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

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by notorious

Games used to be expensive due to material cost. Material cost is now dirt cheap but development of games is basically a movie-budget.

Yep. Also, in the early days, most file storage was done in the physical game disk. Once they moved to optical, that cost went away as well.

And you're right. For example, Assassin's Creed Shadows reportedly cost over $250M to make.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yep. Also, in the early days, most file storage was done in the physical game disk. Once they moved to optical, that cost went away as well.

And you're right. For example, Assassin's Creed Shadows reportedly cost over $250M to make.

JFC

I remember saving up to buy a NES game. Usually 40-50 bucks thanks to chips. That's like 100-125ish today but you got the whole game, didn't need subscription or pay to win BS.

250 million to make a game is INSANE.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

I was trying a bit ago to think of this in your perspective.

I have a 12' shelf upstairs with a lot of stuff that has been replaced by your phone.
Polaroid camera, 2 Nikon 35mm cameras, early digital cameras, Cannon video camera, early GPS units, wall phones, a battery powered 4 in hand held tv, small recorder, variety of early cell phones etc. etc.

So if you add the price of all of those up they would easily come to the price you are paying for the latest phones.

I guess it is all about perspective.

Shit I spend $515 a month on coffee.

But I have absolutely no bills of any kind. No debt. House paid off. Car paid off. My biggest expense is property taxes and insurance which have also gotten outta control.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yeah, my point was that you can somewhat tell what people are paying by what device they are using. If you see your Uber driver with an iPhone 12 or a Samsung A15, they're probably paying $25 a month for Metro or Total. If they have the latest 16 Pro or Galaxy S25, they're probably paying $40 or more for AT&T or T-Mobile.

I wouldn't know the difference by looking at them myself but I bet my daughter and grandsons would.

It is crazy what the evolution of the cell phone has been. In 96 when moving to Chicagoland and going to work for a Motorola cell phone supplier, they were dominating the market with their flip phone and shortly after the little star tek. Then they decided China had a bigger emerging market and moved there.

Then Nokia was kicking everyones ass with their cheap little simple phone. Then the Blackberry with their keyboard became the rage, on and on.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

They're not super expensive. You could buy 4 or 5 55-inch TVs for the price of a new iPhone.

I took it he was teasing me for my $6000 dollar 50 in plasma purchase in 2004.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by stevieray

The difference is, they didn't read it throughout the day.

Sure, it wasn't updated real time and accessible on a device that fits in your pocket.

I just find it dumb when the gap in generations and technology skew towards people being vastly different like they were just naturally go-getters/smarter/etc.

If everyone had iPhones 70 years ago, lots of people would have been glued to them 70 years ago. And if kids didn't have smartphones these days, they wouldn't just be sitting around staring at the wall.

Some people want to make it some divisive thing that it's not. Social media is rotting a lot of people's brains for sure and devices distract some people from being productive, but that spans across generations.

[scho63]

I feel this not so simple a stat.

I think some generations, including people over 60 are working MORE these days and some younger age groups much less in a "don't let life pass you by" mindset.

Work to live and not live to work.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

Retired relatives spend about 16 hours/day on their iPad... and I know this because they constantly post dumb shit on FB saying their generation was/is different and "wE'rE nOt ThE sAmE" .....sorry, but shouldn't you be outside interacting with other humans from that high horse of yours?

Posts from the thewaywewere
community on Reddit

Well at least they weren't driving the train while reading the newspaper. But even that, since the tracks keep it going in the right direction is much safer than driving a car while looking at a phone.
My Challenger is 17 years old now and has a handsfree system to marry to your phone. Do new cars not have that where you can talk hands free?

Oh, I am typing this from my Dell laptop in between interacting with the outdoors, etc.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Mosbonian

I still laugh when I see someone bump into another person....a lightpole...street sign because they were looking down at their phone.

And on more than one occasion I have had to stop someone from walking off the curb and into oncoming traffic.

Me too, in fact I got bumped into yesterday by a young lady looking at her phone, even when I tried to step out of her way.

That part is funny, but I see them more and more driving down the highway with their phone leaned onto the center of their steering wheel while they read it.
A couple days ago a lady was driving really slow in the left lane and when finally went around her, she was doing the same thing.

Yeah, us old people are the problem by gosh! Heck, I don't even turn on the radio anymore as I don't need the distraction.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by HemiEd

Different priorities. A phone is just a communication device. We didn't walk around bumping into shit while staring at a phone. We were actually involved with our surroundings instead being consumed by the abstract.

When I was 6 I could tell you the make and model of every car on the road as I wasn't looking down at a phone or gameboy etc.

Now it is the norm to see a person driving a 3000 lb vehicle down the road a speed staring at their phone. I wish their was a requirement for the phone makers to have them disabled while driving.

The technology already exists. Newer cars can already use it. There will be a day when you can't use your phone while driving.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The technology already exists. Newer cars can already use it. There will be a day when you can't use your phone while driving.

I hope that day comes soon!

It is out of control around here, not sure about there and how your state has handled it.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

They're not super expensive. You could buy 4 or 5 55-inch TVs for the price of a new iPhone.

Old people think they still are, hence the joke.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

The technology already exists. Newer cars can already use it. There will be a day when you can't use your phone while driving.

Self-driving car tech will probably have taken over before that point

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by notorious

Old people think they still are, hence the joke.

Not all old people do....

[Pepe Silvia]

Originally Posted by notorious

Old people think they still are, hence the joke.

If you go up there whatever you do don't mention drugs, not even Tylenol.