> I think this Wainwright's thesis gives a good explanation why the subjective
> experience of work pressure is more acute, while objectively conditions are
> better, rather than worse.
In the U. S., it's an irrefutable fact that the average worker is working far, far more than the average worker in previous generations (we're about 400 hrs/yr higher than workers in the 1970s, if I recall correctly; Doug will probably check). --One other obvious indicator: more people today must work multiple jobs and/or have two wage earners in the family to obtain the middle class standard of living that a single wage earner could afford in past generations (house, car, health insurance, college for kids). "Objective" conditions for workers are clearly becoming more onerous in the U. S.; glad it's all blue skies in the U. K.!
Miles