Comments on: Rich People Work Longer Hours Than Poor People Do

By: richpeoplelie

richpeoplelie — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:22:13 +0000

I don't believe for a second that rich people work harder. I've worked for lots of rich people who never did a precious thing except snort cocaine and take pills. They are just animals driven by fear, lust and greed. One thing is for sure the parasites of this world don't "work".

By: transitionphase

transitionphase — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:50:13 +0000

I have noticed that the people doing my exact job ( it's a sales job ) that come from wealthy families are the top billers in my business. We are all granted the same opportunities at work to be successful, however my colleagues who have grown up with money are more successful. That is why I started researching this topic. It would seem in my opinion that the people who have the least amount of money and/or most responsibility would work that much harder out of necessity.

I think there are two reasons why this is not true. People that are struggling financially often times seem to complain much more about the economy, the market conditions, etc. It's as if they feel sorry for themselves more than their silver spoon colleagues.

Secondly, I feel that the wealthier group simply has a stronger work ethic. Obviously, it is nice to be able to drive to work in a Lexus, have a Coach briefcase and Italian leather shoes. It gives you confidence and in sales, confidence is key.

All in all, I feel that wealthy people truly feel that they deserve and in turn expect to be wealthy while a lesser sect of people tend to think the opposite. They tend to make excuses as to why they aren't successful and constantly seek change when times are tough.

By: halil

halil — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:47:52 +0000

hello im halil kelmendi im from kosovo im poor peolpe and i have problem with heart so can you help me Im 15 years old tell me please in my e-mail my e-mail is lili_57_2@hotmail.com

By: byebye

byebye — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:59:57 +0000

i had to write for dontcomplains coment. hey dontcomplain . after u walk sa mile in my shoes then u open ur mouth. otherwise u stfu as well. and yes the rich do have it easy. not hard paying some one to run shit right. and if u consider travel for meeting and visiting these other countries. where do i sign up for this job 200k a year for traveling and just sitting there. real hard work.
200k to lift a breif case and open it. hope they dont sue for arthritis for opening there breifcases.

so u stfu as well.

By: byebye

byebye — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:52:03 +0000

ok i will not be revisiting this site . i have worked since i have been 15 yrs old. i was born with adhd and have struggled for most of my life. i have worked most of the times 2 jobs. and the most hours in a week i have worked was 119hours. i am no rich far from it. actually as of may 2008 i lost my job and i havent been able to find work since. i bust my ass for many years and now i find myself after over 15 years of working i am out of work longer then i have ever been. read the f'n paper people there isnt nothing. there is so little they raised the papers price to make up for lack of people advertising jobs. there are people who make millions i mean millions a year. i can barely make 40k a year. wtf. how could god make such greedy people. suicide rates are at there highest. i c people with signs (hard worker) on the street in suits. the goverment just gave 300billion dollars to the banks to help them. when is the goverment gonna help other people. everyone should have a house and land and everything. god didnt give land to for people to sell it and have people struggle. im gonn aspeak with god personally come christmas time if my life dont turn around by then. i have alot of problems in life and the stress of not being able to live will kill me. and for jenny and any others who think its that easy to survive in this economy or even when it was good. go f urself. to them if ur not smart enough to be well educated u dont deserve to have a house or live decent. i never aske for much in life myself. little house, my car, maybe a pool and a small boat to relax. but no we have people worth billions while others stuggle and unfortunatly end there life in the long run. so jen when u figure out how to correct someone brain into functioning properly enough to get educated and get a job that could support a confortable liveing with little real life stress. then open ur f'n mouth otherwise stfu. georgeftmyers@hotmail.com

By: DontComplain

DontComplain — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:12:37 +0000

hey ppl, whats all the fuss about, its really very simple and complex at the same time, either one u was born into it, or two like most ppl you made yourself wealthy, through damn hard work and investments, majority of wealthy ppl today are first generation wealthy in todays times, So all you ppl out there there trying to say money dont buy happiness or that rich ppl have it so much easier think again, some just work harder at certain things to make themselves better and make more money, if you are poor its cause u have a poor state of mind, and proberly living on a financial treadmill and waste every dollar that should be used for wealth and investing, a budget goes a long ways ppl, and until you wake up and read some books on it and money, you will keep your poor state of mind. It's really how a person thinks that makes him rich or not, my two cents on that.

By: Mel Locklorn

Mel Locklorn — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:54:43 +0000

"News Flash: people who work harder have more money!"

lol, Tell that to the gold-mining children and coffee slaves in Africa.

By: Terry

Terry — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:54:08 +0000

"Do few things, if you would enjoy tranquillity. ... By desiring little, a poor man makes himself rich. " (Democritus, 460 - 370 BC) Wealth and success are only a state of mind. If you're happy with what you've got, what more do you need. When you're desires have been me (on any level) then you are rich.

By: dinkydoodle

dinkydoodle — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:10:21 +0000

I just wanted to point out that one possible reason for this shift is overtime laws. In this day and age it is not usually beneficial for companies to extend an hourly employee's workday, since it costs them so much more.

We are a work obsessed culture, and while it costs companies more to squeeze in extra hours for hourly employees, the same is not true for salleried employees.

