Do We Work Too Hard?

[Matty]

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We definately don't work more then the Japanese. That much I'm sure of.

[/ QUOTE ]Don't trust your instincts so much. We do work more hours than the Japanese or any other country.[ QUOTE ]
I'd happily accept a 30% reduction in pay if is was accompanied by a 30% reduction in hours but most employers won't do that.

[/ QUOTE ]Move to Western Europe. That's almost exactly the reductions you'll get.

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Yes. It's a combination of meaningless lives and the high debt we put ourselves into thanks to Capitalism and the banking system.

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Do you ever have a goddamn substantive thing to add? I'd like to add that the guy that wrote this was closer to you politically than me, so your usual partisan bs won't play here.

[coffeecrazy1]

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Yes. It's a combination of meaningless lives and the high debt we put ourselves into thanks to Capitalism and the banking system.

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Do you ever have a goddamn substantive thing to add? I'd like to add that the guy that wrote this was closer to you politically than me, so your usual partisan bs won't play here.

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[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] Politically, I'm closer to lehigh and pvn. I was trying to post something outside the boundaries of my usual rhetoric, due to something that has been occurring to me lately while I've been working. There is a strong delineation between my political views and my moral/ethical views...this post springs from the latter...perhaps I misposted this, and it should have been in philosophy. I apologize for that, but this forum is my home away from OOT.

You are not your [censored] khakis.

I think that a careful watching of Fight Club should be a necessity. That having been said, I will be working big hours when I graduate, doing what I love, programming, and getting well-paid to do it.

But then again, Im going to be making video games, in which my silly little aspiration will be to inspire someone, so I will be getting a deep satisfaction... hopefully.

That having been said, I will absolutely not put work in front of any woman idiot enough to love me, or my kids.

Maybe its just because Im not there yet in my life, but I can't understand not wanting to spend time with family.

Why is it that we seem to have the need to derive pleasure and satisfation from our jobs, moreso than in other countries?

I discussed this with my philosophy professor (during a date... alllllllright!) and basically, I figure it's because not only is our job the only way to attain things we are grown up to "need", but also choosing our job is our greatest freedom.

I think as a country, we should just get over it, and try to assess what really matters.

then again, Im a 21 year old college student with dreams and aspirations, what do I know?

[Cyrus]

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Do we Americans work ourselves to death? I have seen data that says we outwork everyone, including the Japanese(which is saying something). We get less vacation and work more hours than the rest of the world.
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As a result, we are very technologically advanced. But, if we are sacrificing so much of our lives, shouldn't we be #1 in everything? Shouldn't we lead the world in all categories related to output? And yet, we don't...so it makes me question why we do it.
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I will never enjoy working more than I will playing...and I can't understand people who don't ever play...and I'm just asking for an explanation.

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Here's a fellow 2+2er, who is a little more behind than you in the working curve, on the same subject:

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I think there is a ton of pressure on college students to get a solid job and start making money right away. I am finding this is compounded by friends who got high paying jobs and quietly let it slip how much they make. However, very few people I know who have recently graduated feel content with their lives, and even those with high paying jobs are constantly trying to improve...constantly trying to reach some invisiable standard set by American society.
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Last summer I went with a group of friends to the Greek Islands for a week and a half. I was studying in Italy at the time, and I was already seeing the vast differences in European life vs. American life. So anyways, for a few days we are on the island of Santorini, staying in a hotel right on the beach. The owner of the hotel (which was rather small, fifteen rooms), got up everyday and worked in his garden. Then he ate lunch, went to the ferry to pick up more people, and spent the afternoon back in the garden. He was the happiest man I'd ever seen. All day, worked in his garden and seemed not to have a care in the world.
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I think it's easy to get caught up on what we should have or what advertisements and commercials tell us we want, opposed to what we need.

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[Indiana]

Yes americans do work too hard. I work with an international company and my European colleagues are ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS on some kind of holiday.

Indy

[DVaut1]

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Yes americans do work too hard. I work with an international company and my European colleagues are ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS on some kind of holiday.

Indy

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Lucky them. Sounds good to me. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[SheetWise]

Start a business, become independent, and holiday when you please.

[coffeecrazy1]

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Start a business, become independent, and holiday when you please.

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That's my plan. That's really the only solution I've come up with besides moving overseas.

[lehighguy]

I've been to Japan. I dont believe it. Everyone, no matter what job they have, works like 15 or 16 hours a day in Japan. It's like they were made for work. Even little kids work that hard. They practically pioneered dropping dead on the job.

If Western Europe had tax rates similair to the US I might consider it. I've considered going to school in Ireland when it comes time to get my graduate degree.