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Stress Costs U.S. $300 Billion a Year

Posted by michael on from the nervous-tic dept.

jburroug writes "A new study, as reported in the New York Times claims that the stress of the modern always-on work environment is taking a far greater toll on the health of workers than previously believed, to the tune of $300 billion in lost productivity and increased health care costs in the U.S. alone."

54 of 418 comments (clear)

  1. And they wonder why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just today there was an article about hypertasking.
    Folks, shut off the cellphone, log out of the internet and leave work at work because you're slowly killing yourself with stress.

    1. Re:And they wonder why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You, my friend, seem to have never heard of time zones.

    2. Re:And they wonder why by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ironic, but I was listening to the radio (at 5am) and they were talking about bullies at work.

      Stay with me, it's related.

      It was about boss bullies. It mentions how some get off on pushing people around, some only do it b/c it's the only way they know, others b/c it gets work done.

      The worker could operate with a little pressure once in a while, but constant barage from a boss bully can create a stressful environment. Unfortunately, he may have been rewarded in the past b/c he was able to make some impossible due date.

      Eventually, it's assumed you'll have to make these dates/goals. It becomes a constant drive period where you work 110% all the time. This could create a resentment, anger, or "why should I work hard" attitude. Afterwards, stress becomes so overwhelming it gets one suspicious and jumpy.

      People with small heart problems will suddenly develop greater heard problems. Small conditions/ailments become problematic and increasingly dangerous.

      I currently work in a high stress environment, and I'm experiencing some of these symptoms. You can either cope with it, using escape mechanisms, face it dead on, or leave.

      Ironically, leaving an employment can be hampered down because of stress. I can see why so many drugs are on the market to help relax the stressed.

    3. Re:And they wonder why by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Um, I don't think that is really the employee's problem.

      I personally have put my foot down about "expectations" on the part of management. My wife and I had a baby and I did not want to be a "virtual dad."

      And frankly, even if it didn't work I was prepared to walk. If they are expecting the work of 2 people out of you, they should in fact be hiring 2 people, not making you feel constantly inadaquate.

      --
      "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
      --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  2. Meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    I'd rather have this than a country like France's 35 hour work week and negative GDP growth and 15% unemployment.

    1. Re:Meh by Romothecus · · Score: 5, Insightful
      GDP can be easily shown to be a falsely inflated measure of economic value and production. If one country gives mothers maternity leave, and mothers stay home and raise children, this lowers GDP in comparison to a second country where there is maternity leave and babies are cared for by hired professionals. The act of hiring and paying a professional increases GDP by the amount the professional caregiver is paid. However, all other things being equal, the actual amount of work done is no greater. All that has happened is social capital has been internalized by the market in one instance, and GDP looks higher. This is not necessarily better unless you think GDP is some magical number that makes everything better.

      In another example, let's say I spill a tanker of oil off the New England coast. Damage to the economy and value of lost oil will be arbitrarily set at $50 billion dollars. If, however, the cleanup costs are $60 billion dollars paid out to various workers to clean up the mess, then the GDP will actually increase by $10 billion dollars, despite the fact that nothing actually got produced - some idiot just made a big mess and then someone cleaned it up.

      GDP is big fat lie.

    2. Re:Meh by Romothecus · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Precisely. But GDP does not care about what end to which work is put - only the amount of work. Remember 1984 - "goods must be produced, but they must not be distributed."

      So in our hypothetical oil spill, the GDP measures the entire process as a positive effect, when in reality it is simply correcting a disaster. Do you really think it helps the economy to go around creating natural disasters and then spending vast sums of money cleaning them up?

      By the same argument, littering is good for the economy, because someone has to be hired to clean up the mess. Vandalism is good for the economy. Perceptions of a lack of security are good for the economy - guards must be hired to create "security."

      GDP fails to take into account if work is being put towards a useful goal. $10 billion net GDP gain from cleaning up spilled oil is not the same as $10 billion net GDP gain from employing engineers to design more effecient car engines.

  3. price by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Being the most powerful, wealthiest nation in the world has a price.

  4. i'm a conservative by HBI · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seriously.

    However, I have to wonder what a high GDP growth and near-full employment are worth if you are dead.

