Apr 6, 2019 - Economy

By the numbers: The miscast story of workaholic millennials

Viral stories on the culture of "workism" paint a picture of millennials logging 18-hour workdays.

The big picture: On average, millennials don’t work more hours than other age groups, according to an Axios-SurveyMonkey poll.

75% of millennials age 25-34 years old work 31-50 hours a week, with 16% working 51 or more hours.
Similarly, 74% of those 35-64 years old work 31-50 hours a week, with 17% working 51 or more.
Americans aged 25-34 year old spend an average of 4.93 hours each day on work or work-related activities. That's versus 5.22 hours for ages 35-44 years old and 4.97 hours for ages 45-54 years old, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Between the lines: A number of other factors, including student debt, job insecurity and low pay may contribute to millennial stress and anxiety.

Another takeaway: Anecdotally, millennials are thought to be distinct in frequently blurring the lines between their work and personal lives.

But over 70% of people polled found it important to have friends at work — across all age demographics.

Go deeper: Why are millennials so obsessed with how much they work? (Daniel Engber — Slate)