Canadians are working more hours than they were in 2000
The recent work/life balance event I put together has got me thinking (again) about the way I spend my work time and the nature of what is “work”. Stephen Beck sent along this interesting link: a story on the Stats Canada study on how much Canadians are working. It makes me wonder who these slackers in British Columbia are — working an average of 1700 hours a year? That’s about 34 hours a week, minus two weeks vacation. Up to this point in the year, I’ve put in over 2100 hours, and I’m on my way to wrapping up with over 2200.It’s very interesting looking back. In 2001, I felt like I worked my butt off, really didn’t like what I was doing as much (more managing than designing), and felt like I was already approaching burnout. But when I now look at my hours for that year, it was 2200 — less than I’ll probably end up hitting this year. But this year, even with two kids and arguably more stuff happening on the side, I feel like I’m more balanced, profitable, and more satisfied with work than ever.
It certainly seems true that the nature of your work and the rewards of your work situation impacts your efficiency and the perception of how much your “work” drains away from “life”. Last year (2005), I think, was the perfect balance for me — 1900 profitable hours worked, with about 6 weeks of time off (including parental leave): that equals happiness!
