- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Basic Books; Reprint edition (Jan 1 1950)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 046505434X
- ISBN-13: 978-0465054343
- Product Dimensions: 19.7 x 13.4 x 1.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 299 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #473,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
An important, hard-hitting, well-documented look at the overworking of America, this study finds that Americans now spend more hours working than at any time since WW II. 75,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This is a book with an important message that unfortunately will probably not be taken seriously. Schor, a Harvard economist, argues from statistics what the rest of us know from experience, that "in the last twenty years the amount of time Americans have spent at their jobs has risen steadily." And the statistics, if accurate, are stunning. Each year our work year increases by one day. We average only 16 hours of leisure a week after jobs and household chores. Working hours are longer than they were 40 years ago. And if present trends continue by the year 2000, we will be spending as much time at our jobs as we did in the 1920s. However, as Schor notes, we are also willing victims of this erosion of leisure as we pursue promotions, bigger salaries, and conspicuous consumption. Her solution? Hold jobs to a set number of hours per week, offer comp time for any overtime, and lower our living standards. Recommended for academic and public libraries.
- Jeffrey R. Herold, Bucyrus P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- Jeffrey R. Herold, Bucyrus P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
True, Yet Contrary to the American Mentality,
By
This review is from: The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline Of Leisure (Paperback)
Juliet Schor presents many balanced and interesting facts, stats, and trends in the past and present individual and collective work environment in the United States. Do most Americans realize this or even think about it?....I've met only a few who do. Since World War II worker productivity per capita has more than doubled. And, the hours worked has increased so steadily that work hours will be at the levels of what they were in the 1920s. The average American takes 12 days off per year, which is the lowest in the industrialized world. Yet Americans are in more personal debt than at any time at our history. Most today, will work into their 70s as the thing called retirement is not possible for most. Question: is it worth it? The Puritanical work-consume-work-consume-die mentality is being questioned by some Americans, now that their investments, pensions, and 401-Ks have lost the principal to allow them to live and do what they have always been wanting to do. This book may seem contrary to the way most Americans have been raised and advised throughout their lives. Do Americans have time to reflect, think, relax, and pursue anything to their liking? The answer depends on who you are, so ask yourself that question. This is a relevant book for a very relevant topic.
4.0 out of 5 stars
easier said than done,
By
This review is from: The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline Of Leisure (Paperback)
I disagree with the reviewer who blasts Schor's accusations against corporate America."Get a job you like and live within your means," he advises. Trouble is, there's something very peculiar about the way the job market is set up. As a bachelor's degreed worker, looking for a moderate way job, I've found full-time (PLUS - emphasis on the plus) jobs at $50K and full-time jobs at $25K, but where the heck are the half-time jobs at $25K? No where to be found. "Face-time" requirements and inflexibility on the part of most companies thwart the moderation strategy.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Groundbreaking classic,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline Of Leisure (Paperback)
When Schor's book came out in the early ninties, people were somehow blind to the fact that Americans were working more and had significantly less leisure time. Her book functioned very much like the child who sees that the emperor has no clothes. Once this book was out, everyone began to realise what should have been obvious about the changes in the American workplace. But what give's Schor's book continued value is her analysis of the reasons why American's are still in this time trap. She goes beyond the usual analysis of the effects of advertising and consumerism by taking a look at labor history and showing why the people who run the workplace prefer to offer workers a productivity dividend of money, not time. She raises important questions about how much choice workers have about the hours they spend at work. A terrific book.
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