    Obviously there is a problem with ANY form of social engineering - it's untested, and has unpredictable results on society. We conservatives say this in response to welfare programs and affirmative action. Modern capitalism and the downsizing trend have social effects. That's not subject to argument. Instead of a knee-jerk conservative 'but it could damage productivity' response, how about taking a look at the problems instead?

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
    1. Re:i'm a conservative by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I consider myself fiscally conservative (if that matters). I am a self-employed consultant in two different fields (digital imaging and programming). I work hard when I'm working, but when I'm not working, I don't even check my email. I like to work a few hours a day including weekends, but I don't like to work more than 7-8 hours a day.

      My view is: nobody forces you to work as hard as you possibly can. So if you don't want to, don't. You're not lazy, or "French", or whatever, as long as you are making enough to keep from depending on others for anything, and you lead the lifestyle you want.

      Sure, some might look down their nose at you if you "only" work 35 or 40 hours a week, or if you take every Friday off. But you shouldn't structure your lifestyle to suit your friends. Find friends that understand your lifestyle. The more people that do this, the more employers will support it and you don't have to resort to being self-employed if you don't want to do that.

      I think that's the conservative viewpoint: don't like working so hard? Then work less!

    2. Re:i'm a conservative by Siniset · · Score: 2, Insightful
      "as long as you are making enough to keep from depending on others for anything"

      I know this was a side comment, but i do take issue with this sort of attitude. You depend on so many people during your day, that it can boggle the mind. Just imagine how many people you rely on to have that roof over your head, or that car in your driveway, or the fact that you are educated, and are able to be self-employed.

      "The more people that do this, the more employers will support it and you don't have to resort to being self-employed if you don't want to do that."

      Isn't that what unions try to do?

    3. Re:i'm a conservative by XanC · · Score: 2, Insightful

      There's a huge difference between:

      1) hiring the labor of others with your own hard-earned canned labor (money)

      and

      2) waiting around for a handout to be able to hire that same labor.

      The kind of dependency he's talking about is #2.

  5. Garumph by iamdrscience · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The problem about anything that surveys the economic losses caused by productivity losses is that they're all vague measurements of approxiamate things that are then multiplied by a huge group of people. Really, what this means is that while there might be truth in the idea these statistics try to show, the numbers are almost completely bullshit. For example, let's suppose 100 million workers in the united states have air blowing hand dryers instead of paper towels in their restrooms. These dryers take longer than paper towels, let's say maybe a minute instead of 10 seconds. I would think it's fair to say that on average a worker makes 1.5 trips to the bathroom per day. So if the average hourly wage of these employees is something like 15 bucks, 10 seconds of paper towels is worth $0.0417, one minute of air drying is worth $0.25. That means that we're wasting ~$31 Million per day! That's billions per year! My God! Something has to be done!

    1. Re:Garumph by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "These dryers take longer than paper towels, let's say maybe a minute instead of 10 seconds. I would think it's fair to say that on average a worker makes 1.5 trips to the bathroom per day."

      That's assuming that people wash their hands when they're done. If you've ever watched the people that finish up and leave, you'd know better.

      Yeah, I'm the freaky guy that stands in the bathroom watching everyone else.

    2. Re:Garumph by KarmaOverDogma · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I agree with your point about statistics being used for vague and innappropriate ends. I, personally have a copy of Darrell Huff's "How to lie with Statistics." (the 39th printing, no less...) published by W.W. Norton, ISBN number: 039309426X.
      It is a very intersting book with does address your point about vague measurements being used for whatever ends the user intends.

      However, I think you are missing the larger point of the article in that it intends to continue the discussion of: are Americans working too hard?

      Case in point here is the idea of the curve of diminishing returns. Can you ever recall a time when you worked so many hours that you were less productive or tires/stressd-out as a result? Where, if you had merely done job X over two 4 hours shifts instead of one 10 hour shift you could have done the same amount of work with less stress and/or fatigue, and in less work hours? I'll bet you probably have.

      I don't know if I have the all the answeres to job stress, but I think it's fair to say that, sometimes, there are other ways to get work done that may be easier on people than just plowing/trudging through no matter how long it takes.

      .

