In America, there are a lot of sayings that are local just for us, but one we share, but say and think too often is, “I will sleep when I’m dead.” What an awful mantra because all too often your health fails when your body does not receive enough rest and down time. Why do so many people find pride in working themselves to death, particularly in the U.S.?
According to Salon Magazine, if we were to even begin to understand why Americans feel they must work so hard is because of the overuse of the word, “lazy”, in our American vocabulary. Americans have been found through research, to be the most overworked people in the industrialized world. Though studies, particularly one done by Staples, reports that Americans are overworked and tired. Research shows that workers in the UK work at least 19 per cent less than their American counterparts. Although many Americans know about these statistics, it does not stop them from working too many hours, and taking less days off, along with shorter vacations.
Though the word is out that Americans are overworked, many feel that they must work extra hours and take little days off due to the economy crash in 2007. So for many, this state of working themselves to death is a necessity. If these cases were also studied, many non-Americans might see why people work so hard. However, there are many people in the U.S. who have no money issues or financial setbacks and still spend their time working out of habit and also a fear of not having enough. These people are on the opposite spectrum, they are trying to protect what they have. Who knows, maybe that thinking is also more of an American way of thinking.
If we stop looking at the word “lazy” as a bad word, the new “L word”, maybe some people will be able to slow down and relax a little bit. Maybe if Americans would stop giving that word such a bad reputation, they could work as it makes sense to work and not try to outdo themselves each week with how many hours they put in.
Americans have also made themselves believe that they need a lot of things. There are teens with upscale cell phones and upscale cars because their parents want them to have the best and find it hard to say no to themselves and their children. Of course, all of these fancy gadgets cost money to purchase and maintain. Maybe if we need or want less and live a simpler life where luxury is sitting by the ocean instead of having a big screen TV, things may begin to change.