Overworked America: 12 Charts that Will Make Your Blood Boil

[demmiblue]

Source: Mother Jones









More: http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/06/speedup-americans-working-harder-charts

[nonperson]

1. Man what a fucked up country we live in

It's embarrassing how far we've dropped as a society in relation to the rest of the industrialized world.

[indepat]

8. Oh the joys of corporate, robber baron, and pub halcyon days being here again

:patriot:

[Bozita]

2. That's MUST READ stuff!

Recommended.

[AsahinaKimi]

3. Is it me or ...

does it seem some third world nations have it better than us?

[eppur_se_muova]

7. South Sudan will have a national health care system as soon as it's created ...

granted it will be in terrible shape. They're coming out of fifty years of civil wars, they've just won independence from the north, and they don't really even have a country yet, but when they do ... they will have a Ministry of Health and a national health care plan.

[Lucian]

4. This just pisses me off.

After working a full year of at my job I qualify for three days of paid vacation. :wtf: :wtf: :wtf: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[Canuckistanian]

5. All right you slackers. Back to work.

Those luxury yachts don't pay for themselves, you know.

[progressoid]

6. Yep.

Blood is boiling.

[LiberalAndProud]

9. If we took the spike from the one percenters out of the average overall, we'd see a sharp down arrow

When they can't cut general labor costs any more, will the top earners be targeted next? Is that what it will take to catalyze real change? I suspect so.

[Lucian]

10. Is there any way we can make something out of this?

Or are we just going to sit behind our computers and bitch about it?

I'm going to email all of my congresspeople these statistics and ask them if they're going to do anything to change this.

[Blecht]

13. They don't work for you, silly.

Why should they do anything to change this? This is all according to plan. They're there to do the bidding of the people who bought them. They don't give a shit about you.

(Oh, and I don't really think you're silly.)

[nonperson]

11. It looks like a hospital chart at the foot of the bed of a very sick nation

Intensive care ward.

[Brigid]

17. You get a Brigid DUzy.

So true.

[demmiblue]

25. Perfect! n/t

[Starry Messenger]

12. k&r

[City Lights]

14. K&R. nt

[RagAss]

15. We're in the septic tank decomposing.

[Blecht]

16. By almost any measure you can think of

The quality of life in the US is at the bottom of the list of industrialized nations.

[Brigid]

18. Good Lord, even the Chinese are doing better.

:grr:

[hfojvt]

19. some of those maps do not make any sense to me

"time off each week" - What does that mean? That people in blue countries like Deutschland can take 24 hours off every week all year and still get paid for working full time? And some other countries, like Mongolia get 48 hours off each week?

The other one is "paid vacations" and it shows the United States with "none". Is that an average and does it figure in paid holidays? I'd like to see a breakdown of the percentage of people with jobs who have paid vacation. Is it 30% or 60% or 12%? Even the crappy satellite dish factory gave a week of paid vacation after working there for a year and paid holidays after about 60 days of work. That works out to about 10 paid days off per year for holidays, which is two weeks.

As for paid maternity leave, well we have the FMLA (family and medical leave act) but I am not sure why I, as a single guy with no family, should want some of my co-workers to get extra paid days off that I don't get. As a general primciple I do not think it is fair when one person works and two (or more) people get paid.

[TCJ70]

20. Some explanation:

--"time off each week" - What does that mean? That people in blue countries like Deutschland can take 24 hours off every week all year and still get paid for working full time? And some other countries, like Mongolia get 48 hours off each week?--

Let's use Spain as an example. By law, they are required to have 24-36 hours off each week (on Sunday I think). My impression is those charts have more to do with what's required by law rather than what companies have been "nice enough" to dole out.

[spooky3]

23. The charts refer to minimum legal requirements, not typical practices.

For time off each week, it's not clear but probably we are supposed to start with the total hours in a week, not a 40 hour workweek, meaning that an employer can't require you to work around the clock. In the US, there is no general federal requirement that employees get a certain # of hours off--though there are some restrictions for certain types of jobs, restrictions in some states, etc.

For paid vacations, there is no federal legal requirement in the US that employers offer paid vacation, and no requirement for paid holidays. Anything companies offer is voluntary or done to compete in the marketplace.

FMLA does not require paid leave - only unpaid leave.

[hfojvt]

24. kinda meaningless then, since it is not about what actually is

but only about what could be. I would not be in favor of a law mandating days off. Back when I was a part-time janitor working seven days a week, I really kinda needed the hours for at least part of that time. At the same time I was working for myself for six days a week too, but that job was more fun than work.

[spooky3]

27. I guess it depends on your definition of "meaningless." Anything that's not legally mandated

can be taken away by an employer at any time, and it shows how differently different countries approach the minimum rights of workers. And, many people, as in your example, are affected by the legal minimum.

I think both a chart of legally minimum standards and that of typical standards by size of employer might be interesting.

[bengalherder]

30. Meaningless?

You mean there are countries where you can't be made to work 6 or even 7 days a week? Countries where you can't be made to work over 8 hours a day with no extra compensation?

