But that very fact means we have forgotten how to work productively. Vacations help people recharge, help them wind down so that when they wind back up, they do a better job at whatever it is they do - selling stocks and bonds, building houses or teaching preschoolers.
But, somehow, workers, and employers, too, have let slip all that. Americans, on average, work nine weeks more each year than their European neighbors, according to an author who says such dedication hurts people's health, their family life - and their productivity. More than a quarter of us never take a vacation at all, and unskilled workers juggle several low-wage jobs just to survive. So, why aren't we rising up in revolt?
Part of the reason is that it's become a cultural badge of distinction to toil longer and harder than the next person. But another cultural phenomenon - our frenzied grasping for more and more toys and creature comforts - keeps our shoulders to the wheel when we should be off fishing.
According to author John de Graaf, Americans since 1950 have gobbled up more resources than all the people who ever lived before them. The typical three-car garage of today's workaholics is the same size, about 900 square feet, as the average '50s home.
Utah's suburbs are crowded with these behemoths. And it seems Utah's bankruptcy rate, the nation's highest, grows with the size of the houses. We want more, and we want it now. And that mentality tethers us to ever more demanding jobs and higher credit limits.
The expectation that workers are willing to log long hours leads employers to demand it. Government allows meager minimum wages and little overtime pay. If you buck the trend and take time off, there is a chance your job, with its health insurance and regular paycheck, might go to someone more dedicated.
It's a vicious cycle, not easily broken. But until we learn to value the "best things in life," the breathless pace can only quicken, and we will continue to pay heavily in time away from loved ones, stress, exhaustion and failing health. And the nagging sense that what is really gained is loss.
