Preview

Why Do Americans Work so Much?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
745 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Do Americans Work so Much?
How do you feel if you work overtime every day? You feel under stress, want to go home immediately, or exhausted? Nevertheless, all of these answers are different for Americans. Many of them prefer to stay at the workplace rather than going home for various reasons: some feel more comfortable at the workplace than at home, others like to earn more money, but this is causing pain for them and their family.

Firstly, many Americans feel more comfortable in the workplace. Nowadays, most of the employers will provide an office with ornament. Moreover, the employers will offer a specific and personal space to workers in the office and are supportive to them. The more benefit employees gain, the more easily they feel a sense of belong to their company. Therefore, the nice environment will make the workers more willing to stay in the office. In addition, the work load in the office is limited compare to at home. Americans bear lots of responsibilities at home, especially for those who are married. They act as a parents and spouse at the same time. Besides, there is a lot of housework at home and need to take care of their children. As a result, Americans think the workplace is just like haven. They can escape from the endless housework at home and work in the office relaxingly.

Secondly, Americans can earn more money by doing overtime work. Money is necessary to maintain our lives. Do you know what does it means? You can’t live without money. You are still using money even just staying at home. When you wash your face, cook food, surf the net, etc... Everything you do is using money! One month later you will receive the water bill, electricity bill, gas bill, management fee, etc… Also, you need to pay the rent. If you own a house, you also need to pay the property taxes each year. Furthermore, parents can’t take care of their children while working. Thus, they will hire a babysitter or take their children to the daycare. It needs money too. So where does the money

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    “The Overworked American” by Juliet Schor focuses on the change in the work patterns that have developed over the recent years and how they have impacted the lives of the several people. The first chapter is a brief introduction about the topic and it provides the reader with a little background information about the topic at hand, which mainly focuses on how leisure time and working hours have changed changed since the beginning of industrialization to now. It also discuses the how family dynamics have changed due to different working hours and how technological change has impacted these changes. The second chapter discusses the several reasons people may have started working longer hours and expands on the points briefly mentioned in the…

    • 140 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    People are becoming more and more desperate to grab a job when they can in this crippling economy. My grandparents, whom I will call Deen and Cindy, are still working the same jobs that they’ve had since their mid 30’s. Cindy was able to obtain work as an accountant for Kalama Exports. Five days a week, she works the same schedule, from six in the morning until five in the afternoon. While she might just be getting home, Deen is already gone to his job as a security guard for a retirement home. His job requires him to work from three in the afternoon until midnight, leaving him tired and worn out when he arrives home at about one in the morning the next day.…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Perhaps big corporations are just looking to diversify their working environment. With cultural diversity a company has a better chance of having an environment where innovative ideas are constantly circling. This can only be seen as a benefit to the company. The other argument is that some labor experts reject the idea that foreign workers are displacing American citizens. Gordon Hanson, a professor at University of California San Diego, did a research showing that foreign and American high-tech workers have comparable wages, contradicting arguments from local Americans. Employers such as Microsoft are simply trying to gather the best teams from a worldwide talent pool, which Hanson considers to be a reasonable approach considering today’s global economy. Furthermore, foreign workers are required to receive prevailing wages that are set by the U.S Department of Labor. But employers are not required to advertise jobs to local Americans first. Employers must only confirm that foreign workers won’t harm people in similar jobs (Seattle…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    BUSN 310 IP 2

    • 1276 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Between the United States and Europe there are many differences, but also there are similarities. The US law allows the people to be free, even though in some states the have an at-will, which is an exception to the free law, but in Europe all decision are made from the European Union (FedEE). The FedEE determines what is able to go in the workplace or the environment, employees are not allows to speak on it or request changes to any policies and if they would it could be means for termination from the job. One similar thing that is worth mentioning that in Europe most people work from home and as of later 2000s it…

    • 1276 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the well written article Stubborn Skills Gap in America’s Work Force, the author Eduardo Porter describes how fictitious the idea of workers in America really is. When asking President Obama which country develops and breads the most skilled work force he said hands down the United States. Obama’s direct words about the work force were “more productive than any on earth” and they “build better products than anybody else.” Even the less boisterous Republicans were sure American workers could surpass any competition on any level playing field. In the eyes of authority in America their beloved country cultivates the most resilient workers of any other country, but the truth is they don’t.…

