Thursday, June 07, 2007

A 48 Hour Work Week is TOO MUCH???

Are you joking?

I knock out 90 hours a week on average. Everybody I know does at least 50. And now 48 is too much?

The ILO has "set forth" the "appropriate" number of hours to work per week.

I'm so glad we have some entity to establish how much I should work.

While I harp on what makes society's great and advances people is working smarter, creation, innovation and creativity, one cannot deny the benefits of just working harder.

Japan in the 1960's-1990's would not have advanced as quickly as it did from a war torn country to a first world nation that surpassed its European counterparts. South Korea even more so.

The US enjoys higher standards of living than the French simply because we work more (despite the fact the French have higher labor productivity rates by some measures)

So, an ode to those countries that ignore what some hoity toity, upper class policy analyst at the International Labor Organization thinks should be the "average" work week (who no doubt had such a cushy life they don't realize sometimes you have to work more than 50 hours a week in order to make it). I present to you the average work year;

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

According to the tax freedom day people, the average American's tax burden is 33%; so we could all enjoy 1/3 less work were it not for income taxes. Maybe the ILO is subtly calling for a lower rate of taxation?

Anonymous said...

You understand that your psychology is vastly different from normal people. 'Knocking out' 90 hours a week working is something you should consider getting professional help for.

Anonymous said...

Well, since you are a US resident it is not surprising that you have to work such long hours. This is because your productivity per hour is quite low compared to that of, say, a Luxombourg citizen. Perhaps you should relocate or think of ways to improve your efficiency?

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_ove_pro_ppp-economy-overall-productivity-ppp

Captain Capitalism said...

Heh, you know anybody in Luxembourg willing to give me citizenship, I'm in!

Anonymous said...

Work to live, not live to work!