Americans are working less

[HemiEd]

I have my own theories on this, such as the stay at home working during covid and the stimulus money being the worst thing that has happened in a very long time.


Why Americans Are Working Less

Gallup finds that average hours worked have dropped progressively since 2019 when U.S. employees reported working an average of 44.1 hours. In 2024, they work 42.9 hours per week.

The decline in hours worked is more pronounced among younger (those younger than 35) than older workers (those aged 35 and older). Between 2019 and 2024, older employees have seen an average reduction of just under one hour per person per week, while younger employees have reduced their hours by nearly two hours.

Over a year, that’s the equivalent of older employees taking an extra week off of work and younger employees taking two weeks. These trends apply to full-time employees working at least 30 hours per week.

Possible Reasons for the Drop in Average Hours Worked per Week
Several new findings may explain this shift:

Overall employee wellbeing has been on the decline.
Employees now have less trust in institutions in general and feel more detached from their employers.
After a decade of steady improvement, employee engagement has reverted to its 2014 level.
Advances in technology may be making work more efficient. Gallup finds that nearly half (45%) of employees say AI has helped them improve their productivity. However, a workforce that is becoming more technically efficient and less engaged may lack the motivation needed for long-term growth.
Employees -- especially younger ones -- now place a higher priority on their overall wellbeing. In fact, work-life balance and better overall wellbeing now rank among the most important considerations when choosing a new job.
Additionally, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows declines in overall hours worked per person, particularly in industries that traditionally employ more young workers such as retail, leisure and hospitality.

The Connection Between Hours Worked and Employee Burnout
Burnout may be a major reason why employees are working fewer hours. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified “burnout” as a work-related syndrome resulting from chronic stress.

Previous Gallup research has found that an unmanageable workload is one of the contributing factors to burnout. This may help explain why employees report higher burnout (very often or always) as the number of hours they work rises above 45 hours per week.

more here

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/658...78644b3aaad4a0

[loochy]

Originally Posted by BWillie

I don't think I've ever met anyone under 60 years old who doesn't have a smart phone, at least in the past 5 years.

All phones are fkn smart phones now.

Yes, but I'm not going to use my personal phone for work. Don't send me texts on it, don't call me on it, don't make me access work email on it. That stays separate from my personal phone.


My wife made this mistake and she gets texts all night about patients and blah blah blah.


and my statement was targeted at this:

Originally Posted by Bl00dyBizkitz

As someone loosely in IT, you literally need a smartphone to work at any decent office job. They all require MFA for cybersecurity insurance and most IT firms exclusively use an MFA app on your smartphone.

They are absolutely required.

[Coochie liquor]

Must be everyone but me. Can’t remember the last time I did t work at least 6 days a week. Aside from my yearly Jamaica trip.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Well, to be honest without having served in the Navy, I wouldn't have been able to buy our starter home with $200 down making $3.26 an hour at Beechcraft.

All those hobbies of mine were supported by hustling on the side, such as building engines for people, flipping old cars etc. We didn't have FB marketplace back then but we had "Mini Market" in the paper and that was a staple.

It was constant motion, at one time I had 16 440s in my garage bought out of salvage yards that I parted out. Selling the heads, cranks and blocks.

We never ate out, seldom fast food, had one TV most of the time, one land line and were constantly in debt paying high interest rates.

Now the youth do door dash, new I phones etc are the higher priority. I had a nephew that felt a Mc Donalds employee should be able to support a family and eat fast food on that salary every meal as a staple.

You were clearly a very hard worker with a lot of determination. Good for you. But still, the fact that you were able to purchase a home for $200 down kinda supports my point. The average down payment for a home in Missouri is now over $20,000. When you were that age, your purchasing power was 10 times greater than it is for a young person today. That dramatic of a price increase, and stagnant wages for decades.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

I think you can buy a pretty basic smartphone for a few hundred bucks though.. or refurbished, or just don't run out to buy the latest one every year.

I don't think spending the extra money on a new iPhone is the main issue... like he said, it's spending the extra coin on a new iPhone and then using DoorDash and also going out to eat a lot instead of cooking at home, and having several streaming subs, and then complaining that a 4 bedroom house or luxury apartment costs too much for a 25yo.

/shouts at cloud

My daughters and Mrs. are constantly giving me shit about the refurb Pixel 3 I bought on ebay a few years ago for $65. The Mrs. has an older Apple phone but mine works just fine, lol.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Fish

You were clearly a very hard worker with a lot of determination. Good for you. But still, the fact that you were able to purchase a home for $200 down kinda supports my point. The average down payment for a home in Missouri is now over $20,000. When you were that age, your purchasing power was 10 times greater than it is for a young person today. That dramatic of a price increase, and stagnant wages for decades.

This is incorrect.

https://www.macrotrends.net/global-m...gdp-per-capita

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by loochy

Yes, but I'm not going to use my personal phone for work. Don't send me texts on it, don't call me on it, don't make me access work email on it. That stays separate from my personal phone.


My wife made this mistake and she gets texts all night about patients and blah blah blah.


and my statement was targeted at this:

Eh, I get the sentiment. That seems pretty unusual, though. If someone has to be on their phone constantly, then sure, work should pay for it. I don't want to have a separate device just for basic emails, Slacks, and 2FA, though.

Depending on how you set it up, you can possibly just disable work apps after hours if that's the part you don't want.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Fish

You were clearly a very hard worker with a lot of determination. Good for you. But still, the fact that you were able to purchase a home for $200 down kinda supports my point. The average down payment for a home in Missouri is now over $20,000. When you were that age, your purchasing power was 10 times greater than it is for a young person today. That dramatic of a price increase, and stagnant wages for decades.

