Thursday, September 29, 2005

Where Do You Spend Your Time?

A friend once told me that if you want to identify what is truly important to a person or company, all you need do is identify where they spend their time and money.  I therefore found the results of a recent survey by The Gallup Poll® interesting.

In my personal experience, I have observed that more and more employees seem to be working very long workweeks.  That trend may be changing.

Gallup reports that between 1993 and 1999, the percentage of employees surveyed who reported that they worked, on average, more than 45 hours per week increased from 37% to 45%.  However, since the poll taken in August 1999, that percentage has trended downward, to 43% in 2001, 40% in 2002, and now 39% in 2005.

I wonder whether this downward trend is an indication that individuals who are working, on average, more than 45 hours per week are re-evaluating the priorities in their lives, and making necessary changes to ensure that their priorities are properly reflected in their time.  I also wonder whether the tragic events of September 11, 2001 helped solidify this trend by forcing us all to re-focus on our priorities in life.

Or is there some other explanation?  I would like to hear your thoughts.  (You may share them by clicking “comments” on the Blog main page.)