Feb 25, 2019  |  Adam McCann, Financial Writer

Lisa M. Kath, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Psychology, San Diego State University

Lisa M. Kath

Research shows that Americans work 25% more hours than their counterparts in Europe. Why do Americans work so much more, and is it worth it?

There are at least a couple of reasons Americans work more than Europeans (and this is not my area of deep expertise – so you may consult others on this topic). One is because of the different landscapes for legal protection for workers in the two geographic regions. It is more common for the number of work hours/week to be highly regulated in Europe, which leads to shorter work weeks for Europeans. Another reason is cultural: the so-called “American Dream” is that anyone who works hard can get ahead here, which leads to longer work weeks for Americans.

Does working more hours always translate into higher productivity? Does this vary by industry or job type?

Working more hours definitely does not always translate into higher productivity, and this is largely true across industry and job type. What differs across job type may be the reasons why productivity may drop off after a certain number of hours worked in a given day. Obviously, physical jobs will be more affected by physical fatigue, whereas “knowledge workers” may be more affected by mental fatigue.

What is the ideal numbers of hours to work per week?

No idea. I have heard some anecdotes that people can be highly productive with just 6 focused hours/day, but (a) that’s not based on any specific scientific reading that I’ve done, and (b) if that is true, it is probably more true for certain types of jobs than others. However, I’m a proponent of helping set the stage for workers to be able to work smart. There’s a tangible difference between being strategically busy and frantically busy, and the more organizations can support workers to be motivated to stay in the “strategically busy” zone, the better.

What policies should governments and firms adopt to improve the quality of life of American workers?

Health and safety (both mental and physical!) are really critical foundations for quality of life for American workers. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has a program called Total Worker Health that supports a high quality of life for American workers. Individual firms play a huge role in building cultures that promote/support mentally sharp and physically capable workers. I think leaders play a special role in modeling physical and mental well-being for the workers in their organizations. Celebrating busyness as an end unto itself seems like a recipe for broken employees.

Hardest-Working Cities in the U.S.

