Overworked in America

Much of our attention as economic developers is focused on creating jobs, and therefore work, for people in American communities. How aware are we of the family, psychological, and social impacts of all this work on people's lives? Here are some insights about people and their work across America.

A March-released study by Families and Work Institute, Overwork in America: When the Way We Work Becomes Too Much, reports that one in three American employees are chronically overworked, while 54 percent have felt overwhelmed at some time in the past month by how much work they had to complete.

The study of more than 1,000 wage and salaried employees identifies for the first time why being overworked and feeling overwhelmed have become so pervasive in the American workplace.

Key Study Data:

* One in three American employees are chronically overworked.

*54 percent of American employees have felt overwhelmed at some time in the past month by how much work they had to complete.

*29 percent of employees spend a lot of time doing work that they consider a waste of time. These employees are more likely to be overworked.

* 79 percent of employees had access to paid vacations in 2004.

* More than one-third of employees (36 percent) had not and were not planning to take their full vacation.

* On average, American workers take 14.6 vacation days annually.

* Most employees take short vacations, with 37 percent taking fewer than seven days.

* Only 14 percent of employees take vacations of two weeks or more.

* Among employees who take one to three days off (including weekends), 68 percent return feeling relaxed compared with 85 percent who take seven or more days (including weekends).

* Only 8 percent of employees who are not overworked experience symptoms of clinical depression compared with 21 percent of those who are highly overworked.