Are Americans Too Lazy?

[fasttense]

Is this article akin to blaming the poor for not being born into wealth? How can you work harder when there is no work to be had?

Ahh, remember the good old days when employers could work you 24/6 (half days on Sunday). I think Fortune Magazine misses those days.

Are Americans Too Lazy?
U.S. workers can't compete globally unless they work harder, writes Fortune's Geoff Colvin.
By GEOFF COLVIN, FORTUNE SENIOR EDITOR-AT-LARGE

We Americans pride ourselves on being a hard-working bunch, so here's a thought to spoil your Labor Day rest: By global standards, we're lazy. We've been getting lazier. And the days of the American dolce vita may be numbered.

The surprising report of our relative sloth arrives in new research from the U.N.'s International Labor Organization, which looks at working hours around the world. When it comes to what we might call hard work, meaning the proportion of workers who put in more than 48 hours a week, America is near the bottom of the heap. About 18 percent of our employed people work that much.

That's a higher proportion than in a few other developed countries like Norway, the Netherlands and even Japan. But it's actually lower than in Switzerland and Britain, and way lower than in developing countries like Mexico and Thailand. It's drastically lower than in what may be the world's two hardest-working countries, South Korea and Peru, where the proportions are about 50 percent. It's bad enough to be told we're slackers in the world economy. What many Americans really won't want to believe is separate research showing that we're working much less than we used to.
- more at link below:
http://jobs.aol.com/article/_a/are-americans-too-lazy/20070828135809990002