www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/trends/08/30/ilo.study -> www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/trends/08/30/ilo.study/
One thing Johnson says doesn't merit emulation is a workweek shortened by law, as in the French workplace where a 35-hour week is the legislated standard. American workers put in long hours to make up the gains" in efficiency seen in France and Belgium. And it registers Americans as working longer hours than Canadians, Germans, Japanese and other workers. What's even more concerning, especially to Johnson and his fellow ILO analysts, is that "the increase in the number of hours worked within the United States runs counter to the trend in other industrialized nations," he says. Brazilians and British employees worked some 250 hours, or more than five weeks, less than Americans. Germans worked roughly 500 hours, or 12-and-a-half weeks, less than careerists in the States. Of countries classified as "developing" or "in transition," only South Korea and the Czech Republic tracked workers putting in more hours than American laborers. World of work The ILO predates the United Nations, having been founded in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles. Johnson calculates that the worldwide labor force stands today at nearly 3 billion people -- roughly half the planetary population. The International Labor Organization's full study is to be released in November for its Global Employment Forum in Geneva. The International Labor Organization's full study is to be released in November for its Global Employment Forum in Geneva. Of that large group, the agency estimates that 160 million workers are unemployed. About 41 percent of the unemployed pool, about 66 million, are thought to be younger people. We American workers don't want to take time away from work. In 2000, I would have thought we'd start seeing some retrenchment in those hours. EXTRA INFORMATION 43 Annual hours worked per person, 1990 and 2000 44 Labour productivity per person employed, selected economies, 1990-2000 "Now, the numbers I've been seeing between January and now show that the hours have fallen back a little bit. But that's easy to contribute to companies slowing down their manufacturing, less overtime on the job. The economy slows down somewhat, the hours get pulled back. The well-documented new productivity of Ireland -- 7 percent growth in productivity in terms of value added per person employed -- is a story of almost non-existent unemployment. Ireland has the common-language advantage for American companies. They also have a very business-friendly environment and a good proximity to other markets of Continental Europe. Working hard for the money "The lower skills have been earning less, the higher skills more," says Johnson of the United States' earnings picture. Female computer programmers in the insurance sector earned 10 percent less than male programmers. As he and his agency work to prompt study and policy-making among countries' leaders through such events as the coming Geneva conference, Johnson says he never loses sight of the careerist irony in being an American abroad -- while displaying the work-driven patterns he studies in his native culture. She has settled into the (Swiss) culture," its work pace and rhythms. Find 59 Back to the top 2003 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
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