Glad you have never encountered such things, but I have a burn scar up my fucking arm that is the end result of mistakes made by people who were made to work seven days a week.

The human body was not made to slave away, and humans, no matter how humble, deserve rest time and socialization.

I applaud the Europeans and deride our backwards ass country.

[hfojvt]

43. meaningless because most people have a day or two off a week

For myself, I worked a number of seven day weeks and many six day weeks as a part-timer and was generally happy for the extra income.

Also, I am wondering which arm is considered the fucking arm?

[locahungaria]

31. As far as FMLA goes....

sure, you can use it; anyone can use it, not just married folks or pregnant women. It's not paid leave, but it does protect your job (somewhat) for a certain amount of weeks if you have a medical need, regardless of your marital status/family situation.

[axollot]

36. I think it's what is legally binding. Take the weekend example -

we have zero laws to prevent you working all week long. You can be forced or locked in to do overtime. Nothing to get you a "weekend" regardless of where it is on the week.

Many people get paid vacation time but it's not law. It's by the generosity of the company you work for no law requires them to give it or that you will get anything off in a 12 month period where Australia gets min of 4-6wks a year.

It just means there are no real laws in place and no executive pay laws either - which we did once have and look pay + productivity were equals. We need that to get back to being equal again.

Hope some of that helped?

Cheers
Sandy

[amborin]

21. kr

[Initech]

22. Thanks Reagan!!!

:puke:

[sarcasmo]

26. Worst industrialized nation on the Planet.

[bluevoter4life]

28. Time off each week????

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with the overtime laws the way they are (specifically time and a half for each hour worked over 40), Doesn't it make sense that there is time off already built into the law? Companies don't want to pay people more than they have to so once a worker hits 40 hours, they get sent the rest of the time off? Or am I just completely missing the point here. And yes, I understand there are exceptions to this, but we're looking at an all things being equal assumption.

[liberation]

32. It means that by law you are entitled to have at least that time off

Basically a company can not put you in an employment position which interferes with that time off you as a worker are entitled to.

Don't think in terms of overtime, but rather in terms of positions like some insane medical residences in which they force you to be on call for 3 days straight for example. So 35 hrs of time off per week, guarantees that you get at least 7 hrs of time off work per day, or if you have to spend an allnighter that week, you get a day off that very week. Such laws are there to prevent worker abuse, and they are actually rather effective, among other things for healthcare reasons. I am surprise so many Americans can't grasp their head around that concept.

[bengalherder]

34. In my field many people work over 40 hours a week with no extra

compensation.

Either there is a loophole or the law is toothless. Perhaps it is up to the states. What the graph is showing is a lack of NATIONAL standards for work hours/days.

[liberation]

35. You should be contacting the dept of labor then

your employer may be breaking federal law.

[axollot]

38. I see that when one is on salary w/a rubbish contract and menial pay -

like salary mngrs at fast food places. They agree to a pay per year but can be forced to work doubles etc because no law exists to allow you time off and if salary agreed upon then by law they can work you over time (or under haha) and you'll still get the same amount of $$ each pay week.

Cheers
sandy

[bluevoter4life]

47. Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up guys eom

[ItNerd4life]

29. You lose the argument, when you have to lie to try and make a point.

If it was 'actual' results not 'legal' results, it would be much different. It's not just the right wingers who lie to try and win the argument.

[liberation]

33. Huh?

Explain how your argument to arbitrary disqualification is valid then.

[G_j]

37. I don't follow

what you are saying.

[demmiblue]

41. Mother Jones is very well sourced. The graphs in question are...

based on legal requirements. If you went there, you would have realized this by looking at the material presented.

Also, if you have any further questions, MJ has a complete set of links sourcing/explaining the graphs.

Toodles.

[neoralme]

39. I subscribe to Mother Jones. My wife and I both read that article. It

is insane what's going on. The takeover by the corporatists happened right under our nose. I'm not 100% sure anything can be done now. The entire government is now suspect. Sure, we could do an Egypt, but those people fought Mubarek's boys when it came down to it. The advertisement for the October rally spends time explaining how peaceful the protest will be. That won't work at all. The Republicans and Corportists will simply view that as a victory. So, we are basically serfs now living in neo-feudalism. That 2010 election defeat was a game-changer. I'm see pure horror all around me.

[WranglerRog]

40. And I'm proud to be an American.......

Where at least I'll work for free!!!!!

Isn't that how the song goes?

WE'RE NUMBER LAST! WE'RE NUMBER LAST!

[oldbanjo]

42. I've traveled to a lot of countrys

and even with the problems that we have, no country is better than the US.

[defendandprotect]

44. Looks like average worker is doing the work of 2 workers ... !!

[demmiblue]

45. Heh... the first chart is on Ed's show! n/t

[Initech]

46. The trifecta of suck: worst in healthcare, worst in labor, worst in standard of living! USA! USA!