      --
      uR iGn0ranc3, Their Power
  6. Eh? by edunbar93 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How can a country lose $300 billion in productivity and still be the most productive country in the world? Americans work longer hours, spend less time on vacation, work harder, and as a result your economy outpaces countries like Japan, whom you used to believe were insanely overworked.

    This is another one of those monetary statistics that we can file under "overblown."

    --
    "No problem. I have the capacity to do infinite work so long as you don't mind that my quality approaches zero."-Dilbert
    1. Re:Eh? by Foxyloficus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not sure about the 'work harder' bit, as far as I'm aware, productivity per hour worked is higher in most European countries. People in the US do work a lot more hours, but less productive hours. BTW much of the US economic growth that you tout is driven my debt, which is funded from the savings of people in Japan, China and Europe. Economies such as Japan and Europe where people tend to save more and consume less tend to grow at slower, steadier rates. At the moment the US government appears to be trying to stave off a massive economic meltdown by having effectively zero interest rates and huge government spending. I hope this works, because if it doesn't, it's going to horrible globally.

  7. It's all about balance. by Soko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Buddists have one thing right - there is a Yin and a Yang to everything. Call it a dual edged sword, whetever - in our world, there is an upside and a downside to everything.

    There will enevitably be many +5 (Insightful) comments about how we're being mowed down by "the Man, squeezing more blood out of us to make more money", but when you think about it, the reason for that is we all, in reality, want to be "the Man". We want the things they dangle in front of us, that require disposable income to acquire. "Ooooh, Shiny iPod/Beemer/Opteron" crosses our lips and we've bought into this system. Work more to get more things for our "leisure time", which ends up being non-existant. "If work hard, I'll get promoted and get that raise - then I'll get a life" used to be my mantra. Now, after my good paying job was killed and in essence just moved out of province in the name of profits, I'm fed up enough to say "Fuck you - as long as my family is warm, healthy, clothed and fed I'm happy".

    Capitalism is good, it's the best system we've got, but like all things it can go too far. Don't forget why your toiling away - it's to make a life, not make money. Remember, there is a downside to everything - no exceptions.

    Meh. Just Crown Royal influenced ramblings from a slightly bitter old man. On to our regularily scheduled bashing of "the man"...

    Soko

    --
    "Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
    1. Re:It's all about balance. by fermion · · Score: 3, Insightful
      But the best balance is about picking and choosing the best of all possible scenarios, not about dogmatic loyalties to particular arbitrary reference frames.

      Capitalism works if there are resources to waste, that is if we can afford to have 20 different firms making a product, knowing that 80% of them will not exist in year, and half the inventory will be surplus.

      In any system there are the vested interests that will oppress to maintain power or profits or whatever. And there are as many people in a America who do nothing but draw a paycheck as anywhere else.

      Furthermore, capitalism depends upon us buying stuff. Therefore, we not only work to get money to buy stuff, we buy stuff so we can work. To me this leads to a flaw of capitalism, in that it requires a somewhat balanced distribution of wealth to function. If a few people have all the money, capitalism will not function as there is only so much stuff that one person can buy. To make sure that people really consume, you have to have a viable middle class, and even a viable lower class, for they are the ones that are going to be the largest consumers of basic goods. The yachts do not drive the economy, the food and clothes and rent does. To do this, as the natural tendency to collect wealth, a significant amount of socialism has to be introduced so that people will have enough confidence that new money will be coming in next week or next month and will therefore spend money instead of saving an undue amount. People who are worried about survival are not going to buy the goods that actually keep a firm afloat.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  8. Re:Go tell it to the Europeans by zymurgy_cat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ....with their 4-6 weeks of vacations and holidays each year. We work about 25% more per year than do most Europeans. I really do not understand why we Americans have let ourselves be brainwashed into SweatShopAmerica.

    My employer does a fair amount of business in Europe or with European based companies. Everytime a customer from this continent comes up, we always talk about the numerous weeks of vacation and whatnot.

    People always end up talking about the "high" unemployment rate and the "high" taxes, but they always wistfully look on the health care and 3x vacation....but then they drive home in their 2nd or 3rd car (sometimes an SUV) to a home that's twice as big as they need to their big screen TV that they paid for with a bonus check that could have been put to retirement....

    As long as we Americans want our toys and things, we'll never get get 6 weeks vacation....

