23/3/2017 Busyness:AModernHealthCrisis|BenjaminCardullo|Pulse|LinkedIn

Busyness: A Modern Health Crisis

Publicado el 15 de marzo de 2017 | Destacado en: Editor's Picks, Healthcare, Productivity, Student Voices

Benjamin Cardullo Seguir

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Campus Editor Contributor at LinkedIn

Howdowemeasureprofessionalsuccess?Isitbythelocationofourofficeorthesize
ofourpaycheck?Isitmeasuredbythedimensionsofourhomeorthespeedofourcar?
Tenyearsago,thosewouldhavebeenthemostprominentanswershowever,today
whensomeoneisreallypullingoutthebigguns,whentheyreallywanttoshowyou
howimportanttheyare,theylltellyouallabouttheirbusydayandhowtheyneverhad
amomenttothemselves.

Withtheuseofmoderntechnology,whatwecouldonceaccomplishintheaverage40
hourworkweek,wecannowdoinamere29hours,yetstatisticallytheaverage
Americanisworkingmorehoursthaneverbefore.Wehavecreatedasocietyof
busyness,bothintheworkplaceandinthehome.

Sincetheintroductionoftechnology,workingprofessionalsareexpectedtobeavailable
aroundtheclock.Infact,France,inanefforttoprotecttheirworkers,passedanewlaw
barringworkemailafterhours,underthelongsupportednotionbyeconomiststhat:
workinglongerhoursdoesnotresultinincreasedproductivity.However,evenspouses
whochoosetostayathomearebecomingincreasinglybusy.EconomistJulietSchor
describestheincreasingstandardofcleanlinessthathasbroughtadditionalworktostay
athomeparents:from19251965theamountoftimespentonlaundryintheUnited
Statesvastlyincreasedwhatwasthecontributingfactor?Theinventionofthe
automaticwashersanddryers.Toolslikecomputersandwashingmachines,inventedto
saveustimeandenergy,areactuallytakingupmoreofourtimeasstandardsof
professionalismandcleanlinessincreasewithcapability.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/busynessmodernhealthcrisisbenjamincardullo?trk=vfeed&lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_feed%3Ba7VGX0jX50x 1/5
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Althoughthisisaglobalizedproblem,Americaistheposterchildforbusyness.Iama
dualcitizenoftheUnitedStatesofAmericaandItaly,andhavebenefittedfromthe
rigorousAmericanworkethicandtherelaxedItalianlifestyle.Italianworkersreceive
42paidvacationdaysperyear.Asurprisingfigure,butcomeon,Italiansarealways
extreme!However,Germany,acountryknownforitsworkethicandefficiency,has35
paidvacationdayseveryyear.HowmanydowereceiveinAmerica?12.Weget12
paidvacationdays,andisanyonecomplaining?No!Becausemostofthesevacation
daysgounusedwithintheUnitedStates!

Inadditiontoourlackofpaidvacationdays,theUnitedStatesdoesnotbenefit,like185
othercountriesintheworld,frompaidparentalleave.Insteadwejoincountrieslike
PapuaNewGuinea,Oman,andSwazilandwithunpaidmaternityleave,nottoeven
mentionunpaidpaternityleave.

Sowhydowedothis?Doesallthisextraworkmakeusmoreproductive?Not
necessarily.DavidJohnson,awriterforTimemagazineexplains:

Mexicotheleastproductiveofthe38countrieslistedin2015datafromthe
OrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD)hastheworld's
longestaverageworkweekat41.2hours(includingfulltimeandparttimeworkers).At
theotherendofthespectrum,Luxembourg,themostproductivecountry,hasanaverage
workweekofjust29hours.

TheUnitedStatesranksfifth,accordingtotheOECD,contributing$68.30tothe
country'sGDPperhourworked,counteringclaimsthatAmericansarethemost
productiveworkersintheworld.Americaputinmorehours33.6perweekonaverage
thanallfouroftheEuropeancountrieswithhigherproductivityrankings.

AsIcontinuedtoresearchthistopicIfoundthatAmericawascontinuallyfallinginthe
ranksofproductivitywhileforeverincreasingtheirnumberofworkhours.A2016
studybyYouGovUkshowedAmericatobethe10thmostproductivecountryinthe
world,whileremainingthenationonthetoptenlistthatworksthemosthours.TheU.K.
istakingaleadingroleincallingforchange.YouGovUkfoundthataworkingdayof
sevenhoursorlesswouldbemostproductive,and44%ofprofessionalsagreethatthe
workweekshouldbelessthanfivedays.

DeniseLanders,aproductivityexpert,explainsthatrelaxationtimehelpspeople
managetheirdailystress,acquirenewperspectivesonideas,andfindnewenergy.
DenmarkisconsistentlyratedthehappiestcountryintheworldbytheUNandmyriads
ofresearchers,whomakethestudyofhappinessandwellbeingtheirpriority.
Denmarkisnotonlydeemedthehappiestcountryduetoitstrustintheirgovernment,a
minimumwageof$20,andanaverageof33hourworkweeks,inadditiontoallthat
Danesusetheirextratimetoinvolvethemselvesinextracurricularactivities.Whenthe
OECDrankednationsbasedonworklifebalancelastyear,Denmarkcameouton
top.TheworkcultureinDenmarkissimilartothatintherestofScandinavia.Flexible

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workschedulesarecommonandpaidvacationtimeisample,withatleastfiveweeksof
paidvacationeachyear.

