What is your opinion on American "work culture" and working conditions?

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DarkLight said:
There are, I think, two separate classes of people here that need to be distinguished.

One is the working poor, those who often work long hours with low pay because they need it to make ends meet. For this class, just working less isn’t really an option - they often have very limited opportunities and it can be very hard to get ahead when you’re working long hours to survive.

The other is those who have enough to meet their needs comfortably, but still work long hours for various reasons. Some might be motivated by greed; some by fear that if they don’t put in long hours they’ll be made fired in favor of someone who will; some simply by that being the expectation and not questioning it; some by debts or other expenses.
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I have a serious problem with this very common perception that the working poor are stuck in their situation and have limited opportunities to improve. I really believe in many (most?) cases they find themselves in these positions by choice. What stops a person working a minimum wage job from attending free night school to improve their skills? What about working towards a promotion at their current job, even without further education? What stops a cashier from becoming a shift manager, and moving up from there? We really need to value working smarter, not harder, as a society.
 
So true. College is often thought of as job security but the reality is far different anymore. Sure back in the day (as late as the 80s-90s) just having a degree in anything was enough to get you in the door. All most employers cared about was that you had what it took to get a college education. But nowadays, forget about it…it has to be a specialized degree, with a certain amount of experience and it doesn’t hurt if you know someone in the company. I made a lot of mistakes in my youth and I’m paying (literally in the case of student loans) for them now. I accept that and am making amends. If my kids learn anything from me, I hope and pray that they listen to me and don’t repeat my mistakes about college.

I’m lucky that my husband has a pretty recession proof job (albeit stressful). My job is only part time and although it can be affected by a recession it shouldn’t be too bad since I can rearrange my schedule and add hours if need be. But I sympathize with people who have a full time job that doesn’t provide benefits…that was the #1 thing my husband looked for before he accepted the position he has. I don’t care if my job provides benefits since I’m only part time, but it’s crucial for him (and us by extension since he carries our insurance. For years we had to use the state run children’s health insurance program and I bought my abysmal policy independently…and it wasn’t good coverage at all.)
 
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I think a lot of p[people are unwilling to give up the so called luxuries they’ve become accustomed to. Smart phones, cable, eating out; these are all things that no one needs, yet society seems to think we do. It’s ridiculous.
 
How do these benefits affect the base wage/salary that you offer? Are they comparable or below/below what competitors not offering such benefits might offer for similar work? Also, out of curiosity, which industry are you in?
 
Peeps said:
I know very few young women in my hospital who are working full time (with children in a daycare center) to maintain a high standard of living. Many of them are driving very old cars (more than 10 years, sometimes almost 20 years), living in homes that are being held together with duct tape (or rental properties), eating as frugally as possible, taking no vacations outside of their home (all time off is spent at home doing home repairs and other necessary tasks), and not enrolling their children in anything other than public schools–no music lessons, sports teams, or clubs.
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I had different observations at my job. One woman’s husband is a web designer but doesn’t get good benefits, so she came back to work for better benefits. Another woman’s husband is a CEO, but in a nonprofit organization, so doesn’t earn that much. Both of these women lamented about coming back to work and said they had no choice. I don’t buy it. These guys have excellent skills- if their current job doesn’t provide the necessary pay or benefits, find another job.
 
It also wouldn’t hurt if we stopped all the affirmative action stupidity that strongly pressures companies to hire women instead of men.
 
+1…I don’t know about some people but for me, I would feel pretty bad if the only reason I got a job was b/c I was female (or a minority.) I want to get the job b/c I’m the best not b/c of my gender or race…
 
Everyone’s work culture is wrong unless they state that doing nada is best! (And the rest is a cross to bear etc…)
 
And another big “must have” item - a single family home. People don’t realize it because it’s so ingrained in our culture, but a house is not a necessity. In other cultures much smaller living quarters are the norm.

Frankly, it’s hard to live on a lot less in a society where everyone has more. In a society where less is the norm, you get used to it and don’t feel like you are lacking.
 
Yep…the older I get, the more comfortable I am with having less. I don’t need a huge house with 2 acres way out in the middle of nowhere. I’m fine with what I have. I try to put it all in perspective too. Around the world, there are A LOT of people who make do with much less (stuff and space). Extended families living together is the norm there. I’m all for that. It helps out so much if there are many hands to help raise the kids. I wouldn’t mind at all if my kids wanted me to come live with them to help them out with their kids (God willing - I can’t wait to be a grandma! lol!)
 
LisaB said:
And another big “must have” item - a single family home. People don’t realize it because it’s so ingrained in our culture, but a house is not a necessity. In other cultures much smaller living quarters are the norm.
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Single family homes are being built now are a lot bigger than they were, and generally families are smaller. My mum lives alone in a small ranch, maybe 1200 square feet- a family of 6 lived there in the 1960’s.

Nowadays they don’t build many houses that small
 
Yep I agree…the home we live in (family of 6) was built in 1962. It has 1 bathroom and 3 bedrooms…I’d like to add on a 1/2 bath and a separate dining area. Other than that I think it’s fine. Looking at homes around the area though…sheesh…there are some that feature 8+ bathrooms for $3000000 or so…good grief…who needs that?!
 
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There was a time when you could make a good living with a high school diploma.

Now with offshoring of jobs and automation these jobs are no longer available. The ones that are available demand further education, either further vocational education or a university education which is not cheap. Yes, even vocational training requires quite a substantial amount of money. How are young people supposed to obtain the money especially if their own parents have none to spare?

They could do what I did, which was join the military. But not all or not even most can do or want to do that.
 
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😦

I’m fortunate in that I live in a dirt-cheap area of the country…one of the only reasons I stay here. If I moved where I want to live, I’d most likely be living in a box on the street (a nice box but still, a box).
 
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They have student loans. Just make sure you major in something useful so you can pay it back when you start working.
 
Student loans can be quite a burden.

A coworker of mine has a degree in electrical engineering from Penn State. He told me his student loan is about $100,000.

That is one huge loan.

Would you marry someone who has that much in student loans even with a useful degree such as electrical engineering?
 
So we could go back to the affirmative action of the past which preferentially hired men, especially white men?

I am no proponent of affirmative action. Companies should hire who they think is most qualified. However I don’t think this ideal was practiced in the past hence the term, old boys club.
 
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LisaB said:
I have a serious problem with this very common perception that the working poor are stuck in their situation and have limited opportunities to improve. I really believe in many (most?) cases they find themselves in these positions by choice. What stops a person working a minimum wage job from attending free night school to improve their skills? What about working towards a promotion at their current job, even without further education? What stops a cashier from becoming a shift manager, and moving up from there? We really need to value working smarter, not harder, as a society.
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In my experience, when I tried, the problem was I was so worn down after work and taking care of myself that I couldn’t study. I could look at the page, but it meant nothing and I would nod off while trying. People don’t have unlimited energy and you can’t sacrifice rest to get ahead and expect to sustain that.
 
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. There are cheaper schools out there. Go to your state school, they cost less. Live at home if you can. Some may have an opportunity to get an associates degree in something like IT, and get an entry level job at a company that offers tuition reimbursement, then go get your BS for free or at a reduced cost. There are options out there. Cost is simply not an excuse to continue in a minimum wage job for years and years.

And to answer your question, I would be more likely to marry someone with 100k student loan than someone without education and no plan to earn a living wage to support a family.
 
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