Work Stats

Everyone should read a great new book out called The 4-Hour Workweek.  Here are a few work stats from the web site:

Compared to 1970, American managers are working an additional month per year

In 2005, a psychiatrist at King’s College in London administered IQ tests to three groups: the first did nothing but perform the IQ test, the second was distracted by e-mail and ringing phones, and the third was stoned on marijuana.  Not surprisingly, the first group did better than the other two by an average of 10 points.  The e-mailers, on the other hands, did worse than the stoners by an average of 6 points

26% of Americans take no vacations at all. Only 14% of Americans take two weeks or more at a time for vacation. The average American therefore spends more time in the bathroom than on vacation.

People work approximately 8 weeks longer per year than in 1969—in the space of a single generation—but for roughly the same income (after adjusting for inflation)

40% of employees work overtime or bring work home with them at least once a week

Average Annual Vacation Days
Italy     42
France     37
Germany     35
Brazil     34
Britain     28
Canada     26
Japan     25
USA     13