CNNconductedastudythispastyearontheimportanceofhappyworkers.Happiness
canmakeorbreakabusinessanddisgruntled,disengaged,unsatisfiedworkerscost
money.Wearenttalkingafewextradollarshere.UnhappyworkerscosttheU.S.
between$450and$550billioninlostproductivityeachyear,accordingtoa2013report
onthestateoftheU.S.workplaceconductedbyresearchandpollingcompanyGallup.

Americansareliterallyworkingthemselvestodeath.Forcedovertime,overscheduling,
commuting,unpaidlabor,housework,increasedstandardsofcleanliness,church
service,timecost,andmediausageoccupysomuchofourdaythatnotimeisleftfor
ourselves,andweglorifythis.Weuseourbusynesstostrokeouregos,weworkallday
andfillourfreetimewithadditionalactivitiesbecausewereimportantandnoone
elsecandowhatwedo.

Wellthiscultureofbusynessiscreatinganextremelyunhealthynation,bothmentally
andphysically.CNNreportsthathealthcarecostswillgrowatanaveragerateof5.8
percenteveryyearuntilNearly$1inevery$5spentintheUnitedStatesby2024willbe
onhealthcare,andforacountrywhere1outof5dollarsisspentonhealthcare,
Americaisextremelyunhealthy.

ForthepastseveralyearstheU.S.hasconsistentlyrankedinthe30sontheworldscale
ofhealthiestcountrieshowever,justthispastyearwewerebumpeduptonumber28by
Bloomberg.StressandoverworkarecontributingtoAmericanhypertension,heart
disease,diabetes,obesity,infertility,anxiety,depression,chronicundiagnosedpain,and
sleepdeprivation.

Ontopofallthat,weareexperiencingasignificantdeclineinsocialcapital.Wearenot
visitingwithourfriendsandourneighborslikethehappyDanesdoandwearent
volunteeringnearlyasmuchasourcitizenshavehistorically.Weareevenseeingsteady
decreaseintheamountofvotersandtheamountofpeoplewhorecycle.

ArianaHuffington,oneofthemostsuccessfulwomeninthemodernworld,recently
publishedanarticlediscussingwhatshewouldtellher22yearoldself:

"IfIcouldgobackintime,I'dintroducemy22yearoldselftoaquotationbythewriter
BrianAndreas:'Everythingchangedthedayshefiguredouttherewasexactlyenough
timefortheimportantthingsinherlife.Huffingtoncommentsthathadsheheardthis
quotationsooner,shewouldhavesavedherselftheexpenseofthe,perpetuallyharried,
stressedoutexistence[she]experiencedforsolong.

TheeditorinchiefoftheHuffingtonPostcontinuedbycallingAmericanobsession
withtimeapersonaldeficitcrisis.Shesaid,Feelingrushedorlikewedon'thave
enoughtimetoaccomplishwhatwewantwhichisalsoknownas"timefamine,"has

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veryrealconsequences,fromincreasedstresstodiminishedsatisfactionwithyourlife.
Huffingtonadds:"Aslongassuccessisdefinedbywhoworksthelongesthours,who
goesthelongestwithoutavacation,whosleepstheleast,whorespondstoanemailat
midnightorfiveinthemorninginessence,whoissufferingfromthebiggesttime
faminewe'renevergoingtobeabletoenjoythebenefitsoftimeaffluence.

Whydoweglorifytimefamine?Isitinpursuitofthegoodlife?Wellletmetell
you,youremissingit!Thegoodhappenswhileyourebusyworking.Doyouwork
hardsoyoucanretireandsitonthebeachwithyourkidsandloungewithoutacarein
theworld?Wellyoucandothatnow!Useyourvacationdays!Taketimetorelaxand
destress.Clearyourmindandyourthoughtsandgivetheworldyourbest!Whenyou
arehappy,wellrested,andrelaxedyourproductivitywillgreatlyincrease,youwill
buildmoremeaningfulrelationshipswithothers,andyouwillfindthatthegoodlife
hasbeenwithinyourreachallalong.

EditedbyRyanMontgomery

#studentvoices#busy#lifestyle#careers#productivity

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Benjamin Cardullo
Campus Editor Contributor at LinkedIn Seguir
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Katy Hollbacher 58 min

Principal at Beyond Eiciency
SO WELL SAID. Thank you.
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Terra Leach 2h
Communications Professional with Expertise in Marketing, Public Relations, Fundraising and Event
I absolutely agree! I find myself stressed all the time trying to keep up with work, married life, extra
curricular activities, volunteering, exercise and household chores. And I don't even have any young
ones. I can't even imagine adding kids into the mix. I have been working on finding a balance but
continue to struggle with it as I'm sure many of us do. And I know that h Ver ms
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Hay 540 comentarios ms.Mostrar ms

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