Drew Wolf

Profesor Kretzer

ENG 1201

17 April 2020

Literature Review

My research question is about our culture in America as it relates to work. Our culture

has become very work centric and it is affecting how we live. I will be looking into possible

alternatives to a traditional 40 hour work week as well as the effects on society of our work

habits. One thing I found in common among my five reliable sources is that America is obsessed

with work. This quote from “Workism Is Making Americans Miserable” by Derek Thompson

shows this “In the past century, the American conception of work has shifted from jobs to

careers to callings—from necessity to status to meaning.” (Thompson). Another quote from a

source has a similar message about Americans and work. This quote from “The U.S. is the Most

Overworked Developed Nation in the World” by G.E. Miller says “Cultural value of money over

everything else. We love money, we want more of it, and we think money can buy happiness.

And the more we work, the more we get paid.” (Miller). Both sources discuss how America has

become so involved with work and how it has become such a major role in our life. It was

always a necessity to work and get money to buy the things we need and want, but now it has

become more than that and it is what we live for.

Where people disagree is what the answer is. While Americans rack up the hours at work

their home lives are suffering. While one source is taking the side of the four day work week

another side says we need to take an individual approach and let people decide for themselves

the hours they decide to take on. Yuki Noguchi at npr wrote about the 4 day week that
“Remarkably, workers got more work done while working fewer hours. Sales and profits grew.

Employees spent less time commuting, and they were happier.” (Noguchi). While Sofia Quaglia

quoted John Pencavel as saying ““I don’t think one can say for all workers, all employers, even

if we could define ideal, even if we could agree," he says. The type of work, the firm you work

for, the employer's expectations, and the worker's personal circumstances may all make a

difference. "There’s not one size that fits all.”” (Quaglia). There is no easy solution to people

being overworked but it is important to have an open discussion. This would give us many ideas

to make people happier but also improve productivity.

The misconceptions that surround this topic is that we work normal hours in relation to

the rest of the world, or that we actually work less. But in reality America is an outlier when it

comes to the amount of time we spend working. “At least 134 countries have laws setting the

maximum length of the work week; the U.S. does not.” (Miller). The US lacks many standard

laws regarding how much time we work.

Another misconception is where the idea for the 40 hour work week actually came from.

It was started by Henry Ford in his factories. Many believe that it was because of legislation but

in reality it is a very old concept that needs to be discussed and reviewed further.

There are many possible solutions to Americans being overworked. I will need to do

further research into more possible answers but what some include switching to a four day work

week. Another is to allow people to pick their own hours as a lot of jobs can be done from home

and don’t require a commute. All solutions need further research but they all seem very possible.

Work Cited
Nick, et al. “The U.S. Is the Most Overworked Nation in the World.”
20somethingfinance.Com, 13 Jan. 2020, 20somethingfinance.com/american-hours-
worked-productivity-vacation/.

Greene, Jessica. “Is 40 Hours a Week Too Much? Here's What History and Science Say ·
AskSpoke.” AskSpoke, 16 Apr. 2020, www.askspoke.com/blog/hr/40-hour-work-week/.

Quaglia, Sofia. “Experts Reveal the Ideal Number of Hours You Should Work Each
Week.” Inverse, Inverse, 11 Feb. 2020, www.inverse.com/mind-body/experts-reveal-the-
ideal-number-of-hours-you-should-work-each-week.

Noguchi, Yuki. “Enjoy The Extra Day Off! More Bosses Give 4-Day Workweek A Try.”
NPR, NPR, 21 Feb. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/02/21/807133509/enjoy-the-extra-day-off-
more-bosses-give-4-day-workweek-a-try.

Thompson, Derek. “Workism Is Making Americans Miserable.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media
Company, 13 Aug. 2019, www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/religion-workism-
making-americans-miserable/583441/.