The Progressive: Everyone Is Working for the Weekend

[marmar]

Everyone Is Working for the Weekend
Elizabeth DiNovella


Polls reveal that Americans are 20% happier on the weekends. And for good reason: We are overworked.

Americans are working so much, in fact, that we barely take vacation. Last year, half of all Americans took less than one week off for vacation. We’re the only industrialized country without laws guaranteeing paid vacation time.

But in these times of economic uncertainty, how can we justify taking a vacation?

I put this question to John de Graaf, director of Take Back Your Time and co-author of Affluenza: the All Consuming Epidemic. He was my guest today on WORT’s noon call in program, “A Public Affair.” (Click here to hear the show.) Take Back Your Time, de Graaf’s nonprofit, studies the overworked American.

“These are the times in which this type of break is even more important because people are really stressed,” says de Graaf. “It’s clear that vacations—breaks from the workplace—are key de-stressors and we have a lot of evidence for that.” .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.progressive.org/node/128623

[Laelth]

1. Further proof of how rightwing ideology can destroy a wonderful country.

One worker at a time ...

:dem:

-Laelth