The U.S. is the Most Overworked Developed Nation in the World – When do we Draw the Line?

[kuronosan]

Geez, doomsday much? People adapt, you know. Alternate forms of energy are out there, they're just not economically viable yet. As natural resources become more scarce, new technology will become more viable and humanity will slowly make the switch. If you don't think that's possible without wars and billions of people dying, I don't know what to tell you.

If by economically viable, you mean "won't make these greedy-ass corporations billions of dollars", then no.

[Cephius]

If by economically viable, you mean "won't make these greedy-ass corporations billions of dollars", then no.

Pretty much? You don't think oil companies don't know that they're on borrowed time? They're invested in renewable forms of energy as much as anyone. It's all about maximizing profits, obviously, but it's not like once oil and natural gas become sparse that the whole world is OGM DOOMED like that last poster was saying.

[Cephius]

wrong

excellent counterpoint you have there, chief.

[Bingbong]

Well, shit then, I'm done feeling guilty for calling in sick today. I've worked more than my French counterparts have already for 2010.

[notorious bum]

Wars are inevitable when access to cheap, easy resources dwindles. This is already occurring with the fight over natural water reservoirs.

[kuronosan]

Pretty much? You don't think oil companies don't know that they're on borrowed time? They're invested in renewable forms of energy as much as anyone. It's all about maximizing profits, obviously, but it's not like once oil and natural gas become sparse that the whole world is OGM DOOMED like that last poster was saying.

Oh hardly, I'm a definite button-wearer of the "The media scares people into spending their money and taking it up the ass" movement. Gas prices go up, energy prices go up, the price of service all goes up, all because they want people to believe shit is getting more expensive and needs to be dealt with. In truth, everyone is trying to save their money and these assholes just want to hook people to make as much money as they can before their businesses are extinguished by new shit.

Natural evolution of an industry has been prominent in every century since the revolution started... yet businesses these days want to halt that because they don't want to become obsolete. It's disgusting.

[Eliseos]

Do you understand what you're saying? You're selling yourself at less than your value. You're a whore that doesn't suck dicks or plug pussies. You live to serve, and someone else makes far more money off of your servitude than you ever will. Does that sound like an awesome life to you? Do you want it described in a prettier way? You're still a whore in the end.

Uh, no one is making money off of me at all. I'm an intern software engineer at a research center at a hospital. I work about 14 hours a week right now during the semester. I could work more if I wanted to, but it'd be a pain in the ass. And "working as many hours as I want" means if I want to or have to work a bit more to get something done, I'll do it. It'd either be that, or losing my job since we didn't get a project in when it was supposed to be. Plus, you don't really need to be so mad at what someone else wants to do with their life.

[notorious bum]

Hermann Scheer (1944-2010): German Lawmaker, Leading Advocate for Social Energy and "Hero for the Green Century" in One of His Final Interviews
The guy who is basically responsible for the progress of alternative energy(however little that may be in America).

[Hatedregret]

All this talk about higher ups making more than you and their higher ups blah blah just makes me think of peasants to nobles to royalty to kings. Nothing changes but the names. Meh.

[kuronosan]

Duh.

[Osede]

Motherfuckers need to move to Korea. See what real overworking is all about.

I Stopped reading when the article only compare the workout hours with Europe. Any Developed countries in Asia definitely has way more overtime working hours in US. The last time I read some where more TW engineer work OT like 100 hrs per month (or per week I forgot), japan and korea won't be any lower too, i guess >.>

[Atreides]

Geez, doomsday much? People adapt, you know. Alternate forms of energy are out there, they're just not economically viable yet. As natural resources become more scarce, new technology will become more viable and humanity will slowly make the switch. If you don't think that's possible without wars and billions of people dying, I don't know what to tell you.

It's not just about fossil fuels, and it's not just about global warming. Those things are going to become problems in the next few decades for sure, but we have bigger fish to fry. Deforestation/desertification, fresh water quality, industrial pollution, overfishing and overpollution of the oceans, and loss of huge amounts of land mammal species.

The problem isn't that we're using one resource up, the problem is we're using EVERYTHING up at an ever-increasing rate. And the fact that most countries are prioritizing their economies over the environment means that won't change before it's too late (if it's not too late already).

[Kuya]

What the OP is talking about is also known as Freedom in America. God gless Capitalism.

[kuronosan]

Get that Commie-Talk out of here. Everyone knows that freedom means oppressing those underneath you so that you can be free. It's legal, and you get money, so that means it isn't slavery!

[Nephlite]

Except most people can't do that shit. A majority of places don't want to pay overtime. Despite states like California having rules that prevent it from being unpaid (in most cases), it's still broken here, and it is fucking abused to nonsensical levels elsewhere. On top of that, what the fuck is all that shit good for if you can hardly ever enjoy it?

As others in this thread have said, people don't even realize what the fuck they're doing to themselves and what's wrong with it. It's so Goddamn normal to them that they're like, "hey, this is all right." Fucking pushover bitches. I won't call you lazy, but I will refer to the earlier remark about how people are working hard, not smart. On top of that, those of you who think it's awesome that you're working yourselves to the bone -- do you know why your supervisors love you? Because you are a fucking sucker. There's a difference between putting in the appropriate amount of effort and killing yourself like a fool, and the former doesn't mean you're a slacker, either. It means you set limits, and aren't someone else's bitch.

If I need a day off, I take it. If a job is ruining my enjoyment of life, I leave it, even if it means I'm going to be struggling with a job that has shittier pay for a while. Fuck working myself into a grave for shit like a Goddamn big screen TV and all that. I'm stressed as fuck right now because I've gone through a lot of cash-draining shit, and I still wouldn't lower myself to the bullshit I hate doing -- being a receptionist, for example. You know why? Because you can have hundreds of thousands of dollars and still be stressed when you go home. If I'm going to spend most of my day working for some cash cow of a company, you can bet your ass I'm going to minimalize my suffering there. Fourteen hours of daily suffering (or more, if your job is so damn shitty that you can't sleep properly) is bullshit.

Now, the folks who have no choice? That's different. I sympathize with the uneducated who grew up without opportunities and wound up working as a supermarket clerk for their entire lives. They might be stressed, but I won't be harsh on them. Product of society and all that. People who should know better, though? Get on the ball, you fucking willful slaves. There's more to life than this.

You're only as free as you let yourself be.

While i'm sure this is an attack (and i'm pretty sure you didn't mean for it to be), i'm gonna agree with everything you said here. Some points though:

For one, I love my job and I love working at my job because my primary duty is to protect and serve the public. Don't get a better sense of contentment than helping other people. That's just how it is and I feel a lot of people feel the same way working over time. Some people just love that shit. Sure it's not a high paying job or a glorious job or it's not a "smart working" environment but i'm living like I want to.

Nowadays i'm not doing any overtime. I work my normal 40 hour work week and get the bills paid, bank some money for a new house, etc. But on the flip side of this, I had to work my ass off to get here. All that extra OT may seem like my bosses are "laughing at me cause i'm a sucker", but it makes me feel like I was doing a good job by showing my superiors i'm not afraid to come in and work OT on a crappy assignment, i'm willing to spend some time fighting crime and putting my "duty" above all else because I wanted to show them i'm effective, reliable, and a leader. And now finally after all is said and done, I received my promotion and right now i'm living the sweet life. Sitting pretty just chillin only happens to maybe 1 out of 500 working people. It takes hard work and commitment to get there otherwise.