Tom Whitehurst

Sunday, June 25, 2000

Poll says we need a break

Look in the mirror: Most Americans would rather have more time off from work than more pay, according to a poll sponsored by Shell Oil Co. Asked if they would rather have an extra day off or an extra day's pay every two weeks, 58 percent chose the day off.
   Is that you? Look in the mirror:
   Half of Americans say they have two hours or less of personal leisure time on weekdays. For working mothers, 43 percent say they have only an hour or less.
   And when Sunday night rolls around, 74 percent of mothers and 64 percent of all working adults ask themselves where the weekend went, rather than feeling relaxed, rested and ready for another week.
   Impact of technology
   Given the choice between working five eight-hour days and four 10-hour days, we'd take the four 10's, by a margin of 2 to 1, according to the poll. But that's probably because many of our eight-hour days are really 10-hour days anyway, so why not have another day off?
   Look in the mirror one more time:
   Technological advances such as the Internet, fax machines and cell phones have reduced rather than added to our free time, 52 percent say. It's 59 percent for those who make more than $50,000.
   Economics professor Jim Lee of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi isn't surprised that Americans feel starved for free time. More Americans are gainfully employed and more is expected of them, and at the same time they feel less job security after the downsizing and new demands placed on them since the recession of the 1980s.
   'More stress at work'
   "People feel more stress at work because companies are more demanding because of global competition. And they find they have more workload for the same amount of pay. So this is, I would say, something hidden behind what is called a tight labor market."
   The affinity for four 10-hour days makes sense to him. "For people working on salary, most of them work 10-hour days already, so they might as well go for the day off."
   A&M-Corpus Christi management professor Elwin Myers can see why those who work white-collar jobs in air-conditioned offices would go for 10-hour days. But he doubts that manual laborers would see it that way.
   "When I was in college I worked in fruit canneries and it was hot and sticky, and I didn't like working those hours."
   He can understand Americans' preference for more free time over more money.
   "I think they're doing so many things. They've got to take care of their kids. They've got to take care of their parents. I think there are things they treasure more than the money any more."
   Larry Demieville, area director of the Texas Workforce Commission, works with the unemployed and underemployed and therefore sees it differently.
   "From the perspective of the people we work with, they would rather have more pay. And I think most people in this area, because of the wage level in this area, need more pay than more time off.
   "I don't think they can afford to give up more pay for more time off. That's just an opinion."
   The preference for time off could be a reflection of changes in the prevailing work ethic, said Lynn Fisher-Kittay, a local clinical psychologist.
   "My father had a very strong work ethic and I do as well. He didn't have the sense of entitlement that came with it. Growing up in the Depression, he felt honored to have employment. And I think this may indicate that somehow we are taking things for granted. We are taking the wealth of our country, our employability, for granted and somehow we are slacking off with regard to the work ethic."
   Then again, she was pondering this issue late on a Friday afternoon, as she was packing up paperwork to work on during the weekend.
   'Starting to get burned out'
   "One thing this may indicate is people are starting to get burned out. Productivity is up and the wages are not necessarily going up to match that.
   "In managed care, one of the things that has happened to me as a professional is that I have to work more to make the same amount, and friends who are dentists and doctors tell me the same thing."
   She also can empathize with the technology findings. "Part of what we were promised was that it was going to free us and give us more leisure time, and I don't think that's happened. I think what's happened is that more demands have been put upon us to do more."
   Working vacation
   Look in the mirror.
   You'll be reading this on my last day of a week's vacation - not a traveling vacation, but a do-stuff-around-the-house, help-the-overworked-wife, take-care-of-the-child vacation.
   Where did that week go?
   The poll, conducted for Shell by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, surveyed 1,011 randomly selected American adults and has a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
  

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