    --
    -- Fugacity: Confusing chemists since 1908
  9. Unemlpoyment is OK when you have good benefits by Cryofan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    France and most other European countries will give you far more unemployment benefits than American workers gets. In many EU countries, one could drawa years of unemployment if laid off. Try that here.

    Plus, welfare is far more generous there.

    --
    eat shiat and bark at the moon
    1. Re:Unemlpoyment is OK when you have good benefits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Problem is if there is no unemployment insurance
      and you'd starve to death without a job you pretty soon find yourself working for next to nothing.

  10. Good and/or bad by mnemonic_ · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Mod me down if you want. I'll use my karma bonus this time to fend off your savage attacks. Ha ha! Take that.

    Anyways...

    What I find interesting is that if this were about another country, such as Germany, people would be speaking highly of the German people's work ethic, their productivity and their strength. When it's about America though, it's because we're greedy and don't know how to enjoy life (regardless of the fact that for some, work is enjoyable).

    Now what if this article stated that the U.S. had the least stressful workers with the most leisure time? There would be endless comments citing this as evidence of American laziness and preoccupation with entertainment. No matter what, it is possible to interpret the data however one desires, to fit any man's personal slant.

  11. Temporary effect of capitalism? by Pingla · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It seems quite evident that stress is a result of stronger pressure regarding performance, and this is again a result of tougher competition between companies. So naturally the employers try to squeeze out as much as possible out of their employees as they see it most beneficial. But what I cannot grasp is why they continue to do se even when it has been demonstrated again and again that having overworked and stressed employees doesn't improve efficiency! It may look like it in the short run, but at a point it turns, drastically.

    If a company needs more work done, why not hire more qualified people and keep the working hours down? Overtime is compensated quite heavily and by hiring an extra person instead of all the compensation the company will not spend more money on the work force, more people will be working, and there would be less stress. Can it be this simple, or is there something that I am completely missing? If this had been the most efficient solution one would think it had been adopted as a standard in the constant fight in our capitalistic environment.

    1. Re:Temporary effect of capitalism? by benna · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'd say its more of a permanent effect of capitalism. Capitalism is all about people constnatly trying to do more and more, and make more and more money, and get higher and higher positions, and get better and better grades and a million other things. No wonder people are stressed. If people would just sit back and realize that they are ok right where they are they would be alot less stressed. Life is like a dance or a song. You wouldn't dance to get to a spot on the floor or play to get to the end of the song.

      --
      "It is not how things are in the world that is mystical, but that it exists." -Ludwig Wittgenstein
    2. Re:Temporary effect of capitalism? by boomgopher · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If people would just sit back and realize that they are ok right where they are they would be alot less stressed. Life is like a dance or a song. You wouldn't dance to get to a spot on the floor or play to get to the end of the song.

      You don't have a family and kids do you?

      Working hard to buy a home so your family can have stability: good
      Working hard to live in a good neighborhood so your family doesn't live next to drunk homeless guys: good
      Working hard so your wife doesn't have to work (and keeping kids out of daycare): good
      etc...

      That's not capitalism, that's common sense and being responsible.
      And sorry, I don't trust the government enough to let them try and provide those things for me via social programs.

      --
      Your hybrid is not saving the environment. Its purpose is to make you feel good about buying something.
  12. Re:Go tell it to the Europeans by servognome · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ironicly this is posted labor day weekend... why do we have labor day in september? Because the goverment felt we needed a token holiday during the 3 month period between 4th of July and Columbus day (which I think most places besides federal goverment ignore)
    The US may have the most "stuff" but we pay for it with our health. We buy a $5000 plasma TV to get our minds off the stress of all the work we need to do to afford a $5000 plasma TV.

    --
    D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
  13. Might I suggest a cure ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... cool, refreshing marijuana?

    1. Re:Might I suggest a cure ... by benna · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This is actually an interesting point. The benefits of a society of pot heads may actually outweigh the costs. With stress costing that much theres a pretty good chance of it anyway.

      --
      "It is not how things are in the world that is mystical, but that it exists." -Ludwig Wittgenstein
  14. Re:Isn't that.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Still not what we spend on illegal drugs.

