There is a problem in the United States. The workweek is detrimental to the health and
family life of employees, and it is leading to inefficiency and unproductivity. Americans
now work past the 40-hour mark per week and give up vacation time to put in extra hours
at the office. Research shows that an increase of hours is due to many factors including:
the increased economy, the way Americans view their society and a fear of unemployment.
Americans believe the more the better, so they punch in as many hours a week as they can.
Americans trying to be productive have created their own downfall.
“In the past 20 years, the US economy has grown nearly 60 percent” (Gilson). This
increase has lead to an increase in the hours Americans work each week. To keep up with
the demands of society the United States are pushing employees past the 40-hour
workweek. At the same time the economy grew, corporate profits rose by twenty percent.
According to Gilson, the increase in profits is mainly due to the fact that the internet has
grown and developed so rapidly over the past 20-years. Since employees began to work
more as the economy grew, corporations believe the increase in profits is due to more
hours worked. This has lead corporations to push employees for overtime work. Small and
large businesses across the United States look at more hours spent working as more profit.
This false correlation between the growth of the internet and hours worked is one of the
