Current Events > Do rich people work harder than poor people

(+) Yeah! (+)

Let's see what CE thinks
---

Some do and some don't. There's low-paid "unskilled" work that's still backbreaking.
---

Most rich people got that rich via luck
---

Not saying no work is involved. Even if you're independently wealthy managing that wealth and what you do with it is a job in and of itself. And there are plenty of rich professionals who work very hard. But it's just not on the same level as someone who needs to work to survive. Generally the amount of time and the intensity of the work are higher in the poor person's case because they have to be.

Yeah it's pretty obvious most poor people break more of a sweat and work 'harder' than rich people


I mean assuming we're talking about employed people
---

Yes, how do you think they get rich?
---

which ones
---

They worked harder at the right time (like when they were at school) but they do that so they won't have to work as hard later in life.

generally speaking success is a result of favorable conditions that allowed one the opportunity to work really hard at a skill for no pay and become very, very good at it

it's a different kind of hard work, because generally it's a delayed reward.

i think most people work hard. rich people were able to use their labor as a long term investment, rather than an immediate transaction. that may have been due to having a background that was already well-to-do, or simply because the skill they were developing was not yet well-known and it was easy for them to spend a lot of time on it.

generally compensation differences happen because of replaceability, not because of 'how hard you worked'. so for once the evil pointy haired boss was right: work smarter, not harder
---

Darkman124 posted...

generally speaking success is a result of favorable conditions that allowed one the opportunity to work really hard at a skill for no pay and become very, very good at it

it's a different kind of hard work, because generally it's a delayed reward.

i think most people work hard. rich people were able to use their labor as a long term investment, rather than an immediate transaction. that may have been due to having a background that was already well-to-do, or simply because the skill they were developing was not yet well-known and it was easy for them to spend a lot of time on it.

generally compensation differences happen because of replaceability, not because of 'how hard you worked'. so for once the evil pointy haired boss was right: work smarter, not harder

yeah what he said
---

The23rdMagus posted...

Some do and some don't. There's low-paid "unskilled" work that's still backbreaking.

This. Also it completely depends on how you define the word "hard"

Who works the hardest physically? Probably migrant farm laborers, possibly the least paid people in our society. And they NEVER get tipped.

On the other hand, most very high paying jobs rely on mental work. There are some exceptions like professional athletes, but most highly paid jobs rely more on "mental work" that often takes a longer time to develop the skill set for. So it's a completely different kind of hard to work away on a tough problem compared to being able to mindlessly pick crops, even though the latter is going to be way more physically exhausting.

If we paid people by how physically hard their jobs were, we would have zero scientists, engineers, programmers, etc. and everyone would try to be a farm laborer or construction worker or something.
---

Among the rich I've found new money tends to work harder than old money

in my experience at least
---

Doom_Art posted...

Among the rich I've found new money tends to work harder than old money

in my experience at least

New money had to work to get that money, old money inherited it
---

Rich people are often just people who start life rich and live on easy mode forever, thinking that anyone can do it because it was ready for them.

For rich people not born into affluence, it takes massive amounts of hard work, knowing the right people to give you a leg up, and insane luck. Also often years of impoverishment because to get rich requires either going to university, and therefore needing to take out thousands upon thousands in loans; or, starting your own business, which also requires thousands in loans.
---

Bluster posted...

For rich people not born into affluence, it takes massive amounts of hard work, knowing the right people to give you a leg up, and insane luck. Also often years of impoverishment because to get rich requires either going to university, and therefore needing to take out thousands upon thousands in loans; or, starting your own business, which also requires thousands in loans.

What if I told you about a crazy idea that would address many of the issues you just described....

Free College

#FeelTheBern

Also thanks to the internet and stuff, starting a business is cheaper than ever pretty much.
---

For the most part, the more money you make, the less actual work you do.
---

This is relevant:
https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/scientists-say-its-more-stressful-to-be-a-waiter-than-a-neurosurgeon?utm_source=vicefbus
---

CircleOfManias posted...

For the most part, the more money you make, the less actual work you do.

Physical work maybe. But as they say, I can do the janitors job but the janitor can't do mine.
---

Antifar posted...

This is relevant:
https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/scientists-say-its-more-stressful-to-be-a-waiter-than-a-neurosurgeon?utm_source=vicefbus

that is honestly surprising and i am gonna dig up the source study rather than take vice at their word

there has been a rash of shitty news reporting on science lately that has infuriated me and i cant wrap my head around how a job that involves 4 hour shifts could possibly be more stressful than one that could involve 24+ hour shifts. i am guessing that vice is lumping whole-life in there (so the financial woes of having a job that doesnt pay the bills) but we'll see

will post again with source+thoughts asap

ok quick edit: they dont link to the study. that sets off my bullshit detector real hard
---

this study is fucking hard to find. they dont even name the study author. did find it though for anyone who has the ability to read journal papers

http://www.neurology.org/content/85/19/1648.full.pdf+html
---

Yes, they work harder and smarter.
---

MangaFan462 posted...

Yes, how do you think they get rich?

The trust fund that their parents set up

Some do and some don't. There's low-paid "unskilled" work that's still backbreaking.

This. In fact, I would say most of the most miserable hard manual labor falls under "unskilled."
---

voldothegr8 posted...

CircleOfManias posted...

For the most part, the more money you make, the less actual work you do.

Physical work maybe. But as they say, I can do the janitors job but the janitor can't do mine.

That depends on the janitor, and what the job is.
---

The23rdMagus posted...

Some do and some don't..

---

Bluster posted...

Rich people are often just people who start life rich and live on easy mode forever, thinking that anyone can do it because it was ready for them.

For rich people not born into affluence, it takes massive amounts of hard work, knowing the right people to give you a leg up, and insane luck. Also often years of impoverishment because to get rich requires either going to university, and therefore needing to take out thousands upon thousands in loans; or, starting your own business, which also requires thousands in loans.

Most millionaires are self-made.

"Sixty-seven percent of high-net-worth Americans are self-made millionaires, according to the survey. Only 8 percent inherited their wealth. One third of the millionaires surveyed were women and half of them made their own fortunes."

http://www.fa-mag.com/news/most-millionaires-self-made--study-says-14565.html
---