American's time shortage

The following was copied from:

http://www.simpleliving.net/timeday/

American's are putting  in longer hours on the job now than we did in
the 1950s...

In fact, we're working more than medieval peasants did, and more than
the citizens of any other industrial country. 

Mandatory overtime is at near record levels, in spite of a recession. 

On average, we work nearly nine full weeks (350 hours) LONGER per year
than our peers in Western Europe do. 

Working Americans average a little over two weeks of vacation per
year, while Europeans average five to six weeks.

 OVERWORK HURTS ALL OF US IN DIFFERENT WAYS. 

Overwork threatens our health. It leads to fatigue, accidents and
injuries. It reduces time for exercise and encourages consumption of
calorie-laden fast foods. Job stress and burnout costs our economy
more than $200 billion a year. 

Overwork threatens our marriages, families and relationships as we
find less time for each other, less time to care for our children and
elders, less time to just hang out. 

It weakens our communities. We have less time to know our neighbors,
supervise our young people, and volunteer. 

It reduces employment as fewer people are hired and then required to
work longer hours, or are hired for poor part-time jobs without
benefits. 

It leaves many of us with little time to vote, much less be informed,
active citizens. 

It leaves us little time for ourselves, for self-development, or for
spiritual growth. 

It leads to growing neglect and abuse of pets. 

It even contributes to the destruction of our environment. Studies
show that lack of time encourages use of convenience and throwaway
items and reduces recycling. 

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THIS EPIDEMIC OF TIME PRESSURE? 

On Friday, October 24, 2003, thousands, perhaps millions, of Americans
will JUST SAY NO to the overwork, over-scheduling and overstress that
threaten to overwhelm our lives. They'll take the day or part of it
off work, and join in hundreds of activities to initiate a much-needed
national conversation about work/life balance and how we can reclaim
it. 

The date falls nine weeks before the end of the year, making the point
that we Americans now work nine weeks more each year than Western
Europeans do. 

For more information: 
http://www.simpleliving.net/timeday/