By: iworkwaytoomuch

iworkwaytoomuch — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:54:18 +0000

i find this study to ring true in my young experience. i'm on my 3rd job since college. here's how they've turned out:

first job: salary, averaged 55 hrs a week - $40k a yr
second job: hourly, averaged 40 hrs a week - $32k a yr
current job: salary, average 75 hrs a week - $180k a yr

By: Christophe

Christophe — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:27:19 +0000

In France they went from 39 to a 35 hours week. A 10% raise in free time.
Guess what? A lot of them are trying to work more for more money now...

By: Neatoramawontsendmeapassword

Neatoramawontsendmeapassword — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:24:51 +0000

@ JenDiggity: "Nearly EVERYONE can succeed if they just try harder and smarter." I'm not sure being smart is the criteria. After all, you're doing fine financially and you can't even construct a proper sentence. Your condescending attitude is exactly why some people have contempt for the wealthy. Not everyone has the ability to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and make a ton of money. Are you going to tell a person who's been disabled by physical or mental illness to just "try harder"? It must be nice to sit on your pedestal, look down your nose at everyone else, and live in denial about other people's struggles and challenges. Ignorance must truly be bliss.

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:37:35 +0000

sparge, the study you're thinking of didn't quite say poor people are happier. It said that once you reach the level of making a living, the amount of money you make doesn't correlate with happiness. Under a certain level of existence, money does impact happiness. Not making enough money to get by is stressful.

This study doesn't surprise me. People who do work they are passionate about tend to do well, and people who are good at what they do tend to enjoy their job more. That will lead to more hours spent at work, but that's not a bad thing in a career you really enjoy.

Also, a 6% unemployment rate probably skews the bottom end a bit.

By: sparge

sparge — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:51:14 +0000

Wasn't there also some study that said poor people are happier? I wonder if the two are related...

By: James Schend

James Schend — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:45:34 +0000

News Flash: people who work harder have more money!

By: demimonde

demimonde — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:26:53 +0000

While this study may be accurate, it doesn't seem to take into account lots of different factors.
First of all, working longer hours is NOT a good thing. It greatly impacts quality of life, health and family. In the US, we work more than any other First World country. Again, that's NOT a good thing.
Secondly, many poor people have more than one job. They might be working 70 hours a week, but at three jobs. If they counted each job individually, it wouldn't seem as much. Beware of statistics. They aren't perfect, and can be skewed (even unintentionally) by things like this.

Oh, and JenDiggity... Yes, please continue to help us poor folks out. We're too stupid to know how to get rich. Maybe it's all the crack we smoke!

By: NotMichael

NotMichael — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:41:15 +0000

Jen, you should go on tour teaching us poor people how to live. We'd appreciate it.

By: ted

ted — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:55:46 +0000

Those pesky poor, always spending their money on cigarettes and beer.

By: JenDiggity

JenDiggity — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:46:41 +0000

Most of the people I know who are wealthy have worked their asses off and taken big risks to get there. Sorry that hard work and learned skills pay off. Are we supposed to feel guilty about this, too? My husband begins work at 4:30 AM most mornings and doesn't stop till at least 6:00 PM (but often later). He works six days a week most weeks. And NOT at golf! His hands get dirty every day. Do you know how annoying it is when we sneak away for an afternoon to catch a movie once in a while and someone who has SETTLED for a minimum wage job makes a snide comment about how "it must be nice"? Or when our friends who blow money on cigarettes and beer and stupid shit that they don't need make us out to be big spenders because we saved up for a used boat that we got for a steal at $5,000. "It must be nice." Yes, being smart with our money IS nice! You should try it. I wish people would stop coddling people as if they are woerthless human beings who won't get anywhere in life unless you hold their hand and help them along. When did that ever make strong people? Nearly EVERYONE can succeed if they just try harder and smarter. Instead of making excuses for people maybe we should spend more time encouraging them to learn from the people who HAVE succeeded instead of encouraging them to have contempt for those people.

By: Evil Pundit

Evil Pundit — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:37:14 +0000

Danh: Barack Obama is rich, but when trouble strikes, he goes bodysurfing!

By: Public Relations

Public Relations — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:04:58 +0000

.
In our business, there have been many 70 hour work weeks for me - including Weekends.

You find yourself working constantly because of the Web and mobile communications

You clients are now expecting close to real time reponse in some circumstances

Also, by trying to distinguish yourself from the competitors, you add more vertical services to your company

By: Public Relations

Public Relations — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:04:36 +0000

In our business, there have been many 70 hour work weeks for me - including Weekends.

You find yourself working constantly because of the Web and mobile communications

You clients are now expecting close to real time reponse in some circumstances

Also, by trying to distinguish yourself from the competitors, you add more vertical services to your company

By: sam

sam — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:54:01 +0000

@Danh: Do we really need to make this political?

By: sam

sam — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:53:41 +0000

There is something to be said about the quality of work. Rich people don't sit and answer phones all day or dig ditches. "Work" to a rich person is still something that seems very much like leisure to the rest of us. "Golfing" is work, flying to some other place to be part of a grand opening/real estate deal/something in your industry is "work," etc. The rich people that I know (I'm talking mega rich) are always "working" but always are doing something different and interesting so it doesn't necessarily seem like they are.

By: Danh

Danh — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:44:00 +0000

If they had included George W. Bush in the study the results would have been very different. I guess for him, it is still 1899 (which explains a lot).