Today most adults have way too much work, way too much anxiety, and live with unhealthy levels of stress. Far too many people have little or no time to rest and recuperate. Chronic fear about jobs and the economy is never ending. Fear is a common response. Up to now prescriptions for blood pressure and medication have outranked everything else but, for the first time ever, a new report on U.S. health care spending shows that prescriptions filled for depression and anxeity are now more numerous. It appears that anxiety, stress, and depression have turned out to be our regular companions.
In 1980, between 2 and 4 percent of Americans suffered from anxiety disorder, according to surveys conducted by the American Psychiatric Association on mental disorders. Fast forward thirty years and that number has increased more than 12 times, up to almost 50%. That one in two percentage works out to more than 115 million people who have had to deal with anxiety symptoms at least one time in their lives.
What is happening? What is it that has caused us to become an anxious and fearful society? Our lifestyle has certainly something to do with it. We don't value free time and leisure as much as other cultures do. For many reasons we don't typically enjoy extended lunch breaks in the middle of the day or multiple weeks of paid vacations as do other cultures. Compared with most other developed countries we work more hours with fewer breaks. Other highly industrialized countries have productivity rates among the highest in the world while working 35 hour weeks and enjoying much more paid vacation time. Although the average worker in these locations often earns less than his U.S. counterpart, he enjoys a standard of living and life quality that is above that of the U.S. worker in many ways.
For these reasons, and others, some are asking if our continued efforts are paying off the way we want them to.
While we have established 40 hours as the working week, that measures only time at the workplace. For most, there other daily activities such as commuting, childcare, and shopping that also have to be tended to. Being able to unplug for even a little while and doing whatever it is that relaxes us always seems to be just out of reach. It doesn't have to be this way.
The good news is that there are some things that are beginning to change. Forward-thinking companies like Google are well known for their efforts to enhance creativity by giving employees time off to pursue ideas of their own, regardless the outcome.
These experiments in productivity and creativity are taking place at companies both large and small. In one example, a small software company gave their engineers a month off to work on anything they wished and the results were more than they expected in terms of benefit to both the engineer and the goals of the organization. While this approach might not be possible in every type of business, it does show that a less structured enviornment can bring about results that are beneficial not only to the employer but to the employee as well.
In 1980, between 2 and 4 percent of Americans suffered from anxiety disorder, according to surveys conducted by the American Psychiatric Association on mental disorders. Fast forward thirty years and that number has increased more than 12 times, up to almost 50%. That one in two percentage works out to more than 115 million people who have had to deal with anxiety symptoms at least one time in their lives.
What is happening? What is it that has caused us to become an anxious and fearful society? Our lifestyle has certainly something to do with it. We don't value free time and leisure as much as other cultures do. For many reasons we don't typically enjoy extended lunch breaks in the middle of the day or multiple weeks of paid vacations as do other cultures. Compared with most other developed countries we work more hours with fewer breaks. Other highly industrialized countries have productivity rates among the highest in the world while working 35 hour weeks and enjoying much more paid vacation time. Although the average worker in these locations often earns less than his U.S. counterpart, he enjoys a standard of living and life quality that is above that of the U.S. worker in many ways.
For these reasons, and others, some are asking if our continued efforts are paying off the way we want them to.
While we have established 40 hours as the working week, that measures only time at the workplace. For most, there other daily activities such as commuting, childcare, and shopping that also have to be tended to. Being able to unplug for even a little while and doing whatever it is that relaxes us always seems to be just out of reach. It doesn't have to be this way.
The good news is that there are some things that are beginning to change. Forward-thinking companies like Google are well known for their efforts to enhance creativity by giving employees time off to pursue ideas of their own, regardless the outcome.
These experiments in productivity and creativity are taking place at companies both large and small. In one example, a small software company gave their engineers a month off to work on anything they wished and the results were more than they expected in terms of benefit to both the engineer and the goals of the organization. While this approach might not be possible in every type of business, it does show that a less structured enviornment can bring about results that are beneficial not only to the employer but to the employee as well.
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