The solution for most American companies being hit hard by the tanking economy is to layoff employees, reduce wages, or take government bailouts. European experts are suggesting something for US corporations to consider, give your employees more time off.
But the implications of the question of layoffs versus cutting hours or increased time off go beyond individual families. In the United States, 6 in 10 workers who have become unemployed over the last 12 months have not received any unemployment benefits. Thus, more than one out of every two unemployed workers ends up having to severely curtail their consumption, which pulls down economic growth since 70 percent of the United States economy is based on consumer spending.
Work less, get paid, and keeping your job sound like crazy European ideas that work because, well, the alternatives suck. If you’re on the job market and dedicated to being lazy, keep applying for the top slacker jobs and just pretend you’re French until you get one.
[photo by: mikebaird]
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
i’d love to have a slacker job!
Europe has always been in the forefront when it comes to work-life balance. Maybe we can learn something from them…
I hope so – it seems that the balance helps to increase productivity. Although Americans work a high number of hours relatively, they aren’t very efficient compared to their European counterparts.