| Posted by fluffy ® , Sep 02,2003,13:07 | MetroBlab |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3199565.stm
American workers put the hours in
The average Norwegian worker is almost 20% more productive than his US counterpart, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has calculated, exploding the image of American efficiency.
French and Belgian workers, too, produce more economic value for every hour worked than do Americans.
But the same figures showed that US had the edge overall, since workers there put in more time than Europeans.
As a result of short holidays and long hours, the average US worker produced $60,728, compared with just $54,333 in the EU.
Americans now work the same hours on average - 1,825 during last year - as the Japanese, who used to have an unrivalled reputation for industriousness.