While writing my most recent movie review I got to thinking about work hours in America. It's now an undisputed fact that we are worker longer hours for less money, if you adjust for interest (see here, here and here). It's a shame that we've come to accept as standard operating procedure that we spend every weekday at work, and many weeknights and weekends also at work or trying to catch up with work we've fallen behind on. It's unhealthy to work such long hours, and at some point, it becomes spirit-crushing. Particularly for those who earn less than $10/hour, working a 60-hour work week may just pay the family's bills, with nothing left over for luxuries or savings. I don't want to get into the issue of the working poor, though I think it is a crime, but as for those of us who can manage to find a job that will at least pay the bills, I think it is time to reconsider the role of work. It is our own fault that we are now expected to spend our lives, our whole lives, at work. I suppose that the defining of individuals by their achievements is a uniquely American trait, and since we've deemphasized the role of family, the role of marriage, and the role of community in American life, what has become our generation's tool of self-identity, our venue of achievement, has been the workplace. It's time to change that. Can the American character be changed so that we can say that it's OK if you're not making yourself useful for every single moment of every single waking day? I think maybe it can. But at the very least, as individuals, we can insist on a 40-hour work week, particularly if we don't have a family to support. Maybe it will mean no new car for a couple years and a little less time on ebay... For myself, I want to live happily and if I don't make CEO before I'm 40, I think I can deal. Heck, even if I don't make CEO before I'm 50. All the CEOs will probably be in jail by that time anyway. (Click here to listen to the song where I got the title of this post from)