Protestant work ethic leads to materialistic culture, bad health

It’s a truism echoed across party lines: “Hard work builds character.” I beg to differ.

Despite the nauseatingly self-righteous quotes of Ben Franklin, ambition can do more harm than good — not for society necessarily, but for the soul. As a result of the Protestant work ethic, Americans are wasting one-third of their lives working. In many cases, it’s for money they don’t even need. Fueling this constant push for material wealth is a pervasive sense of inadequacy in which citizens are unsatisfied with their status — even if they’re well off.

Though the consequences of hard work disproportionately affect the poor, studies have shown the tendency to work to death is exhibited by members of all socioeconomic classes.

A study published in the Psychological Science journal of the Association for Psychological Science this past June indicates Americans are apt to earn more than they could possibly consume. The study tested subjects by offering them a deal: They could listen to pleasant music and receive no reward or listen to annoying white noise and earn a chocolate candy for each allotted time period.

Before beginning the task, subjects were asked to estimate how much chocolate they believed they could consume. The average answer was 3.75. Once the task began, subjects endured trial after trial until they earned an average of 10.74 pieces of chocolate, less than half of which was actually consumed.

The propensity for mindless accumulation is deeply ingrained in the American psyche. It’s why Americans are brainwashed into thinking their salaries are correlated with their value as human beings. 

And this shouldn’t come as a surprise whatsoever. Globally, 134 countries are ahead of the United States in legally capping the maximum length of the average work week. According to a United Nations study, 85.8 percent of American men and 66.5 percent of American women work more than 40 hours per week. Measuring this on an annual scale with the rest of the world, that’s 137 more hours than Japanese workers, 260 more hours than British workers and 499 more hours than French workers. 

The frantic nature of accumulating capital is unfortunately logical for the lower class, but what kind of anxiety provokes the middle and upper classes to stow away more than they could ever need?

A 2013 study conducted by investment bank UBS revealed that 40 percent of people with $5 million in investable assets said they didn’t feel rich. Only 28 percent of investors worth $1 million to $5 million viewed themselves as rich. Many expressed concerns about financial insecurity bordering on paranoia, with one especially obnoxious representative stating, “I know that technically I am in the one percent, but I don’t feel rich at all.” 

Is this phenomenon a result of hyper-consumerism? Infatuation with celebrities? Or is this an expected outcome when economic status is so static? We all have an ideal standard of living, it’s just that the rich set theirs to what the rest of us would call a gluttonous level.

It makes sense: If you want to increase productivity and capital, make your employees think they need more than $5 million to be financially secure. Make sure it’s never enough.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the average productivity per American worker has increased 400 percent since 1950. But with income disparity at an all-time high, it’s clear that only the top dogs are reaping the fruit of all this extra labor.

But besides missing out on some pleasant music, what’s the real cost of working hard?

A recent study published in the New York Times revealed that low-income children who managed to beat the odds and achieve success in the form of a college education did so at the expense of their health.

Compared to control groups in the study, low-income success stories saw higher rates of obesity, blood pressure and levels of stress hormones. This is a result of the poor eating, sleeping and stress-managing habits that develop within groups of Americans that literally can’t afford free time.

In a capitalist society with few regulations guaranteeing worker rights and a healthy work-life balance, this is exactly what you would expect.

This is not to say that we should all live like Buddhist monks; just carefully distinguish between manufactured needs and real ones. And, of course, take time to listen to the music.

Write Natalie at natalie.russell8@gmail.com.