Eye opening stats below...please read this blog post, pass it on (reblog it), repost and retweet (www.twitter.com/austinnotary) Life is NOT about merely existing or working to get ahead. Never happens people! Most other countries in the world get this concept and have for dozens of centuries, just not our country as seen from stats! 13 DAYS average time off in USA. OMG! Work 50 weeks and get two off. If that's not the total definition of insanity I don't know what is. :O
The USA vs. the World
Average Annual Vacation Days
Italy 42
France 37
Germany 35
Brazil 34
Britain 28
Canada 26
Japan 25
USA 13
Americans work 137 more hours per year than Japanese (you heard like me rumors that Japan workers actually worked most hours in the world then anyone didn't you) workers, 260 more hours per year than British workers, and 499 more hours per year than French workers [22].
The U.S is the only nation in the industrialized world with no minimum paid-leave laws. European law provides each worker with 4-5 weeks per year of paid-leave. (We might be the wealthiest country in the world, but we sure aren't the smartest or have proper priorities in life that's for damn sure).
Nonetheless, Europe has had a higher productivity rate than the U.S. for 14 out of the 19 years between 1981 and 2000 [24].
The Coming Extinction of Vacation
26% of Americans take NO vacations at all [25]. (Over 1/4 people NEVER take time off!)
Only 14% of Americans take two weeks or more at a time for vacation [26]. The average American therefore spends more time in the bathroom than on vacation. (If this isn't the sadest stat EVER!)
American workers get an average of 8.1 days of vacation after one year on the job, and 10.2 days after three years [27]. At that rate of growth (25.9%), you won't even break three weeks after 12 years on the job.
Work-Life Imbalance and the Disappearing Family
57% of the class of 1999 graduating business students in 11 countries said that attaining work-life balance is their top career goal [29].
32% percent of workers cited work-life balance as the top priority in their careers, followed by job security at 22% and competitive salary at 18% [30].
How are they actually doing?
88% of employees say they have a hard time juggling work and life [31].
70% of working fathers and working mothers report they don't have enough time for their children [32].
64% of Americans report that time pressures on working families are getting worse, not better [33]..
What Happens When Employees Work Whenever and Wherever They Want?
By the end of 2007, all 4,000 staffers at Best Buy headquarters will be on ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment), which permits them to work whenever and wherever they want. So, what happens when smart companies realize that work isn't a place where you go, but something that you do? That performance should be based on output and not hours?
Average Rise In Worker Productivity Since 2005: 35%
Average Change in Voluntary Turnover (Quitting) Across Divisions: -72.3% [34]
Sun Microsystems Inc. calculates that it saves $300 million per year in real estate costs by allowing nearly 50% of employees to work anywhere they want.
Life is short, very short. We all run around with our heads cut off like a chicken, trying to make ends meet and just get by day to day. Ever wonder why? I heard an amazing quote from Tony Robbins recently, really stuck with me. He states, "just because your successful at something, doesn't mean it will fulfill you."
Read that sentence again carefully.
How many of you are pretty successful at something or even really successful? You may even make a crap load of money at it. But your not truly happy or even miserable. Your not fulfilled, at peace with yourself or life. What good is success and money without true fulfilment, joy and peace?
Ok, enough of my Yoda-isms coming out of me at 3:20am in the morning! :D
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[22] ILO Report
[23] "Washington to Nation: Drop Dead on the Job," Alternet, June 20, 2003
[24] U.S. Federal Reserve Board
[25] Boston College Survey
[26] The Families and Work Institute
[27] The Bureau of Labor Statistics
[28] Expedia.com Survey Calculations
[29] Price Waterhouse Coopers Survey, 2000
[30] Office Team Specialized Administrative Staffing Survey, 2002
[31] Aon Consulting, 2000
[32] Family Matters Survey; The National Partnership for Women & Families, 1998
[33] The National Partnership for Women & Families Family Matters Survey, 1998
[34] "Smashing The Clock," BusinessWeek, December 11, 2006
*Some stats and excerpts attainted by a blog post by Tim Ferriss author of the 4 Hour Work Week.
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