ENGL 2010
The Overworked American
For the first couple of decades of my life, I was taught to believe in a simple formula:
work hard and put in more hours than everyone else and success was inevitable. While this
certainly is a noble objective to aim for, it’s become something of misnomer in certain respects.
Hard work has absolutely been a recipe for many success stories; however, long hours have
become synonymous with near-guaranteed success. For more insight as to why the American
culture views working hours and time off so differently than, say, Europe, I read an article called
“Why Do Americans Work So Hard, Work and Leisure in the USA.” The article was written by
Harvard researchers Alberto Alesina, Edward Glaeser, and Bruce Sacerdote. After getting the
scientific reasoning behind our hardworking mindset, I wanted to further explore the economic
ramifications fuelling each set of unique situations that make us work more hours than the
average European. I researched an article that asked that very question. “Why Do Americans
Work So Much More than Europeans?” by Edward C. Prescott, Senior Monetary Advisor at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Both articles make interesting points regarding the
paradigm shift between Western Europe and the United States, how work is viewed in each
place, and the impacts these practices have on the economy as a whole. In addition, I will
introduce a different point of view. I will contend that not only does working hard not always
translate to personal or cultural success, but there are often negative side effects that can often
disrupt and even threaten to destroy one’s personal life.
While this is a controversial topic with many viewpoints being argued, both authors take
a similar stance. Prescott, for example, points out that although Americans now work an average
of 50 percent more than Germans, it didn’t always used to be that way. In fact, he continues, as
recently as the 1970s Europeans were actually putting in more hours than the average American,
and by a pretty considerable margin. Both Prescott and Alesina note that in addition to working
less hours, Europeans are allotted considerably more time off per year. In a study conducted by
Harvard University, Alesina says the United States works an additional six weeks per year than
the average French or German employee. Alesina breaks his hypotheses down into a couple
different categories. His main position is that the differences in work hours and vacation time are
simply a difference between “the European culture of leisure and American workaholism.” He
believes that Americans are consumers at heart, while Europeans generally tend to be more
inclined to participate in leisure activities with disposable time and income. Due to mandated
time off policies in European countries (Germany, for example, is granted 40 days of paid time
off per year, while the U.S. has no such blanket policy), vacations are much more common.
While Americans are more interested in the latest iPad release or blockbuster film to hit theaters,
Europeans take vacations en masse. France, for example, takes eight weeks of paid time off
every year. The cultural norm for most of the country is to take the majority of July and August
off work, even if that means losing out to revenue during the height of the busy tourist season.