This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Forty-five years ago, sociologists saw a looming crisis in the American workplace: Robots and technology would do most of the labor, and humans would face a glut of leisure time.
They couldn't have been more wrong, says John de Graaf.
Today, Americans are logging longer hours on the job than ever - more than medieval peasants. We are working ourselves to death, said the co-author of Affluenza and national coordinator of the "Take Back Your Time" movement.
"It's not good for our health, for our families and communities, or for our environment," said de Graaf, who will speak tonight at the University of Utah and again Saturday afternoon as part of the U.'s "What's the Rush?" fair.
"We don't have to make work [the center of] our entire lives."
But many of us do. The average American works nine weeks more each year than their European counterparts, according to de Graaf's book, Take Back Your Time.
We also have the shortest paid vacations in the industrialized world - an average of two weeks compared to the four or five weeks of paid leave many Europeans get by law. Twenty-six percent of workers take no vacation at all.
"That's pretty shocking when you understand that for vacation to do its work, to improve our health, our productivity and mental health, [studies show] you usually need at least two weeks," he said.
The toll is tangible: An annual vacation can cut a man's risk of heart attack by 30 percent and a woman's by 50 percent, he said, citing research studies. Europeans over age 55 are only half as likely to have the kinds of chronic diseases from which many Americans suffer, including heart disease and hypertension.
"We are by far the least healthy nation [among industrialized nations] and we spend twice as much on health care," he said.
Our children are paying a price, too. Unstructured, outdoor playtime is largely a thing of the past. And the number of American families eating dinner together at least four times a week is falling, from 83 percent in 1997 to 75 percent in 2004. That's crucial since researchers say the nightly ritual can help prevent teens from smoking cigarettes or marijuana, drinking alcohol, getting lower grades, suffering depression or attempting suicide.
We all suffer when it comes to electing leaders, since many Americans say they can't take time off work to vote. And the Earth takes a beating too, since we drive cars to get places quickly and eat food wrapped in disposable packaging because we don't have time to cook.
De Graaf blames the overworking of America on a several factors including the failure of our leaders to guarantee paid family leave, vacation time, and sick time; the widening gap between the rich and poor; and the grip of "affluenza," the disease of always wanting a bigger house, a better car, and more stuff.
Lower income people must work two or three jobs just to make ends meet. Middle income folks feel like they need to work more "to keep up with the Joneses." And the wealthiest Americans are putting in extra hours to take advantage of tax breaks, said de Graaf.
George Cheney knows about the modern time-crunch first-hand. The U. of U. communications professor, who helped bring de Graaf to Utah for the fair, team taught a class with his wife about quality of life. When the teachers and students tried - and failed - to find time outside of class to meet, they knew there was a real problem.
"Moments like that really hit home," he said. "That wasn't the way it was when my wife and I were in college."
Cheney said interest is growing in de Graaf's speech, as well as Saturday's fair.
"People seem to be touched by this topic," he said.
The Honors Program at the University of Utah will examine Americans' crammed, crazy lifestyles at a free, public event this Saturday called "What's the Rush?" John de Graaf, documentary filmmaker and national coordinator of the "Take Back Your Time Movement," is keynote speaker. Events run from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Main Library, 210 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City. Panel discussions include: work and commuting, 10:30-11:30 a.m.; health and well-being, 11:30 to 12:30; and education and family issues, 3:30 to 4:30. De Graaf will discuss "America's Time Famine" from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the auditorium. A showing of the film "Running Out of Time" is from 2:30 to 3 p.m. De Graaf will also give a speech titled "What's the Economy for Anyway?" tonight at 7 at the University of Utah's Language and Communication Building, Room 1110.
Health and happiness numbers
* Today's typical three-car garage is the same size as the average home in the 1950s, about 900 square feet.
* The amount of junk we throw away each year could fill a convoy of garbage trucks long enough to reach halfway to the moon.
Here are more signs of our work-driven, consumerist times:
* The number of Americans who described themselves as "very happy" reached a peak in 1957. We consume twice as much stuff today, but it's not making us any happier.
* Since 1950, Americans have used more resources than everyone who ever lived before them. We get rid of 7 million cars a year, 2 million plastic bottles an hour, and enough aluminum cans to make 6,000 DC-10 airplanes annually.
* The top 1 percent of the wealthiest Americans make as much as the bottom 50 percent combined.
* The U.S. Senate passed a bill in the 1930s that would have limited the work week to 30 hours, but it was scuttled after manufacturers complained to President Roosevelt.
Sources: PBS, John de Graaf
John de Graaf, leader of the national Take Back Your Time movement, will bring his crusade for shorter work weeks and longer vacations to Utah this week when he speaks at the U. on Thursday and at the city library Saturday.