Overall Rank* City Total Score ‘Direct Work Factors’
Rank		 ‘Indirect Work Factors’
Rank
1 Anchorage, AK 79.03 3 8
2 San Francisco, CA 75.37 4 33
3 Irving, TX 75.33 1 70
4 Virginia Beach, VA 74.95 6 19
5 Plano, TX 73.97 5 58
6 Denver, CO 73.70 10 13
7 Aurora, CO 72.87 13 7
8 Austin, TX 72.50 2 93
9 Cheyenne, WY 72.40 7 86
10 Sioux Falls, SD 71.96 22 2
11 Dallas, TX 71.73 9 56
12 Norfolk, VA 71.34 11 27
13 Corpus Christi, TX 70.79 8 104
14 Washington, DC 70.71 14 20
15 Fort Worth, TX 69.76 12 53
16 Chesapeake, VA 69.60 21 14
17 Honolulu, HI 69.56 20 32
18 Arlington, TX 68.91 17 52
19 Garland, TX 68.23 19 44
20 Nashville, TN 68.21 15 65
21 Charlotte, NC 68.06 24 23
22 Houston, TX 67.86 18 76
23 Raleigh, NC 67.51 26 24
24 Portland, ME 67.43 36 16
25 Gilbert, AZ 66.90 23 42
26 Seattle, WA 66.77 46 6
27 Colorado Springs, CO 66.68 42 17
28 Durham, NC 66.30 32 38
29 Manchester, NH 66.27 39 21
30 Chandler, AZ 65.93 25 64
31 Omaha, NE 65.06 44 30
32 Oklahoma City, OK 64.87 16 110
33 Irvine, CA 64.74 29 80
34 Fargo, ND 64.43 33 77
35 Fremont, CA 64.40 45 28
36 Laredo, TX 64.40 28 101
37 Tampa, FL 64.39 27 89
38 San Jose, CA 64.33 38 41
39 Billings, MT 64.16 40 63
40 Scottsdale, AZ 63.89 34 73
41 Salt Lake City, UT 63.81 63 5
42 Des Moines, IA 63.31 57 18
43 El Paso, TX 62.96 41 96
44 San Antonio, TX 62.93 31 99
45 Little Rock, AR 62.84 35 107
46 Boston, MA 62.08 65 15
47 Tulsa, OK 61.91 37 111
48 Indianapolis, IN 61.59 54 40
49 San Diego, CA 61.56 48 74
50 St. Petersburg, FL 61.56 43 90
51 Wichita, KS 61.45 58 46
52 Jersey City, NJ 61.32 53 61
53 Oakland, CA 61.29 59 36
54 Anaheim, CA 61.24 52 68
55 Kansas City, MO 60.88 62 37
56 Long Beach, CA 60.87 55 54
57 Minneapolis, MN 60.86 74 11
58 Phoenix, AZ 60.77 56 57
59 Santa Ana, CA 60.77 49 80
60 Baltimore, MD 60.63 85 1
61 Jacksonville, FL 60.58 30 112
62 Atlanta, GA 60.47 51 82
63 Orlando, FL 60.45 47 95
64 Lincoln, NE 60.42 67 34
65 Louisville, KY 60.01 61 50
66 Portland, OR 59.75 80 4
67 Los Angeles, CA 58.95 68 48
68 Lubbock, TX 58.71 50 113
69 Henderson, NV 58.51 60 92
70 Boise, ID 58.40 66 97
71 Lexington-Fayette, KY 58.08 64 100
72 Columbus, OH 57.89 70 55
73 New York, NY 57.84 72 59
74 Glendale, AZ 57.71 76 43
75 Fort Wayne, IN 57.11 75 75
76 Chula Vista, CA 56.47 78 45
77 St. Paul, MN 56.30 93 9
78 Greensboro, NC 56.08 83 49
79 New Orleans, LA 55.83 69 98
80 St. Louis, MO 55.78 87 29
81 Winston-Salem, NC 55.69 86 51
82 Miami, FL 55.35 71 102
83 Chicago, IL 54.87 92 25
84 North Las Vegas, NV 54.43 82 79
85 Reno, NV 54.40 73 114
86 Mesa, AZ 54.27 89 60
87 Las Vegas, NV 54.26 81 84
88 Memphis, TN 54.24 84 71
89 Bakersfield, CA 54.14 88 78
90 Wilmington, DE 54.04 79 91
91 Madison, WI 52.50 99 22
92 Philadelphia, PA 52.32 100 10
93 Charleston, WV 52.09 77 116
94 Albuquerque, NM 51.82 94 87
95 Milwaukee, WI 51.56 103 3
96 Riverside, CA 51.30 97 47
97 Jackson, MS 51.24 91 105
98 Sacramento, CA 51.01 95 83
99 Birmingham, AL 50.51 90 109
100 Baton Rouge, LA 49.74 96 103
101 Cincinnati, OH 48.45 102 39
102 Hialeah, FL 47.69 98 106
103 Pittsburgh, PA 47.37 104 26
104 Tucson, AZ 46.88 101 94
105 Stockton, CA 46.26 106 35
106 San Bernardino, CA 44.12 108 67
107 Toledo, OH 43.67 109 66
108 Fresno, CA 43.61 107 85
109 Bridgeport, CT 42.33 112 12
110 Providence, RI 42.26 110 72
111 Columbia, SC 41.28 105 115
112 Newark, NJ 41.26 111 61
113 Cleveland, OH 38.27 114 31
114 Buffalo, NY 33.75 113 108
115 Burlington, VT 32.30 115 88
116 Detroit, MI 31.93 116 69

*1=Hardest Working

Link to Article:

https://wallethub.com/edu/hardest-working-cities-in-america/10424/#expert=lisa-m-kath