As Americans grow wealthier, our physiological needs are being increasingly met, and there's a shift in wants from basic products to ever more intangible outputs. There are plenty of examples - from personal physical fitness gurus and Internet chat rooms to ecotourism and early retirement. Hours at work have fallen for decades. The average workweek fell from 36.9 hours in 1973 to 34.5 hours in 1990. An equal percentage decline over the next 25 years would yield a 31.4-hour workweek in 2020.
Many workers have flexible schedules, including regular breaks.
Yet GDP gives the economy no credit for gains in leisure. Better Working Conditions . Another of the biggest yet most overlooked examples of gains in living standards missed by GDP figures is improvement in our working conditions. For most of us, work is a major part of life. This is evident not just from the steady decline in worker death rates but also from a comparison of our work concerns today versus yesterday.