By Christy Barritt

Americans Overworked

A new study by the nonprofit Families and Work Institute showed that one in three American employees is chronically overworked.

When the study was taken, 54 percent of American employees had felt overwhelmed at some point in the previous month by the amount of work they had to complete.

Twenty-nine percent of employees spent a lot of time doing work they considered to be a waste of time. Only eight percent of employees who are not overworked experience symptoms of clinical depression compared with 21 percent of those who are highly overworked.

Thirty-six percent of employees had not taken and were not planning to take their full allotment of vacation days. Employees who did take one to three days off returned to work feeling relaxed, while 85 percent who took seven or more days away reported that they returned more refreshed.

Atheists Launch Nationwide Effort

In an effort to promote their cause and to make a political impact, the Secular Coalition for America (SCA) is creating state chapters throughout the United States. The SCA is a national lobby group representing the interests of atheists, humanists, agnostics, freethinkers, and other nontheistic Americans.

According to the news website, The Blaze, the purpose of organizing these new chapters is to magnify the organization’s impact so that atheists can continue to spread and advocate their ideology.

In May, the group hired Republican strategist Edwina Rogers as their executive director.

According to a press release, new chapters will be launching in 48 states and in Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico by the end of 2012. There are already chapters in Arizona and Alabama.

From Abortion Advocate to Ministry Leader

A former Planned Parenthood abortion clinic director is launching a nonprofit organization that will minister specifically to abortion clinic workers transitioning out of the abortion industry and into a new line of work.

And Then There Were None is the name of the new nonprofit led by Abby Johnson. The organization seeks to provide emotional, spiritual, legal, and financial support to former clinic workers.

The new ministry will also raise funds so clinic workers can afford to leave their jobs in the abortion industry.

For more information, visit: www.attwn.org. 

Retail Giant Supports Same-Sex Marriage

Target, the nation’s second largest retailer, is jumping into social activism.

The company is selling gay pride T-shirts and giving as much as $120,000 to a homosexual group through sales of the clothing. Target has promised consumers that they will donate 100 percent of the purchase price for each gay pride item sold. This offer was only extended for a certain time period, however, and the T-shirts were only available online.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that the company created 10 T-shirts as a part of a decade long partnership with the Family Equality Council, a gay activist organization that lobbies for gay adoption, the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and same-sex marriage. 

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons. 
www.christybarritt.com