THE average American takes less work holiday than a medieval peasant.

US is the only advanced country with no national vacation policy whatsoever, plus has a culture of working long hours.

4 America is the only developed nation that doesn't offer compulsory holiday time Credit: Getty - Contributor

Many American workers must keep on working through public holidays, and vacation days often go unused, Business Insider reports.

The advent of smartphones means that clocking off is no longer an option, with million sof workers continuing to write and check emails long in to the evening.

Commentators blame consistent high unemployment job insecurity and weak unions for encouraging extra work.

Plus the lack of contracted holidays means workers live under threat of being laid off if they complain.

The 2007 financial crisis also saw a rise in hourly and part time work, which offers even fewer benefits.

4 Medieval workers toiled hard in the fields and battled disease and famine - but they had a lot of leisure time Credit: Getty - Contributor

4 Working long hours can cause health problems and lack of motivation Credit: Getty - Contributor

Medieval peasants faced disease, famine or being bumped off in bloody wars.

But the church often enforced mandatory holidays to prevent the surfs from uprising.

Sundays were national holidays and there were breaks after harvest seasons.

Juliet Shore, economist, told the site that during periods of high wages, such as 14th-century England, peasants worked no more than 150 days a year.

4 Many Americans feel pressured to work longer hours due to job instability Credit: Getty - Contributor

She said: "The tempo of life was slow, even leisurely; the pace of work relaxed," notes Shor. "Our ancestors may not have been rich, but they had an abundance of leisure."

Many cultures around the world promote a 40 hour work week, plus allocated holiday and public rest days."

America however continues to work in worse conditions than historic Europeans.

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Overworking can lead to depression, deteriorating health, and long hours can reduce productivity.

For example, notoriously industrious Germany ranks second to last in number of hours worked.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that American congressman have had up to 239 days off in a single year - while the working American is guaranteed none.

Here's how to double your annual leave in 2018

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