Originally Posted by mayonaise

so most people you know make up a majority of the american population? h:

actually, about 40 hours a week is the norm:
http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm
edit: ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/news.release/H....07082005.news

many americans may work a little more than 40 hours a week on average, but not by much. and if you look at the chart in the BBC article you posted, you'll notice that europeans do, too. the average weekly hours for all the countries listed is higher than 40 hours/week, except for Denmark and Lithuania. even France, with it's 35 hour work week, is above 40. most americans get weekends off. sorry, but that's a fact, too.