    Marijuana: My anti drug. It kills stress too.

  15. Re:399 driik by focitrixilous+P · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Alright man, time to get out of the slashdot gutter.

    Alcoholics Anonymous

    See, that's at least two times you've done this now. Yesterday sometime

    Of course, there is the chance that you are joking. I doubt anyone could type that bad and still be close enough for me to rad it intentionally.

    And yes, this is way offtopic. I better post something related, insightfully if possible

    See, this is the kind of thing that is a result of stress. 300 Billion a year is hard to imagine. This guy posting drunk to slashdot, cause he (maybe) drinks away the stress on weekends, that's something we can relate to. All that money is just speculation, but see what a little stress and a lot of alcohol will do to you? This is what's runing america.

    --
    SAILING MISHAP
  16. GREAT POST! by Cryofan · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Man, you just said what I have trying to tell people for the last year: America is FUCKED!

    I mean it, man. I was born here, and served in the military for America. But when I started comparing it to other countries (which I could finally do only with the Internet), I discovered that something is wrong with this country. And it is not something new. It is something that goes back decades. Or maybe even centuries.

    --
    eat shiat and bark at the moon
  17. So Slack! by DaHat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Want to avoid stress while on the job?

    Just don't care!

    Yea... that deadline is coming quick, but who cares? Which is more important? Some product getting out the door or your sanity and full head of hair?

    --
    Help Brendan pay off his student loans
    1. Re:So Slack! by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2, Insightful

      How about my paycheck.

      If you dont do the dealines then your employer owes it to its shareholders to find someone else who will.

      With Indians doing that for 7-14k a year what choice do you have? Suck it up?

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
  18. Death is Nature's Way of Telling You to Slow Down by Detritus · · Score: 4, Insightful
    You are not indestructible. I've seen too many friends and coworkers die well before their time. I have chronic health problems that were caused or aggravated by high levels of stress.

    You only have one life. Do you want to spend it working overtime, putting cover sheets on TPS reports and dealing with control freaks in management? Working excessive hours will not make your penis/boobs larger or make you a better person.

    --
    Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
  19. Re:people in the US work too much by Carmelia · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "I have a right to work as hard as possible or lose my job to someone else who will work just as hard for less."

    You call that a right? I call that a burden.
    The parent probably meant that he doesn't have to work his ass off to be assured of not loosing his job.

    Also, you could work a lot (60+ hours a week) and still be half as efficient as a 35-40 hours worker, due to stress, fatigue and whatnot.

  20. Bullshit. Without stress nothing gets done! by msgilligan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Sure stress may cost $300 billion per year in related costs, but the absence of stress would eliminate at least half of the remaining $11,000 billion in U.S. GDP.

  21. Re:people in the US work too much by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1, Insightful

    No the studies show that after 40 little work is done but its never half as efficient as 35-40 hours.

    But I am serious. I am overworked but if I slack I seriously will lose my job.

    Its a sad world we live in but I go to school too and need to put food on the table. All I know is if I do not work over 40 hours things wont get done and my boss will be wondering what I am doing if I am not working regular hours(as in 60).

    I will be replaced but what can I do?

    If the economy improves I could tell my boss to hire more people or quit and find anyone else. But now I am thankfull I do not flip burgers at this point.

    The market is directly manipulated. Either by CEO's or workers. Unions have a bad label because they manipulate prices but its somehow ok if executives lobby the government to bring in H1B1 Visa's and give tax breaks to outsource so I have to compete with billions now for my job. This oversupplies the market and lowers the cost I work and gives an incentive to overwork sine someone else will be happy to do it.

    Its not fair indeed.

    --
    http://saveie6.com/
  22. Entitlement by aka-ed · · Score: 2, Insightful
    As a member of the unemployed, I have to cover the costs of my own stress. How do I get my fair share of that $300 billion?

    --
    I survived the Dick Cheney Presidency 7 to 9 AM 7-21-07
  23. I Am the man by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 4, Insightful
    At least for myself. And I am a harsh boss - no drinking until at least 3pm! My stupid dot-com went bust, like so many others, so, now, I work for myself.

    When I am not working I relish the fact that I am saving thousands ($USD) per month in taxes, so the lack of income really isn't that bad, since I don't aquire every "Ooooh, Shiny iPod/Beemer/Opteron" piece of crap that passes in front of me.

