That guy at work who keeps yawning and complaining about how tired he is from working so hard is a tool. A complete tool.

Aren't you sick of listening to these people whine about how overworked they are? DETAILS draws some much needed attention to this crisis with a recent article:

"It's the first thing that comes out of someone's mouth when you ask them how they're doing," says Matthew Moss, 34, a creative director at a marketing agency in Portland, Oregon. "'Oh, I'm exhausted.' The first thing you think is 'Oh, this guy is tired, which means he's probably been working really hard.' Or 'They're full of shit.'"

It's as if this is the new status symbol. Chugging Red Bulls and Starbucks to stay up all night doesn't make you cool. And if you feel the need to inform your coworkers about how overworked you are, then maybe you're just working too hard to impress everyone.

It also seems like you Wall Streeters and bankers are especially guilty of this. Does having 3 days of stubble, a wrinkled shirt and bleary eyes equal a massive yearly bonus?

Perhaps there are darker elements at stake here. Maybe this faux fatigue is a coverup for a half-ass work ethic:

"People use tiredness as a proxy for effort," says Steve Gravenkemper, an organizational psychologist at Plante & Moran, a consulting and accounting firm based in Detroit. "They say, 'Gee, I tried real hard even though I didn't get the result, and you can see that by my exhaustion.'"

It's one thing to annoy the crap out of me, but now you're just hurting the company. This will not stand, ya know, this aggression will not stand, man.

DETAILS: Being Tired Is Not A Status Symbol, May 30 , 2008

Many British companies are complaining about losing their relaxing tea time, thus finally confirming many of their sissy stereotypes.

Here in America where we drive on the correct side of the road, tea is a formality we don't partake in very often. Some might argue it has a downright negative or un-American feeling to it.

However in England and the institution of 'tea time' is looked upon as necessity to the average work day. Years ago big British banks and office buildings would have tea ladies walking around making tea all day and handing them to overworked associates and traders at their desks. According to an article in yesterday's Financial Times (the well-known British based financial paper, you know, the pink one?):

Coffee is a bit more ‘on the go’ and more of an individual thing.” [Some businesses] even throws tea parties in the office from time to time, Nicky Wells, a senior brand manager, says: “They’re very well attended.”

Most of those companies have done away with these tea ladies, and there seems to be a big of uproar. There is a backlash brewing to the dissolution of tea time.

Tea time usually takes place between 3 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon and consists of a few associates leisurely sipping tea and chatting about their days for 15 to 20 minutes. Think of it as a slightly more social version of a Spanish 'siesta'.

Sounds great, right? But however will we decide who makes the tea today? How many lumps of sugar does Archibald enjoy? A spot of honey for Sir Topham Hatt or does he prefer extra milk? These etiquette questions are whats boggling the minds of many confused Brits. In a response to these quandaries, businesses are doing away with 'tea', or cutting back on expenses with cheaper teas.

This doesn't sit well:

Bill Gorman, executive chairman of the UK Tea Council, says “The company or their caterers go for the cheapest possible tea, which is a ridiculous economy... The average Brit drinks three cups a day – there should be a revolution.”

The UK Tea Council, they have one of those? These guys need to relax. And you're proposing a revolution of sorts over tea? I believe we did that already. A little something called the Boston Tea Party, remember that one?

FT: What happened to tea time?, May 12, 2008

Think you're working too hard here in the US? Or maybe you're some sick bastard who isn't working enough?

Life's not the same around the globe. Other countries tend to value work very differently.

Maybe you could find your ideal working conditions here (from Minyanville.com):

South Korea: According to an interesting article on Minyanville.com, South Korea was a completely destitute company with a practically non-existent economy around 40 years ago. Today, through government regulation and the high-technology and industrial production boom, this country enjoys the world's 10th largest economy.

But they aren't really enjoying too much. Apparently, all that growth has made everyone in South Korea a workaholic. South Koreans work 195 hours per month on average, compared with the average American who works 144 hours.

They are even taking after Japan with work-stress related deaths. It's called gwarosa, and amounts to heart attacks or strokes induced by freaking out about your job too much. Jeez, relax, Koreans. Someone needs to tell humanitarian aid to dump a cargo plane full of stress balls over there in Seoul.

France: The Frenchies take it a little bit easier. Back in 1996, the Frogs were suffering a 12% unemployment rate in their country. Which is pretty substantial and leads to plenty of other socials ills. To combat this, the government shortened the work week from 40 to 35 hours. That way companies would be forced to hire more people to complete the same jobs.

It worked and the French were able to indulge in their extravagant relaxing lifestyles even more. Lunch at the top of the Eiffel Tower, picnics in the park, espresso with a croissant, shopping for baguettes and berets, and all those other hopelessly inaccurate stereotypes.

In recent months, French President Nicholas Sarkozy has been attempting to repeal this imposed shortened work week, in the hopes that it will help bolster more economic growth.

So if you'd like to work 5 hours less each week and you have a thing for tight horizontally striped shirts, France may be a good move for you.

Samoa: If that's even too strenuous for your delicate psyche, try moving to Samoa where they only work on average 30 hours a week and 125 a month.

This is a place where tourism dollars and tropical weather are adundant, and also for some reason, American football is huge. According to an interesting article on ESPN, a Samoan male is 40 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American. Weird. But just look at Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steeler and Junior Seau of the New England Patriots as some case examples.

So maybe my advice for this one is to move here if you want to work very little and also raise children to be top NFL prospects.

Let us know in the comments section if any of this sounds like your cup of tea.

Minyanville: No Country For Some Men, February 2008