Verified Document

Fighting Overwork And Time Poverty Term Paper

Surely, many are afraid of their jobs, but others simply endure the process. One hundred years ago, working conditions were appalling and workers formed unions to air their grievances and build new labor laws that treated workers fairly. Today, workers simply accept their fate instead of fighting for reform. It makes the reader wonder what the difference is, and why today's workers are "content" with the system. All of this work and stress directly relates to American issues in recreation and leisure. Americans are taking fewer vacations. Movie theater attendance is down; more people are watching films in the comfort of their own homes. Fast food is what is on much of the nation's dinner plate, and busy families rush from school to athletic practice to bed just about every day of the week. Where is the fun in recreation and leisure when it becomes a "job" too? Americans are so overscheduled, they have to schedule "appointments" with themselves to exercise, and they even hire pet sitters for their stressed out pets who are depressed and lonely without human attention. Work has come to mean everything in our culture, and those who allow work to take a backseat to other pleasures are seen as "slackers" or "lazy."

Ultimately, the contents of this book indicate what is wrong with working too much, and how to change it. Too much work can cause stress, depression, health problems, and ultimately, lost work hours and poor decision-making. Americans need to work...

It is a difficult lesson to learn, as this book clearly illustrates. However, our society places so much value on work, there is less time for recreation and leisure than ever before. That is a sad statement for families, for Americans, and even for the companies who are fueling the overwork in the first place. When work becomes an all-important aspect of society, the society suffers, and there are illustrations of that in our own society every day. We work too much, enjoy it less, and enjoy ourselves less in the process, and that is a sad statement about the American worker.
In conclusion, this collection of essays shows that Americans work too much for their own good. While leisure time is important, even vital to mental and physical health, it seems for many Americans, that leisure time is spent in front of the television or computer, rather than in other leisure pursuits. Recreation and leisure are still important to our society as a whole, but fewer people are taking vacations, relaxing on the weekends, and engaging in other types of entertainment, recreation, and leisure activities. America is a work-oriented society, and many industries expect (or demand) long hours from their employees.

References

De Graaf, J. (ed.). (2003). Take back your time: Fighting overwork and time poverty in America. San Francisco. Berrett- Koehler Publishers.

Sources used in this document:
References

De Graaf, J. (ed.). (2003). Take back your time: Fighting overwork and time poverty in America. San Francisco. Berrett- Koehler Publishers.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty
Words: 1069 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Instead, they only see the material things that they feel that they need. They are trained by society to want these materials objects, and they generally do not even understand why they feel this way. They only know that this is the way things are 'supposed to be.' While others who are not as materialistic try to tell them differently, and live with fewer possessions and more time, those

Peace Keepers of the Northeast:
Words: 2241 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Proposal

This dance was very powerful as it did scare the European people. They did not fully understand the reason behind the dance and the religion, but they were very clear as to what the apocalypse was and they wondered if the Indians were somehow summoning the end of the world. Not soon after this Ghost dance caused such a commotion, an Indian by the name of Handsome Lake who

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Words: 3374 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (April 19-May 16, 1943) by a handful of Jews against the Nazis, although a futile effort against overwhelming odds that was brutally snuffed out by the SS in less than a month, was the largest Jewish uprising in German-Occupied Europe and was symbolically significant. In fact, the story of Warsaw ghetto uprising is a microcosm of the Holocaust: reflecting Nazism's vicious anti-Semitism, the brutality of a totalitarian

Child Abuse How Large Is
Words: 4401 Length: 16 Document Type: Term Paper

The second includes verbal and emotional assaults including persistent patterns of belittling, denigrating, scapegoating, and other nonphysical, but clearly hostile or rejecting behaviors, such as repeated threats of beatings, sexual assault, and abandonment. The third, residual, category includes other forms of emotional abuse such as attempted sexual or physical assaults; throwing something at a child but missing; withholding shelter, sleep, or other necessities as punishment, and economic exploitation (p.11). According

Consequences of the Industrial Revolution on English Society
Words: 2239 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

Consequences of the Industrial Revolution on English Society The ninety years between 1760 and 1850, commonly regarded as the "First Generation" of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, were to bring about sweeping changes: technological, economic, philosophical and social. Previously, technology was low. Manufactured goods were produced by hand, often in the home or in small workshops, by skilled artisans who generally specialized in making one type of goods or one

Prisons the American Criminal Justice System Can
Words: 1915 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Prisons The American criminal justice system can be divided into three components: law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Each has its own unique problems and challenges that it must face in order to accomplish its combined goal of ensuring safety and justice throughout society. But one problem that all must face is the problem of overcrowding. With nearly 300 million people in the United States, there actual number of people

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now