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Who Are the Overworked Americans?

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  • Jerry Jacobs
  • Kathleen Green

Abstract

This paper analyzes three trends in working time in the United States over the last thirty years. First, we document an increasing bifurcation of working time, with growth evident among those working both long and short hours. An international comparison also shows that the United States stands out as having among the highest percentage of workers putting in 50 hours per week or more. Second, we argue that there is a mismatch between working time and the preferences of American workers. On average, those working very long hours express a desire to work less, while those working short hours prefer to work more. Third, we maintain that the sense of being overworked stems primarily from demographic shifts in the labor force rather than from changes in average working time per se. Even in the absence of a dramatic rise in time spent on the job, the growth in the proportion of American households consisting of dual-earner couples and single parents has created a growing percentage of workers who face heightened time pressures and increased conflicts between work and their private lives.

Suggested Citation

  • Jerry Jacobs & Kathleen Green, 1998. "Who Are the Overworked Americans?," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(4), pages 442-459.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsocec:v:56:y:1998:i:4:p:442-459
    DOI: 10.1080/00346769800000044
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    1. Richard B. Freeman, 1994. "Working Under Different Rules," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number free94-1.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wilfred Dolfsma & Deborah Figart & Robert McMaster & Martha Starr, 2012. "Promoting Research on Intersections of Economics, Ethics, and Social Values: Editorial," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 70(2), pages 155-163, June.
    2. David Bell & Steffen Otterbach & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2012. "Work Hours Constraints and Health," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 105-106, pages 35-54.
    3. Steffen Otterbach, 2010. "Mismatches Between Actual and Preferred Work Time: Empirical Evidence of Hours Constraints in 21 Countries," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 143-161, June.
    4. Anna S. Burger, 2015. "Extreme Working Hours in Western Europe and North America: A New Aspect of Polarization," LIS Working papers 649, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    5. Forrest Briscoe, 2007. "From Iron Cage to Iron Shield? How Bureaucracy Enables Temporal Flexibility for Professional Service Workers," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(2), pages 297-314, April.
    6. Kaylene J. Fellows & Hsin-Yao Chiu & E. Jeffrey Hill & Alan J. Hawkins, 2016. "Work–Family Conflict and Couple Relationship Quality: A Meta-analytic Study," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 509-518, December.
    7. Ragni Hege Kitterød & Marit Rønsen & Ane Seierstad, 2011. "Working hours in dual-earner couples: Does one partner work less when the other works more?," Discussion Papers 670, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    8. Dan Li & Shaoguo Zhai & Jian Zhang & Jinjuan Yang & Xiao Wang, 2021. "Assessing Income-Related Inequality on Health Service Utilization among Chinese Rural Migrant Workers with New Co-Operative Medical Scheme: A Multilevel Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-18, October.
    9. Begoña Álvarez & Daniel Miles, 2003. "Gender effect on housework allocation: Evidence from Spanish two-earner couples," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(2), pages 227-242, May.
    10. Juan L. Paramio & José L. Zofío, 2008. "Labor Market Duality and Leisure Industries in Spain: Quality of Life Versus Standard of Living," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(4), pages 683-717, October.
    11. Lawrence S. Root & Alford A. Young Jr., 2011. "Workplace Flexibility and Worker Agency," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 638(1), pages 86-102, November.
    12. Stephen R. Barley & Debra E. Meyerson & Stine Grodal, 2011. "E-mail as a Source and Symbol of Stress," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(4), pages 887-906, August.
    13. Ragni Hege Kitterød & Marit Rønsen & AneSeierstad, 2011. "Mobilising female labour market reserves: What promotes women's transitions from part-time to full-time work?," Discussion Papers 658, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    14. Yang Cao & Beth A. Rubin, 2014. "Market Transition and the Deinstitutionalization of Standard Work Hours in Post-Socialist China," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(3), pages 864-890, July.
    15. Anna S. Burger, 2015. "Extreme working hours in Western Europe and North America: A new aspect of polarization," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 92, European Institute, LSE.
    16. Julie Matthaei, 2001. "Healing ourselves, healing our economy: paid work, unpaid work, and the next stage of feminist economic transformation," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 33(4), pages 461-494, December.
    17. Mahsa NAGHSHINEH, 2022. "The Effect Of Job Self-Efficacy On Job Engagement With An Emphasis On The Role Of Work-Life Balance. Case Study: National Land And Housing Organization Of Tehran," Management and Marketing Journal, University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 0(1), pages 81-100, May.
    18. Gershuny, Jonathan & Sullivan, Oriel, 2001. "Cross-national changes in time-use: some sociological (hi)stories re-examined," ISER Working Paper Series 2001-01, Institute for Social and Economic Research.

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