The American Workplace

Compared to other countries with advanced economies, workers in the United States have a long work year, due in part to a lack of legally mandated, employer-paid TABLE 2.2 Employees on nonfarm payrolls by major industry sector, 1955–2005 (CONTINUED) "B-1. Employees on Nonfarm Payrolls by Major Industry Sector, 1955 to Date," in Establishment Data Historical Employment, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005, ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/empsit.ceseeb1.txt (accessed January 9, 2006)vacation time. Such paid vacation time is common in many countries in Europe. In 2004, according to the Chartbook of International Labor Comparisons: The Americas, Asia, Europe (U.S. Department of Labor, January 2006), only Koreans (2,380 hours per year) and Mexicans (1,848) averaged more hours worked per year than Americans (1,824). These figures contrasted sharply with such European countries as the Netherlands (1,357 hours), Norway (1,363), France (1,441), and Germany (1,443). (See Figure 2.1.)

FIGURE 2.1 International comparison of annual hours worked per employed person, 1994 and 2004 "Chart 2.8. Annual Hours Worked per Employed Person, 1994 and 2004," in A Chartbook of International Labor Comparisons: The Americas, Asia, Europe, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, January 2006, http://www.dol.gov/asp/media/reports/chartbook/chart2_8.htm (accessed March 21, 2006)

TABLE 2.3 Persons at work by occupation, sex, and usual full- or part-time status, 2005 "23. Persons at Work by Occupation, Sex, and Usual Full- or Part-time Status," in Employment and earnings, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2006, http/www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat23.pdf (accessed January 9,2006)

In 2005, according to Employment and Earnings (BLS, January 2006), 104 million Americans out of the total nonfarm laborer population of 136.2 million (76.3%) were working full-time (defined as thirty-five hours or more), while the remaining 23.7% were working fewer than thirty-five hours per workweek (defined as part-time). The average part- and full-time workweek in 2005 was 39.2 hours per week, while the average full-time employee worked 42.9 hours per week. The total part-time workforce of 32.4 million comprised 12.5 million men (38.6%) and 19.9 million women (61.4%). Of those who usually work full-time, men worked an average of 44.2 hours per week in 2005, and women worked an average of 41.1 hours per week. (See Table 2.3.) In 2005, 27.9% of all nonfarm workers spent more than forty-one hours per week on the job, and 44.2% of agricultural workers labored more than forty-one hours per week. (See Table 2.4.)

Some occupations require more time than others. For example, in 2005, transportation and material-moving workers labored an average of 40.9 hours per week TABLE 2.4 Agriculture, agriculture-related, and nonagricultural workers by hours of work, 2005 "19. Persons at Work in Agriculture and Related and in Nonagricultural Industries by Hours of Work," in Employment and Earnings, U.S. Department of Labor, bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2006, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat19.pdf (accessed January 10, 2006)(44.2 hours for workers on full-time schedules). Workers in management, business, and financial occupations averaged 43.5 hours per week (45.5 hours per week for full-time). (See Table 2.3.)

Many employees are working longer hours by skipping or shortening their lunch breaks. The National Restaurant Association reported (in "What's for Lunch? A Survey of Full-Time Employees," 2002) that 40.6% of the surveyed workers reported they did not leave the office for a lunch break. Forty-five percent reported they had less time for lunch than they ever had. A frequently expressed motivation for staying on the job was a fear of being downsized.

An earlier study by Philip L. Ronces and others ("Trends in the Hours of Work since the Mid-1970s," Monthly Labor Review, April 1997), attributed growth in the share of workers reporting very long workweeks to a shift in employment toward high-hour, increased responsibility occupations such as managers, professionals, and certain sales workers. During the 1990s, longer workweeks were also reported by associations representing secretaries and restaurant owners/employees.

Survey of Workers' Hours

Of the respondents to an August 2005 Gallup Poll, 45% reported that they worked between thirty-five and forty-four hours per week; 30% worked between forty-five and fifty-nine hours per week; and 9% worked more than sixty hours each week. These numbers had fluctuated somewhat over the previous fifteen years but had not changed significantly in a manner that indicated a decided trend except at the high end, where fewer workers were reporting that they worked sixty hours or more. In a poll conducted during July 1991, for example, 44% of workers said that their typical workweek was between thirty-five and forty-four hours; 27% worked between forty-five and fifty-nine hours per week; and 13% worked more than sixty hours per week. In 1991 the median workweek (half of respondents said they worked more, and half said they worked less) was 43.4 hours and the average workweek was forty hours. In 2005 the median workweek of those surveyed was 41.9 hours, and the average workweek was forty hours.

As to the flexibility of their work schedule, respondents to the August 2005 Gallup Poll were generally satisfied. Sixty-two percent of respondents indicated that they were completely satisfied with the flexibility of their hours; 23% were somewhat satisfied; 8% were somewhat dissatisfied; and 6% were completely dissatisfied with their flexibility. The percentage of those who were completely satisfied had increased markedly from those surveyed in July 1991. At that time only 39% of respondents reported that they were completely satisfied with the flexibility of their work schedule, while 44% were somewhat satisfied, 10% were somewhat dissatisfied, and 6% were completely dissatisfied.

Part-Time Work

People work part-time for various reasons. In 2005, as reported by the BLS in Employment and Earnings, 4.4 million of the total 32.3 million part-time workers (13.5%) took part-time work due to economic conditions. TABLE 2.5 Persons at work 1 to 34 hours by reason for working less than 35 hours and usual full- or part-time status, 2005 "20. Persons at Work 1 to 34 Hours in All and in Nonagricultural Industries by Reason for Working Less than 35 Hours and Usual Full- or Part-time Status," in Employment and Earnings, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor statistics, January 2006, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat20.pdf (accessed January 9, 2006)These economic reasons, usually caused by employers' circumstances, included 2.7 million (8.3% of all part-time workers) who cited slack work and 1.3 million (4.2%) who could only find part-time work. Most workers (27.9 million, or 86.5%) who usually worked part-time did so for noneconomic reasons, which included 6.2 million (19.3% of all part-time workers) who were enrolled in school or other training programs and 5.6 million (17.2%) who cited family and personal obligations. (See Table 2.5.)