Too Many American Men Are Obsessed with Work and Wealth | Hacker News Reader

Too Many American Men Are Obsessed with Work and Wealth

theatlantic.com

32 pointsbreitling16 comments

Maybe if a home in a safe neighborhood with good schools for my kids and a reasonable commute to a decent job wasn't $1,000/sq ft then people wouldn't be so ''obsessed'' with wealth.

>There is a workaholic mania among educated wealth-seeking American men, who seem uniquely devoted to working any number of hours to get rich

This mindset cannot be unique to just the Americans, can it? Doesn't everybody want to work hard and get rich?

Any non-Americans care to explain this?

I think the definition of "work hard" and "rich" is different in every culture.

In general, you don't have to be so rich in Europe to have a high quality of life, and even then the differences aren't so huge. (Anecdote: When I worked in the US, I was a bit shocked when somebody basically told me only poor people use public transport).

Also, when comparing working in England, Germany, and the US, I'd rank them in that order for working "smart" vs "hard". Roughly: In the US, overtime is expected. In Germany, 9 to 5 is expected. In England, getting the work done is what matters - they seem to be far less hung up on actual time tracking (and meetings, oh god, either Americans love meetings or don't tell their boss to get lost).

Obviously, this works better for some industries (software being one). Many of us work intensively, e.g. coding when in the flow. In general, my boss doesn't mind me leaving early or taking an hour break to go to the gym or walk around, because we both know at that point I'm mentally spent. In the US, people just didn't do that, and it was frowned upon.

>Doesn't everybody want to work hard and get rich?

I'm an American and I don't want this. Hard work sucks and bores me. Not to say that I've never put effort or tried at anything, I just think that "hard work" as most people conceive of it is bullshit and a rigged game. Being rich sounds like a hassle and I'd be wracked with guilt. I just want to be able to live the life I want within my means, reading and creating and lounging by the beach with wine and weed. Contrary to popular belief, you don't really need that much money to do so.

I think most people are just pretending. There's not that much work to do, they just don't use their time wisely and often are too dumb or optimistic to know when not to dedicate time to something.

Long working hours and wealth is not as strong of a status symbol in European countries. Being there for your kids as a father, being well-rounded with many interesting hobbies and having lots of spare time / vacation is relatively more important I think.

The social safety net is also different. You are less likely to be overwhelmed by medical bills later in life in most European countries for example

Non-Americans chiming in. This is even worse in east Asia. (Japan, Korean, China)

Definitive NO to your question. Riches is not money, it is free time to do as you please and spend that time doing whatever you find most valuable, e.g. spending time with family, enjoying friends, doing nothing, being free, not selling your time to an employer for just money, or even worse working overtime for 1.5x rate. Many many many people HATE their work, or even just dislike it. And the idea of 'working hard' becomes a joke. Unless you are doing your own startup or thoroughly committed to a cause then as an employee work is but a means to an end. Absolutely nobody actually loves or is passionate about 'changing the way people communicate', or, 'creating the best employee benefits platform ever', or 'disrupting a transport industry', or whatever the taste of the day is. Apart from the founder, everyone else knows it's just hot air, towing the company line etc. Noone really gives a f. Most people's values lie way outside of 'work' or a general sense of work ambition as you quickly realise that rising though the ranks actually bring you less and less free time and therefore less and less real pleasure. Money becomes a terrible compensation. People in those situations frame seniority or responsibility, and it's corresponding wages, as success, when anyone who uses their brains realises it's the opposite. You don't need much money to live a thoroughly spectacular life. Don't dedicate your life to getting financially rich! Dedicate your time to whatever is most valuable in your life, and quit worrying that you don't have enough money, or the big house or new car... all that means absolutely nothing in comparison to life experiences, relationships, travel, free time, contemplation, and whatever brings you the most pleasure in life. The whole point of money is to spend it and most things don't cost that much. Working hard to eventually become rich is a terrible goal. (If you are highly ambitious and money is your true pleasure then disregard this entire comment!)

> Doesn't everybody want to work hard and get rich?

No, I dare to say most people in Europe and probably many other places in the world don't share this "American" view and they rather just work to live than live to work. [citation needed]

>Too Many American Men are Obsessed with Work and Wealth

Alternatively, not enough women value work and wealth. The bias here is clear is day.

Just American-Men..?

How about Too many _Adults_ are obsessed with work and wealth?

> while married couples often make work-and-home decisions as a unit, the cultural expectation that men be the top providers proves to be an insurmountable force

So it's not just coming from the men.

Mostly from men. It's hard to argue that women set the cultural agenda when most almost all of our business and political leaders are male boomers.

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