    When I am working, I can easily take in $10 - $12K per month. Taxes eat almost half of it, but I always stash plenty away as a "stress reducer", for later.

    There would be a lot less stress in the world if people didn't buy more than they could afford. I have zero credit card debt, and own my cars. I could have bought beemers, but paying cash for Toyotas is so much less stress. Plan to live on a "flippin burgers" income and just think of all the stess-reducing beer money you will have when you earn more!

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
  24. Re:Go tell it to the Europeans by FFFish · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We work about 25% more per year than do most Europeans.

    And you still have to shop at Wal*Mart.

    Think about it. It's not like Europeans have a low standard of living. They get paid well, they get great vacations, they get great social benefits. WTF are you thinking, working harder for less?! Something is wrong in America.

    --

    --
    Don't like it? Respond with words, not karma.
  25. Re:This is what happens when by k4_pacific · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Amen to that.

    Here's how I dealt with it:

    1. Identify something at your company that isn't "sexy." And I'm not talking about the 50 year old receptionist. 3 years ago, right out of college, I took a job with a small software company. They make applications for point-of-sale systems, and about half of the customers are still running old hardware with MS-DOS 6.22 with no plans to upgrade. However, they still wanted new features so there was constant development in this area which no one wanted to do because the Codeview debugger sucks and putting printfs everywhere is tedious.

    2. Get good at it. Ideally, you want to find a better way to do things than just do things. So I invested a bunch of time and effort into learning how DOS works at its lowest levels and memorizing the 286-protected mode extender's manual. Then I cooked up some better debugging tools. One thing I did was created an exception routine that would iterate through the frame pointers on the stack and print the address of each called function to a file when the app crashed in the field. It also saved off various variables indicating when in the transaction the crashed occured as well. I then created a script that would automagically match up these hex values to addresses in the map file and give me a human readable call stack. No more unexplainable, unreproduceable offsite crashes. Totally revolutionized how we do things. I was a hero and suddenly I am THE DOS expert. Mostly I now sit in my cube and read Slashdot, pausing occasionally to help the other developers with their DOS problems. Oh, and I write the occasional module to interface to a new device (RS-232, another unsexy area of expertise).

    3. Live below your means. As I live in the midwest, housing is cheap to begin with. I shopped around until I found a house that needed some work and had a motivated seller. It was $45K (less than I make a year!), has three bedrooms plus a large finished attic, and is located in a reasonably decent, working class neighborhood. A little paint, a new roof on the garage, and some carpet and its good to go. I've almost got it paid off.

    4. Don't get married for a while. For me, this was easy because most of the women I dated up until now have been psychos. Ideally, you want to find a mate that's not horribly materialistic. See that girl with the nice hair and make-up and the designer clothes? Ignore her. She's hugely materialistic and probably a total flake to boot. Instead look for someone that at first glance you wouldn't ordinarily glance at. She's the one wearing the T-shirt and blue jeans and hastily combed hair that likes to stay up all night watching Monty Python. (They do exist, I'm dating her right now. I love you honeybunny.) She may not be as attractive initially but, I've noticed that, if I date an attractive woman with no personality, she quickly becomes less attractive. On the other hand, a relatively unattractive woman with a great personality will become more attractive as you get to know her. (Subjectively attractive that is, they don't let themselves go or anything.)

    5. After establishing yourself as the resident expert in something, be sure your boss knows you are living well beneath your means. But don't tell him outright. You don't want to come off as cocky. Instead, drive a shitty car to work as your primary vehicle or casually discuss how you spent the weekend re-roofing the garage. He'll get the idea. Once your house is paid off and you got it fixed up (and it will be soon within a few short years if you do most things yourself and don't spend a ton of money on a new car or other luxuries), you'll be able to quit any time you want and go to work at the local Dairy Mart and your boss will know it. Suddenly, he's kissing YOUR ass. You won't be asked to work 80 hours a week anymore. You might even get to telecommute.

    Oh, and as for the THC thing, shave your head and keep a sample of clean urine handy.

