The nonprofit Families and Work Institute found that wage-earning and salaried workers spent an average of 47.1 hours per week doing their main job last year. That's 3.5 hours over the 1977 norm. Nearly one third reported bringing work home regularly, while a cash-strapped 13 percent logged an extra 13.2 hours each week moonlighting at other jobs. But this labor has rewards. With added women in the work force, more men are helping out with chores and child care.
More firms offer flexible schedules.
And while 2 in 3 employees would prefer shorter hours, most say they are generally satisfied with their jobs and willing to work harder to help their employers succeed. The answer depends on whom you ask. But John M. Berry, a Washington Post writer, used Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis data to charge that the report inflated IT investment. The debate rages while Internet sales are growing briskly. Particularly, one on a hot streak.