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I would say for most living wage positions, 50-55 hour weeks are normal. Definitely a lot of positions too that unfortunately require 60-80 hours per week! America would like you to believe that there is only a 40 hour work week here, but really you see it less than the 50-60+ hour work weeks.
I would love if more jobs had 8 hour workdays, because right now the average is 10-11 most likely. 6 would be best though.
The Swedes have a welfare state. Industries are majority unionized which provide a well above living wage for all workers, even a McDonalds worker earns a living wage.
For many in America, that decrease of hours might have many working a second job which defeats the purpose. I know a lot of working class hourly employees who rely on overtime to survive.
Can I ask what the normal is in the US? In the uk is predominantly 8 hour shifts
Yes, but I've been told by Brits I know that you also get WAY more vacation (holiday) time than we do. I knew a girl who started out in a basic position and got 4 weeks vacation first year. That's unheard of here, you guys are lucky. By the way, I can still taste the insanely delicious lamb & leek pie I had in a little pub in Paddington on the way to Jason's trip. What a lovely area you live in.
Hell, more than half of Americans are on a zero hour work day!
We are about average for our employed vs not employed as a country compared to others. Countries that have a higher rate? Australia by 3% more. Looking at the data The countries with higher employment rates by a significant amount are Korea, Singapore, Norway, Switzerland.
The ones we have more working then are countries like...Japan. (Thats kinda surprising, but its only by 1%), Germany, Finland, India (we beat them by 6%!), Spain (they are at 43% employed), and Greece (no surprise...but 39% ouch!)
Almost every salary job I have worked at. And a couple of the hourly ones. But generally most hourly rates are low paying, and often part time.
Lets break it down though. Based on Gallup data from 2013 and 2014:
18% of us work over 60 hrs a week
21% 50-59 hours
11% 41-49 hrs
42% 40 hrs
8% less then 40 hrs.
Here in America we have six hour work days like Sweden and four day weeks like France. It is called part time and it is creating a permanent underclass. The middle class is disappearing. There are 94,000,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 65 not working. Those people are not considered to be unemployed because they are not receiving unemployment checks or are not officially "looking for work" through the system.
The government says we have a 5,8% unemployment rate, but they only count the recently unemployed. The system is broken and it was intentional. Those people sitting at home and watching American idol and Dancing With the Stars are just beginning to wake up. Sorry folks. It's too late. I sure wish you had been paying attention eight years ago.
George Bush sent out $600 checks to stimulate the economy. We bought an economic stimulus wood splitter. Barack Hussein Obama sent out $250 checks to buy ammunition.
Unless they are salaried (exempt). Then 50 to 60 hours is often expected (not required, but expected) if you want to keep your job. For others, they don't exceed a 29-hour work week anyway (thanks to Obamacare).
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