Work hours up, Suicides down

This week's Economist article on work-life balance notes that "Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia recently told employees to leave if they were not prepared to work weekends and long evenings over the coming months for no extra reward." Guess MSLO employees get enough fun crafty homemaking at work, they don't need time for anything else. ;)

I did find this observation interesting:

Europeans suggest that the reason why so many work-life initiatives come first from America is that American firms have more scope for improvement. Paid holidays there, for instance, are considerably shorter than in Europe. Flexible working and the occasional sabbatical may be the local alternative to Europe's longer annual leave, a one-off levelling of the non-pay elements of remuneration in the face of international competition.

Meanwhile in a different section of the E was an interesting fact: the American suicide rate has decreased 15% since Prozac was introduced in 1988.