The results are based on telephone interviews with more than 5,000 people in the United States and more than 1,000 people apiece in Canada and Britain. They state that 38 percent of U.S. workers put in 45 or more hours per week, compared with 30 percent of Canadians and 28 percent of Britons.
When asked if they work 60 or more hours a week, 12 percent of people in the United States say they do, compared with 8 percent apiece in the other two countries.
But the discrepancies are even wider — in a positive way for the United States — on such subject as workplace safety and bosses and relationships with co-workers.
Seventy-four percent of the U.S. workers who answered the survey said they are “completely satisfied” with their relationships with co-workers. Only 59 percent of Canadians and 61 percent of Britons would say that.
And despite all the comments you might hear or read about nasty bosses, three out of five U.S. workers are completely satisfied with theirs. Only 47 percent of workers in Canada and 42 percent in Britain are willing to give their supervisors that sort of praise.
Among the other results of the Tuesday Briefing — listing the percentage of respondents who say they are completely satisfied:
- The physical safety conditions of your workplace: U.S., 73; Canada, 57; Britain, 58.
- The flexibility of your hours: U.S., 62: Canada, 52; Britain, 52.
- Your job security: U.S. 54; Canada, 40; Britain, 49.
- The amount of vacation/holiday time you receive: U.S., 52; Canada, 47; Britain, 49.
- The recognition you receive: U.S., 48; Canada, 37; Britain, 37.
- Your chances for promotion: U.S., 40; Canada, 29; Britain, 25.
- The retirement or pension plan your employer offers: U.S., 36; Canada, 25; Britain, 32.
- The amount of money you earn: U.S., 28; Canada, 26; Britain, 23.
A case of insecurity: One of the most dangerous workplace strategies you can adopt is to make people feel insecure about their jobs. Once in a while, a boss might get away with doing it to motivate a lackluster employee, but it is more likely to blow up in your face. Even if it gets the results you want, it is liable to lead to long-term bitterness.
And sometimes it might cause otherwise sane people to go nuclear.
Consider what is happening in San Francisco, where 14 major hotels are involved in a strike/lockout. You could certainly look at the actions of either side and say that insecurity is a major factor.
Workers could say that management’s proposal didn’t offer them a decent wage and would threaten their ability to pay for medical care, which makes life difficult if you have a relatively low-wage job. So they decided to have a two-week strike at four hotels.
Certainly they might see their actions as a way of expressing frustration with stalled negotiations, without causing long-term disruption for the businesses (or the workers’ lives).
But management could say that such a strike — and the potential for more — threatened the stability of not only those four hotels, but 10 others that use union workers. So it locked out the workers at all 14 hotels, and not just for those two weeks.
Certainly managers might see their actions as a way of ensuring long-term stability for everyone involved, including hotel guests. They could argue that managers and guests shouldn’t have to spend each day worrying that another strike might pop up.
It would be easy for some people to point at the other side’s actions and say they are unfair or unreasonable, but sometimes escalation is just human nature. That’s why job insecurity is so dangerous.
If you’re ever tempted to go over a boss’ head or behind a co-worker’s back, pause and think about what has happened with San Francisco’s hotels. And human nature.