It is a well known fact that Americans work more hours per week on average than most other countries in the world. Do you think that Americans are putting more hours in because they are more motivated, or because they are giving in to peer pressure or just have too much work to do? Does overworking lead to demotivation?

Personally, based on my job experience, I think people often put in more than 40 hours per week mainly because their peers do, and they have the feeling that they need to be available at all times. Work is no longer just 8 hours in the office, but ends up being late nights at home. I have talked to coworkers who frequently stay up till midnight working. I think overworking your employees can be very detrimental to their motivation, and is one of the reasons that American workers are more stressed than many workers around the world.