    So to recap,

    --
    Unknown host pong.
  26. Related Article (Business 2.0) by AlexMidn1ght · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There was an interesting article about the different mentality regarding work hours in Europe in the August issue of Business 2.0 entitled All Work, No Play? It Doesn't Pay. (hope this link works for everyone)

    I think the subtitle speaks for it self : "European companies get it, but when will their workaholic American counterparts? Longer hours don't always add up to better work."

  27. By applying stress ... by GringoGoiano · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Business gets a $2 trillion (number pulled from nether regions) boost in profits by applying stress. $.3 trillion is a small price to pay, and it's not even business' burden to foot the bill.



    Get real. Stress motivates, and it's an integral part of business strategy.

    1. Re:By applying stress ... by deaddrunk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not when you can't sleep at night because you're so stressed out about the next day at work, or have no time to relax because you have to work at home.
      I've taken a 50% pay cut to escape from an environment like that and I've never been happier. Being rich is nice but not when you're freaking out trying to keep up with the crappy culture that exists at far too many companies.

      --
      Does a Christian soccer team even need a goalkeeper?
    2. Re:By applying stress ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Yep. Had a manager once who thought just like you...

      Sure enough, he did manage to scare his team into extraordinary levels of work (notice how I didn't say productivity).

      For about three months. Then his best person announced he was leaving for another job. That's OK, the manager thought, I'll just shift the burden over to my remaining people. A couple pf weeks later, employee no. 2 and shortly thereafter employee no. 3 bailed for better pastures.

      Manager's public response: "Fuck 'em. I can have a hundred resumes tomorrow."

      Yep, sure enough he could. But it turns out that it took longer than he expected to find the "right" people, and hey, what do you know, it took quite some time for the new people to get up to speed.

      In which time, everything fell apart. Oh my, how could you have seen this coming? Who could have foretold the tragedy? Cracking whips and screaming tantrums and motivation through fear causes you to lose your best people, increases hours while decimating productivity and will ultimately put you out of business.

  28. Re:Go tell it to the Europeans by jburroug · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You're right something is wrong over here, which is why I submitted the story.

    WTF are you thinking, working harder for less?!

    The answer to that is simple: I want a job. It's pretty much impossible to negotiate for a shorter work week for a professional job here. Beleive me, I've tried. When I got hired on at my current job I actually asked if I could get double vacation (4 weeks) or a seven hour work day if I took pay cut, my request was met with a confused stare and a refusal. I was honestly afraid that even by just asking I'd lose the offer because management would then assume that I wasn't a 'team player.' I should point out that the company I work for is considered liberal by US standards - a paid lunch break is factored into our work schudules, which is almost unheard of in the US these days. And we get to leave early on the day before a holiday.

    Still though, I often find myself badgering co-workers to leave on time almost daily. Since I work 10-6:30 (thanks to clients out west we need extended hours) instead of the normal 8:30-5 I know when everyone leaves. Waaay too often they'll inist on staying till they finish "one last thing" which costs them an hour of personal time they won't ever get back. Thus increasing their stress, and their health care costs and raises the insurnce premiums we all pay. So sad. Also makes it harder for me to goof off ala Bonjour Paresse :-)

    --
    "Listen: We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different!" - Kurt Vonnegut
  29. Not sure I credit the numbers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    300 billion USD, eh?

    It this a real, sane figure, or is it like FAST supposing every illegal copy of software would otherwise have been bought?

    There is *no* critical assessment of this figure or the report which led to it, and the body of the article is a repetition of data which, again at face value, supports the notion that workplace stress is high and/or rising.

    This is not news, it's not science; it's pulling numbers out of a hat ("I'll use *this* report") and then choosing anecdotes and isolated reports which back up the chosen POV.

    It may be there is true in the assertation, but I would not be able to know this from this report.

    --
    Toby

  30. Re:This is what happens when by JakiChan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Your plan is somewhat lacking...what about those of us who live in an area that isn't cheap? Sorry, but living "below my means" in the Bay Area means moving to the Central Valley. And commuting 2 hours each way to work. And guess what...more stress.

    Sorry, but I happen to like my toys. I took Friday off for this Labor Day weekend to give me 4 days of no work. What did I do Friday? I went stomping around the Santa Cruz mountains in my new car. And then I came home and watched a movie on my big-ass TV. It was a good day.

