Americans suffer from an overdose of work.【C1】______who they are or what they do, they spend【C2】______time at work than at any time since World War II . In 1950, the US had fewer working hours than any other【C3】______country. Today, it【C4】______every country but Japan, where industrial employees log 2,155 hours a year compared【C5】______1, 951 in the US and 1,603【C6】______West employees. Between 1969 and 1989, employed American【C7】______an average of 138 hours to their yearly work schedules. The work-week【C8】______at about 40 hours, but people are working more weeks each year. 【C9】______paid time off — holidays, vacations, sick leave —【C10】______15 percent in the 1990s. As corporations have【C11】______stiffer competition and slower growth in productivity, they would【C12】______employees to work longer. Cost-cutting layoffs in the 1980s【C13】______the professional and managerial ranks, leaving fewer people to get the job done. In lower-paid occupations【C14】______wages have been reduced, workers have added hours【C15】______overtime or extra jobs to【C16】______their living standard. The government estimates that more than seven million people hold a second job. For the first time, large【C17】______of people say they want to cut【C18】______on working hours, even if it means earning less money. But most employers are【C19】______to let them do so. The government which has stepped back from its traditional【C20】______as a regulator of work time, should take steps to make shorter hours possible. 【C15】

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