A recent Gallup analysis found that over the last five years, full-time Americans have been putting in fewer and fewer hours. The weekly average decreased from 44.1 hours to 42.9 hours between 2019 and 2024, a decrease of more than an hour. However, compared to older workers, this declining trend is more noticeable among younger workers, especially those under 35. Compared to people 35 and older, who work less than an hour a week on average, the younger generation is working over two hours less.
Americans are cutting back on the 40-hour workweek, and it seems this will be the new normal
That time savings adds up to one week for senior Americans and two weeks for younger workers over a year. What, therefore, is causing this trend? Based on further data that they have gathered, the analytics and consulting firm has some thoughts. Although AI poses a risk of eliminating many jobs, artificial intelligence has the potential to greatly increase worker productivity. According to Gallup’s findings, 45% of poll participants claimed that AI had increased their productivity at work. However, employee engagement has dropped to its lowest level in a decade, which may be problematic for long-term growth.
Additionally, as employees’ faith in their bosses erodes, they become more detached from them. Additionally, younger Americans in particular now rank their well-being and preserving a healthy work-life balance as among the most crucial considerations when selecting a new position. In 2023, Gallup conducted a study on life evaluation and discovered that fewer than 30% of participants reported that they were prospering. The others claimed that they were having difficulty or even pain. Managers and leaders should consider exhaustion a warning sign, according to Gallup. Employee motivation and performance may suffer, but so may overall productivity, and the company may incur higher costs as a result of more turnover.
It is important to note that 74% more Americans are likely to be looking for another job if they report feeling burned out frequently or always. In addition to working excessive hours, Gallup lists the following factors that can contribute to burnout: unjust treatment at work, imprecise manager communication, a lack of manager support, and excessive time pressure. Managers must address these challenges at work rather than concentrating only on how many hours employees work. Every employee should have regular communication, ideally once a week, according to Gallup. In this manner, they can accommodate each employee’s distinct work-life needs while matching the duties that must be completed with their skills.
The proposal that has raised concerns among Americans in the past weeks
Legal experts are wondering whether the US government may deport Americans guilty of serious crimes to El Salvador without due process, following President Trump’s remark that he is looking into this option. Trump did not clarify whether he was talking to naturalized citizens who were born outside of the United States or how his administration would deport “homegrown” criminals. However, he stated that Attorney General Pam Bondi was researching whether such a proposition was lawful.
Deportation would represent a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s already aggressive approach to immigration and criminal justice, with constitutional experts telling TIME that even the suggestion of deporting Americans crosses a line long considered sacrosanct. Trump’s proposal seems to expand on an agreement made earlier this year between Washington and San Salvador that permitted the transfer of more than 200 Venezuelan nationals from U.S. detention facilities to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a large prison complex whose harsh conditions have been denounced by human rights organizations. Many of these individuals were convicted criminals or asylum seekers.
