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September 20, 2003
It's hard for me to
It's hard for me to have rambles or thoughts on things in the world this week. My job was ridiculously intense this week and I had very little time to pay attention to much of anything outside of my four office walls. I have to wonder about the quality of life in America anymore...we already work more than any other culture in the world, and now we're inventing all this technology that in theory makes it "easier to have flexible hours" but in reality means that you are ALWAYS in reach of your office and boss. I'd bet that most white collar Americans work at least 48 hours a week now - in many cases, I'd bet 50-55 hours is "normal."
Well, no matter what Corporate America says, 11 hour days is not normal. Starting at 7:45, going home at 5:30, pantomiming the role of Daddy or Mommy for a couple of hours and then logging back on to work for another two or three hours at night is not normal. Technology and the "more, more, more" greed culture behind American business is ruining our quality of life in this country - sure, our standard of living is higher than anywhere else... but I'll bet you the Europeans enjoy their lives more. Look at the rates of diagnosed depression in the United States over the last 10 years. Look at the rates for heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, and even suicide. I bet they've all gone up, and I don't believe anyone need look further than the evolution of the workstyle over the last ten years to find out why.
The cliche is that in Europe, they work to live, while in America we live to work. I totally agree with the cliche. We are quickly becoming a stressed out, joyless, horribly misfocused culture, thanks to Big Business and technology. People try to cram "vacations" or "leisure activities" into little blocks in between conference calls and e-mail. No one I know takes a vacation without bringing their cell phone and laptop with them anymore. It's a perversion of the idea of making it into the "leisure class;" back in the day, people used to dream that their kids would go to college and get jobs where they didn't have to punch the clock and work in the mines and factories and shops anymore, but could aspire to a higher level than their parents. The American Nightmare of today is that when kids reach professional and economic levels beyond those their parents achieved, they actually have less free time than their parents ever did. No one except the hourly worker ever works a 40 hour week anymore. I find this pathetic. But I don't know who I'd blame, exactly.
Corporations and business demand it, sure - but companies keep buying the technology that enables the 25x8x366 workstyle; people don't ever stand up and say, "enough is enough." Working has become a drug in this country - but it's impossible to tell where the addiction started and just who is enabling whom. Corporations and big business have rapidly taken the joy out of American life. Workers, however, let them do it. We're all to blame. And when the health and well-being epidemic reaches crisis proportions in this country over the next few years, we will only be able to look in the mirror.
(Deep breath.) Ok... rant over. Can I just say that my absolute favorite song right now is, "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett? More on Buffett, the image of the lifestyle of his songs, and why I've become a Parrothead, in another Blog this weekend. For now, I have to log on and do some work.