No question about that part, it is pathetic what has happened to the starter home availability. I have two grandsons dealing with that very issue right now, it is sad.

Big investment companies have bought up much of the cheap housing for various financial opportunity reasons, rentals, flipping etc. It is maddening. Then of course these companies raise the rent to crazy numbers.

But, like I say, even 53 years ago, without the GI bill, I wouldn't have been able to do it either. $200 is all I could get my hands on.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

No question about that part, it is pathetic what has happened to the starter home availability. I have two grandsons dealing with that very issue right now, it is sad.

Big investment companies have bought up much of the cheap housing for various financial opportunity reasons, rentals, flipping etc. It is maddening. Then of course these companies raise the rent to crazy numbers.

But, like I say, even 53 years ago, without the GI bill, I wouldn't have been able to do it either. $200 is all I could get my hands on.

Starter homes are ridiculously overpriced due to a lot of those reasons. So when comparing to 40-50 years ago it’s just such a pointless exercise. Then, starter homes were being built and supply plentiful, while still being in good locations. But now those same homes are by and large occupied so you have to wait for availability and when it does come on the market you have compete because the location is good. The other option is to move 60 miles away for a comparable home size that’s is not being bid on by 10 people and Blackrock. The only starter size homes and prices I see being built are horribly ugly connected properties like duplexes/townhome communities that look like they purchased from a Sears kit.

[sedated]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Starter homes are ridiculously overpriced due to a lot of those reasons. So when comparing to 40-50 years ago it’s just such a pointless exercise. Then, starter homes were being built and supply plentiful, while still being in good locations. But now those same homes are by and large occupied so you have to wait for availability and when it does come on the market you have compete because the location is good. The other option is to move 60 miles away for a comparable home size that’s is not being bid on by 10 people and Blackrock. The only starter size homes and prices I see being built are horribly ugly connected properties like duplexes/townhome communities that look like they purchased from a Sears kit.

The people raising the prices of starter homes, and building crappy homes, are not the same people buying new iPhones and using DoorDash. That is...another generation, that bought THEIR homes for $200 down.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by sedated

The people raising the prices of starter homes, and building crappy homes, are not the same people buying new iPhones and using DoorDash. That is...another generation, that bought THEIR homes for $200 down.

I don’t think it’s the fault of generations at all. Prices for starter homes from 50 years ago would always go up, especially those that remain in good areas. Less supply in an area means higher cost. So think a lot is just natural. But it’s exacerbated by conglomerates buying up properties and even average people renting out properties, whether it’s ones they inherited or their own that they purchase for renting out. Now, why smaller single family homes aren’t built in more desirable areas I assume just comes down to profits, but I’m sure there are other factors. I think most DoorDash and new iPhone people are probably not in the market at all.

[KCUnited]

Banks were practically giving free money away for like a 10 year stretch but home ownership sounded soooo boring then

[Fish]

The rent-to-income ratio is 89% higher for Millennials than it was for Baby Boomers at the same age in 1985. The average Baby Boomer in their 30s earned $48,113 and paid $359 for an apartment in 1985, a 9% rent-to-income ratio, Real Estate Witch stated. The average Millennial in their 30s earned $64,994 in 2020 and paid $894 for a rental unit, a 17% ratio.

• From 1985 to 2020, rent prices increased 149%, while income grew just 35%. Rent prices have increased about 4x faster than income during that time period.
• If rent prices grew at the same rate as income since 2000, the median rent in 2020 would cost about 34% less — $586 per month instead of $894.
• From 1985 to 2020, the median U.S. rent-to-income ratio nearly doubled from 9% to 17%.
• The rent-to-income ratio is 89% higher for Millennials than it was for Baby Boomers at the same age in 1985. The average Baby Boomer in their 30s earned $48,113 and paid $359 for an apartment in 1985, a 9% rent-to-income ratio, Real Estate Witch stated. The average Millennial in their 30s earned $64,994 in 2020 and paid $894 for a rental unit, a 17% ratio.
• Since 2000, median rent prices have outpaced inflation by 29%.
• Median rent prices grew 90%, while inflation grew 70%.
• From 2000 to 2022, median home prices increased 156% nationwide, while median rent prices increased 90%.

https://www.realestatewitch.com/rent...me-ratio-2022/

[stevieray]

So much to be said for the simple life.

I love what I do.
I imagine I'll be doing it till I die.
I wouldn't want it any other way.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Starter homes are ridiculously overpriced due to a lot of those reasons. So when comparing to 40-50 years ago it’s just such a pointless exercise. Then, starter homes were being built and supply plentiful, while still being in good locations. But now those same homes are by and large occupied so you have to wait for availability and when it does come on the market you have compete because the location is good. The other option is to move 60 miles away for a comparable home size that’s is not being bid on by 10 people and Blackrock. The only starter size homes and prices I see being built are horribly ugly connected properties like duplexes/townhome communities that look like they purchased from a Sears kit.

Yes, that is the situation I was trying to describe. It is horrible situation and a sad one. Furthermore, builders quit building the low cost homes in favor of the higher profit higher end homes.

I might clarify though, even 40-50 years ago, the starter homes were mostly just older lower end homes that I ran into. Didn't see any new ones in our price range back then.

Something truly needs to be done.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by KCUnited

Banks were practically giving free money away for like a 10 year stretch but home ownership sounded soooo boring then

Only semi related but I find it interesting that the movie Fight Club came out in 1999 and its main premise was being a normal guy with a comfortable place to live and some nice things to surround yourself with was very normal so much that it was seen as unfulfilling and he dives into the madness that is the rest of the movie.

Fast forward 25 years and this crop of youngsters wake up dreaming of that set of circumstances that was seen as boring and lifeless.