OVERWORKED AMERICA?

September 6, 1999
		President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers recently reported that Americans are spending more time at work and less with their families. Following a background report, Elizabeth Farnsworth assesses the state of the American worker.

Sept. 6, 1999: A group discussion on the overworked workforce May 20, 1999: One reason Americans may be working harder: Luxury Fever Dec. 7, 1998: New Teamster president James Hoffa Sept. 23, 1998: David Gergen talks with the authors of The War Against Parents Sept. 3, 1997: An Online NewsHour Forum on the state of the American workplace Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Economy and Business     Council of Economic Advisers The International Workplace Studies Program The U.S. Department of Labor	KWAME HOLMAN: The word "workaholic" made its way into Webster's Dictionary in 1968, and its long-term future in American usage seemed secure.
	Too busy to talk
	KWAME HOLMAN: In the middle of a work day last week we asked people in Washington, D.C., if they felt overworked. REPORTER: Are you running late? SPOKESMAN: Yes, sorry. REPORTER: You don't have a minute for us? SPOKESMAN: No, we don't have a minute. We have a 12:30; sorry. WOMAN: I'm sorry, I'm sorry. REPORTER: We're from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Do have a minute to talk to us? WOMAN: No. KWAME HOLMAN: Some didn't have time for us. One who did was Alison Fein, who heads a non-profit agency downtown. She says technology has everyone working harder. ALLISON FINE: Because everything is on all the time. You leave the office with your e-mail and you go home and you have your E-mail on, and your pagers are on and your cell phone is working, and nothing ever shuts off. It's made our lives faster. I don't know that it's made it easier. But everything is much, much faster than it was five years ago.
	Are Americans working more?
	KWAME HOLMAN: Experts differ on whether Americans are overworked. Some say we work longer because we fear for our job security, or because employers demand it. Even the numbers are in dispute. In the 1992 book, The Overworked American, Juliet Schorr estimates "The average employed person is now on the job an additional 163 hours, or the equivalent of an extra month per year, up from 20 years ago." A new study by the White House Council on Economic Advisers supports the working longer belief, reporting that parent/child family time decreased 22 percent between 1969 and 1996. And it's mothers who work helping drive that statistic, the council said, noting that in 1969 only four of ten married mothers worked for pay. In 1996, the figure was seven in ten. Washington area real estate broker Jane Coats says women face a tough choice between home and work, but she's glad they have that choice. JANE COATS: Girls want to have their families, and a lot of them have already started their careers. So, they do have a choice. We used to not have a choice. KWAME HOLMAN: John Frutkan chose to work in the Internet business and puts in 70 hours a week. Still, he manages to get to the golf course on a Tuesday afternoon. JOHN FRUTKIN: I'm working a lot more, but the hours are a lot more flexible, so while I might have spent 40 hours from 9 to 5 during the week, now I spend 70 hours, but that might be all day Sunday and half the day Saturday, so I can sneak out during the week to do this. It's a lot more flexible now. REPORTER: And do you - you prefer your current arrangement? JOHN FRUTKAN: I like the flexibility, and the most important thing is to really like what you do, and I do enjoy that, and finding leisure time, I get a chance to work it in wherever I can. KWAME HOLMAN: And for some workers leisure time is a necessity, not an option. Susan Seiler told us, "I would go mad if I didn't exercise." SUSAN SEILER: Well, I ran really hard when I got here. It was a good thing. KWAME HOLMAN: Why is it good? SUSAN SEILER: To get rid of all that nervous energy I build up during the day. KWAME HOLMAN: Brian Zwit also exercises almost every day to release his stress. BRIAN ZWIT: I usually come right from the office to here - don't stop at home. I get home about 8 o'clock at night. KWAME HOLMAN: So working out more or just working more, many Americans are feeling the strain of faster, fuller days on the job.