    Now the biggest flaw in your plan is that there is a reason you are doing work that no one wants to do. Because it sucks. What's even better is decide what you like to do and then do it. Doing what you love often leads to rewarding work.

    --
    "Where quality is like a dead stinking rat - you just can't miss it."
  31. Good for you, man by Sviams · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Interesting interpretation, but I think you kinda missed the whole point of the GP.
    The idea is not that you reduce stress by stockpiling money instead of spending it, which may be a general difference between europeans and americans as pointed by a previous poster. In no way does that correlate to the amount of stress these people submit themselves to when acquiring said amounts of money.

    No, friends, what the Buddhists along with several other less-respected-in-the-eyes-of-capitalism movements have figured out lies on a deeper level, and without going into detail, it involves realising that excessive greed for whatever reason is a serious hindrance on the path to true happiness.

  32. Re:Go tell it to the Europeans by h4rm0ny · · Score: 2, Insightful


    And you still have to shop at Wal*Mart.

    Weird, isn't it? The US economy is staggering in world terms. We hear that all the time. Yet, for the people within the US, their purchasing power isn't wildly different. There are other factors, such as the massive availablity of land, that change things such as the size of your typical house, but broadly speaking, the average US citizen isn't much better off than a european counterpart. And judging by the other posts in this thread, he works a bit harder for it too.

    It's ridiculous to say the money isn't there. We have modern farming equipment, manufacturing, transport. So why aren't we all just sitting back and enjoying the rewards of a few centuries of technological development?

    I think one difference is formed by what the typical citizens of a country are doing. We all compete with each other. The US citizen may be vastly richer than an eastern european, an indian or a chinese, but he lives in a land where everybody else is too. It's not possible to ease off and do a twenty-hour week because you'd get left behind. Our equilibrium is set at 37+ hours.

    But that's not to say that there couldn't be another euqilibrium lower down if everyone typically worked 20 hours a week. A parallel situation would be how there used to be only one breadwinner in a household (typically the husband) and now there are two. Living costs go up and it's now much harder for there to just be a single breadwinner. We've adopted a different equilibrium, just like we've failed to adopt a different equilibrium as technology has progressed.

    I think this has led to a reduction in the amount of work that 'needs' to be done. Assuming technology continues to progress and civilization doesn't slide back again, then this situation can only get more pronounced. Energy required to hold onto a job will continue to increase and benefits to the employee will continue to shrink as the 'owners' have less and less need to for them and the balance of power shifts further.

    --

    Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
  33. Sadly, this is actually *efficient*. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Don't you think corporations get more than $300 billion worth of labor from all this slavedriving? It's efficient for them to do this, that's why they do it. What's a couple of thousand heart attacks among the underlings compared to the CEO's big yacht?

    We need a real labor movement in this country.

  34. Type A American perspective by cygtoad · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Leave it to us Americans to write a story with this type A perspective. Oh my God! Do you realize how much strss cost each year? Let's stress about the cost of stress! Is stress only a problem to the extent that it impacts our pocket book? No. This kind of stuff just convinces me that we are so far from a solution on this as a nation, that we are nearly hopelessly lost. Why don't we stress about that too?

  35. Re:This is what happens when by dogfart · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Why do the people working in corporate america have this attitude ? Is it just plain fear?

    Short answer: Yes

    Longer answer: Employee are expendable in the USA. You may be let go for not being a "team player" and working the extra hours your peers work. This creates a competitive atmsphere where no one wants to be seen as the slacker. Once you have been let go, you lose your benefits (yes you can continue your health benefits at a very high cost under a program called COBRA, but that is short term and ver expensive). Unemployment benefits are very small compared to any salaried position - you must have a very frugal lifestyle to live on unemployment (also some employers are very skilled at "terminating" employees in such a way that they are unable to collect unemployment at all). Finally, folks who have been terminated are treated like pariahs by many potential employers. I know this from being on the hiring end - "If this person were any good, why were they let go?"

    When you have been through this, you have the requisite level of fear necessary to ensure you will not get let go again. You colleagues who acted frightened about your lunch suggestion may have been through this.

    Really, the American economic system is all about fear and greed.

    --

    "dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope"