Give me a break. Worked to death?
Based solely upon my personal experience right now, this article is spot on...
I am currently doing the work by myself that 4 people did prior to this downturn... for about 20% less money...
stress alone is going to kill me..
Welcome to the serfdom of globalization. Middle class Americans have always worked more hours than Europeans but they also had better health care benefits and a higher standard of living. Globalization and open borders is a race to the bottom - the lowest common denominator.
The full-court press is on to get the electorate to embrace European-style mandatory vacations and paid time off.
We’re competing against Chinese slave labor in my company. They are killing us on price. We’re letting people go, and those of us remaining are working probably an extra 4 hours per day plus weekend days. That’s what’s called ‘productivity improvement’.
We’re told explicitly that our jobs are eventually moving to China. We’re told that any position vacated by retirement or layoff or firing will be filled in the company but in China. I foresee our group lasting maybe another 5 years.
Yes, people are having health problems because of it.
My mom always used to say that it is better to wear out than rust out. We lived on a farm and both of my parents had full time jobs in town. Day began at 5 a.m. with milking the cows, feeding the pigs and chickens and gathering the eggs. Then off to school and work. Afternoons and evenings were spent on a tractor or in the garden with bedtime around 10 p.m.
My life now including a 12 hour days now sitting at a desk behind a computer is a piece of cake.
Fine then. I’m sure you would have time to look at this. Corporate profits rise and wages as a % of GDP go down. People are working the same or longer hours for a smaller and smaller portion of the rewards.
Efficiency? maybe. Mostly it looks like real wages are going down though since the median income has dropped by at least $3,000 a year and costs have gone up dramatically. Average fuel costs have gone up about $9,000 in the last three years in obamanation. That is a big number to a lot of people.
In obamanation employers aren’t filling jobs, they are offering more hours to current employees to reduce exposure to uncertain costs and obligations mandated by the feds. I don’t blame them but it will eventually take a toll. Many people around here are spending 12 hours door to door. The drive gets worse every year and the roads get no better. There is no public transportation.
I really don’t understand where you are coming from. Sure there are sob stories and sure there are lots of people who don’t work all that hard but I see a lot of this across the board here in the city and the burbs.