U.S. workers reporting longer hours, more stress

By Lee Russ

Monday, August 21, 2006 at 05:28 PM

It's not just the lack of vacations that have American workers frazzled; they're also working longer hours and reporting more stress.

Adecco, the employment firm, reports in it's annual Labor Day Snapshot that:

29 percent of workers polled claimed they work longer hours than they did this time last year, with 32 percent saying they experience more on-the-job stress.

The three chief concerns expressed by survey respondents about their careers were the ability to retire comfortably, the rising cost of health care and a stagnant paycheck.

I lived in Rochester NY, home of Kodak, for many years until a recent move to Vermont. I can tell you that many employees of the traditional industrial giants, like Kodak, are being pressured big time to both work more hours and to do it in some way that will minimize overtime pay. Most of the employees cooperate, even to the point of breaking the labor laws on overtime, because they fear that failure to cooperate will get their butts downsized in the inevitable next downsizing.

Isn't the 21st century just terrific so far?