    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Big Business Dbq

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Big business created a large uneven distribution of wealth in the country. Many people were filthy rich and many were stuck in low wage, low skill industry jobs. The working men and women responded by, “demand[ing] a reduction of the hours of labor” (Document G). They also claimed, “That the lives and limbs of the wage-workers shall be regarded as sacred” (Document G). Workers demanded better working conditions and wages and eventually were given these policies as pure capitalism became regulated capitalism. This capitalist system also led to the “American Dream”. The theory that brought thousands of immigrants over to America in search of opportunity. The influx of immigrants worked low paying jobs which aided in supporting the growing economy. The American people benefitted from big business by receiving…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America’s economy must be a priority to Americans when it comes to solving the issues of world poverty. Utilitarian philosophers, like Peter Singer, judge whether acts are right or wrong by their consequences. Singer’s solution did not seem to take into account the long term consequences this would have on the American economy. According to Bussinessweek.com, consumer spending accounts for 70% of all U.S. economic activity. If Americans spend less, there will be less demand for goods and services. When there is less demand for goods and services, businesses and factories begin to close causing the unemployment rate to go up. Unemployment not only affects American’s, it also affects migrant workers whose families depend on the money to survive.…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Overtime is a touchy subject for most employers. Not only does it cause them to pay out more on the payroll each week, but it also means that the workers aren’t being as productive as they could be. Another issue that overtime causes is issues with an employee’s hours worked. Since there are certain laws and rules in place to govern this, employers must be careful about how they handle overtime pay.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    accountant

    • 1968 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Working overtime or extra hours will not be a problem for me, because I used to work 10 hours per day and to work overtime to finish some special tasks in my previous job. Sometimes, I spent my personal time on resolving some potential risks and problems that I found.…

    • 1968 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Durham’s government class, I was impartial to the federal system and anything considering to be politics. But with regards to the American Dream, I now have a definite voice and opinion on the topic. America aspires to be the land of opportunity, but how can this be possible when we are outsourcing all of our jobs to foreign countries such as India or China? As this continues, it will only be a matter of time before there will be no more opportunities for the American people. With that in mind, how about the people who have jobs here? If a person makes too little, then they end up struggling with bills due to the higher standard of living. In contrast, if a person earns more, they are taxed more. This is also known as income or progressive tax. To me, this is an unfair system and puts the American Dream at risk. Why would people aspire to be greater and have more if the government is just going to take it away anyways?…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Immigration Impact, “Legal status and citizenship enable undocumented immigrants to produce and earn significantly more than they do when they are on the economic sidelines.” This premise is wrong; all the U.S. cares about is money, how to get more money, and where to get more money. One of the easiest ways for them to generate money is to legalize illegals and not worry about the repercussions. Illegal immigrants should not be allowed because of the problems they bring from foreign countries. Money is not the problem we should address; the problem is what illegal immigrants bring to the United…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The american dream is opportunity but it also comes with a price, sometimes it is too expensive. In the quote, “Something is wrong, very wrong, when a single person in good health, a person who in addition possesses a working car, can barely support herself by the sweat of her brow. You don’t need a degree in economics to see that wages are too low and rents too high.” stated in the excerpt nickel and dimed: on (not) getting by in america, demonstrates that prices are too high but workers aren't getting enough money to live and support a family. “When someone works for less pay than she can live on -- when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently -- than she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made of a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life.” this quote demonstrates that the “poor” and employed workers work hard to get just enough money to barely live off.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American work scene is changing forever. As Americans from the Baby Boomer generation retire, and more and more high school graduates enroll in college, there is one economic issue. Entry level jobs are going unfilled except by one group, immigrants. However, these are not just any immigrants. Illegal immigrants fill the jobs that are no longer being taken. As much debate as there is surrounding them, one thing is undeniable. Our economy depends on steady growth of workers. And love it or hate it, this is what illegal immigrants are for us. Illegal immigrants affect our economy in both positive and negative ways, but they are essential to our economy now and in the future.…

    • 942 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Living from Minimum Wage

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages

    We know in the world of today, most households have two incomes to maintain the basic everyday needs. We all have worked jobs that paid bare minimum, gave crappy hours along with fatigue. Gilbert and Henslin divided the lower class into the Working Poor and the Underclass (Gilbert The American Class Structure 1998). The Working Poor’s employment is in the service and manual labor and the Underclass relies solely on government aid and has not participate in the workforce.…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Swarthmore College Professor Barry Schwartz published an op-ed in last Sunday’s New York Times entitled, “Rethinking Work.” The essay begins by noting that a “survey last year found that almost 90 percent of workers were either “not engaged” with or “actively disengaged” from their jobs.” So 9 out of 10 “workers spend half their waking lives doing things they don’t really want to do in places they don’t particularly want to be.” But Why?…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays