Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4855, the Work-Life Balance Award Act.'' Thank you to my colleagues: Congresswoman Woolsey and Congressman Miller for introducing this important legislation that establishes, in the Department of Labor, an annual Work-Life Balance Award for employers that have developed and implemented work-life balance policies. We are all aware of the benefits of holding a job, but too little attention has been paid to the dangers associated with stressful working conditions. Long hours have a significantly negative impact on life satisfaction and time-related stress, which in turn have a negative effect on wellbeing. Non-standard work hours, and stressful workplace environments cause health problems, higher levels of stress, psychological distress, greater relationship conflicts for dual-income couples, less time spent with children and lower life satisfaction. A peer-reviewed study of 10,000 Londoners tracked since 1985, published in the European Heart Journal, found that rates of angina, nonfatal heart attacks and death from heart-related conditions were 60 percent higher in people who worked at least three hours beyond ``the normal, seven-hour day'' compared with those who didn't work that amount of overtime. The study notes that overtime work ``has increased in recent years'' and that the U.S. is one of the countries that is well above average in percentage of people working overtime.…”