarily. Many reporters have come across the same information:
Americans are in a work crisis. We stay chained to our work chairs, dragging them with us even
when we arrive at home. We do not have the balance of time given between work and our
families, or ourselves.
Other countries are changing their models, hoping to accomplish an ideal work
week for their citizens. Many understand that Americans are workaholics A Serbian explains
the way the American work model is looked at, The American model is looked down upon as
harsh capitalistic, individualistic and above all alienated, as American parents are not

perceived to provide enough financial and emotional support for their children. In fact my family
and friends had observed that I shouldn't have chosen America, since I would probably feel
better in Western Europe -- where life is not as fast paced as in the US and capitalism still has a
human face"(HuffPost). Many writers have outlines the dangers of isolation and careerism in
American society including: disconnect from families and friends, lack of satisfaction in home
and work life, and an unhealthy atmosphere (physically and emotionally). Just how much more
do we work than everybody else? For example, Americans still work nine full weeks (350
hours) longer than West Europeans do and paid vacation days across Western Europe are well
above the US threshold. (HuffPost). Our lives have become sucked into a never ending cycle of
wanting to be home more, and yet wanting to impress our boss to earn more money and for us to
be the reason for our companys success. Many employees work incredible hours just to store
overtime, In order to rack up those extra hours, half of those surveyed [by Digital Journal] said
they start checking work email from bed in the morning, while 69 percent said they logged in
again just before going to bed (HuffPost). This extra work is eating into family time which is
essential for emotional balance within adults and environmental growth within a child. Children
whose fathers spend time with them doing activities tend to have better academic performance,
and are less likely to engage in violence.
But perhaps the inability of Americans to turn away from their work lives isn't too
surprising, given the country's reputation as one of the world's most vacation-deprived.
Americans earn fewer vacation days than people in most countries, but still leave 2 days unused
on average (Expedia). See chart below for major countries average vacation days. It has long
been known that working too much leads to life-shortening stress. It also leads to disengagement

DABASINSKAS 3

at work, as focus simply cannot be sustained for much longer than 50 hours a week. Henry Ford
knew the problem with overwork when he cut his employees schedules from 48-hour weeks to
40-hour weeks. He believed that working more than 40 hours a week had been causing his
employees to make many errors, as he recounted in his autobiography, My Life and Work
(Civil Beat). Though as much knowledge we have on stress, and as wonderful as it sounds to
take off for vacation, there is underlying stress and guilt associated with the risk of taking off
too much time. Though what most employers fail to recognize is that taking time off doesnt
just boost productivity, but also economic growth, If American workers who get paid vacations

actually took all of their dayswe leave about three days on the table on averageand if just
some of them traveled, it would add $227 billion to the economy (New Republic).

In addition to little vacation, America, Oman and Papua New Guinea are the only
countries out of 185 that dont guarantee some form of paid maternity leave, and 78 of those
countries also offer paid paternity leave. Creating a system on a national level to help families
develop, may be the solution and one that wouldnt include risk. three statesCalifornia (which
Eric Garcia wrote about this week), New Jersey, and Rhode Islandhave instituted paid family
leave programs, and theyve shown that they can be implemented without costs or headaches for
businesses. In California and New Jersey, businesses report that they havent been
inconvenienced by the systems, and some have actually seen benefits. American workers also
arent guaranteed a paid day off if they or their family members get sick, unlike in 22 developed
peers. Guaranteeing these days could also happen without hurting businesses or the economy. In
Connecticut, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.places that have instituted such
leaveemployers report few, if any, costs, plus increases in productivity, reductions in turnover,
and normal growth (New Republic).
What if we viewed leisure time: not as goofing off but as
necessary time for reflecting and building relationships with friends and family? Internationally,
Sweden is trying to calculate the most productive number of weekly work hours for employees.
An ongoing year-long study that began last July is comparing the productivity of employees who
work six hours per day with those who work the traditional eight hours, to see if there is any
difference in their output. Sweden is also measuring employee sick days, illness rates and overall
happiness. Both groups of workers are being paid the same wages (Civil Beat). Could it be that
we have something to learn from the work-life balance from countries like Germany and France.
France, who has been long stereotyped as having short work days, generous vacation (at least 9

DABASINSKAS 5

weeks) and long lunches? Why is it that a fully developed country doesnt get behind a healthy
work-life balance? The main reason is likely that the U.S. is the only developed country where
the government doesnt mandate a minimum number of vacation days. Thats right, zero.
Germany gets 24, Sweden gets 25 and France gets 30 (Civil Beat). We arent guaranteed any,
and taking time off from work is important on many levels. Research shows that taking a mental
break from work tends to improve alertness, increase productivity, solidify memories and
encourage creativity. A study from Illinois found that a brief break from a task can help to
improve the ability to focus on that work for longer periods of time in the future (Civil Beat).
So we could likely boost worker productivity by having people work less, whether through
shorter work weeks, more vacation time, or both. This could happen through legislation or if
companies simply instituted more generous paid-leave policies.
Now it is time to convince more of our bosses that less is more. If expecting the
American government to implement a new policy on vacation days and time off, doesnt seem
likely, then take the smarter approach and show your own company the benefits. Often, it isnt
that employers dont want to offer [shorter] workweeks, its that theyre not sure whats in it for
them (Civil Beat). So showing how productivity levels rise with shorter work days will result in
happier employees, longer turn-around periods, and better produced work he will likely be
interested in hearing your case. Plan ahead, Creating a strategy at the forefront will make
execution more efficient, thus boosting productivity and ultimately, the overall success of the
project (Big Think). Starting the week with a thorough plan keeps the rest of your tasks in
focus. Accomplish the hardest work first, before the unexpected tasks trip them up. Work hours
that allow employees to have time for themselves result in healthier (physically, mentally, and

emotionally) employees. The saying that you bring home life with you to work and work life
home, would not longer be a threat to your productivity. If we can convince our employers to see
the benefits, we just might be able to turn this country from the the 15th ranked happiest
country (US News) to one of the top three. The statistics are there, its just a matter of time
before we see the employers changing the way we work one company at a time.

DABASINSKAS 7

Works Cited

New Republic. We Know We Work Too Much. Now How Do We Stop It?
<http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118453/how-americans-can-work-less>Website.
October 29, 2015.

Huffington Post. 80 Percent of Americans Spend An Extra Day a Week Working After Hours,
New Survey Says < http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/ >Website. October 29,
2015.

Huffington Post. Employees Work Longer Hours
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/>Website. October 29, 2015.

Family Facts. A Wise Investment: Benefits From Families Spending Time Together
<http://www.familyfacts.org/briefs/15/>Website. October 29, 2015.

Big Think. Why Do Americans Have Less Vacation Time Than Anyone Else? <
http://bigthink.com/praxis/>. October 29, 2015.

Civil Beat. Health Beat: Can Americans Become More Productive By Working Less?
<http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/06/> November 7, 2015.

US News. Health Beat: Can Americans Become More Productive By Working Less?
<http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/06/> November 7, 2015.