It's called the American dream for a reason.
Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
291–300 of 405 posts
Re: Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
#292I think its a lot more than 25%. In Sweden where I work, people are relaxed at their jobs. Coming in at 8.30 am and leaving at 4.30 pm with a full lunch break in the middle is normal. Taking a couple of coffee breaks or ping pong matches and chatting with collegues is normal. There is casual talk all day long and bosses are also leaving work early to pick up children, spend time with the family and just enjoy their l…
This is just an anecdote though. I work in the US and can come in after 10am and leave by 4pm if I want. I can work remote when I want to and have done this for a week out of state and just random weekdays. This is all on a 40hr salary that hasn't been cut. I bring my dog to work and go to lunch when I want to. I shoot the breeze with coworkers when I want to. We still get our work done. There are some times when I work later, but it's because we're trying to get something out and I want to help.
Just saying not everywhere in the US is as bad as people make it sound...
Re: Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
#293Earlier quoted context omitted.
Completely agreed having lived and worked in all 3. Canada is the sweet spot.
If you're well educated. If you're not then you'll find yourself working much harder in Canada to stay afloat than in Europe.
It does not match my own experience. I worked a few years in Canada (Québec) and liked it very much. I found that the work-life balance was much better than in France. It was more constant throughout the year. People have fewer vacations than in France 3-4 weeks/year with a few sick days vs 6-8 weeks/year but the daily working hours are lower (9-5) with quick lunch break where in France it is more 9-7 with a long lunch break (only in the private sector and in IT).
The more constant working pace is much better for work. In France it is very complex to schedule a meeting when everybody can attend (there's always someone in vacation) and in summer it is nightmare for managers to find people to make a project going forward. The mood at work was much better in Canada, people were more friendly, less stressed due to a better organization (easier than in France) and also to be fair due to a lower unemployment rate.
I did not have the impression to work more than in France to stay afloat, but maybe because because it was going smoother.
Re: Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
#294Earlier quoted context omitted.
If I walk into a government building in my state, I will pick up a pamphlet which has notices in English, Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese and Arabic. I can walk down a street and hear each of those languages being spoken. Are you really going to tell me that the Vietnamese experience in the United States is basically the same as the English experience? If so, please come visit on of the top 30 cities in the United State…
Just in Switzerland (which has only 8 million people) there are 4 official languages. Only 30k people speak Romansh, so let's ignore that one. But if you go to the German part, most people don't even understand French. Likewise, if you go to the French part, most people don't understand German. The Italian part is quite a bit smaller than rest of Switzerland, and most people there choose to learn French as a second l…
It's absurd to use languages spoken as a proxy for cultural diversity. That being said, according to wikipedia there are 430 languages spoken in the US. There are 32 languages used by 100,000+ people.
And implying that simply because people speak the same language they have the same culture is nuts. People in Utah have the exact same language and accent as people in California but the two populations have very different attitudes about family, education, marriage, religion, and government.
In fact you don't even need to cross state boundaries. Compare Park City, Utah with St. George, Utah. Different cultures. Compare any metro area with any rural area.
Re: Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
#295Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're well educated. If you're not then you'll find yourself working much harder in Canada to stay afloat than in Europe.
It does not match my own experience. I worked a few years in Canada (Québec) and liked it very much. I found that the work-life balance was much better than in France. It was more constant throughout the year. People have fewer vacations than in France 3-4 weeks/year with a few sick days vs 6-8 weeks/year but the daily working hours are lower (9-5) with quick lunch break where in France it is more 9-7 with a long lun…
At a guess you were living in the cities?
Re: Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
#296Earlier quoted context omitted.
> it's harder to move from a class to another compared to the US. Not true: social mobility in US is lower than in Europe and Canada.
> Not true: social mobility in US is lower than in Europe and Canada. I can't speak about Canada but I seriously doubt that social mobility is higher in Europe. Again, you can't generalize. It may be far easier to move from a class to another in Germany than for example Italy or France.
Can you back your doubts with numbers from a credible source?
Re: Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
#297How happy are they working that extra 25%? They are richer, sure. But I don't think being rich is an indicator of your overall state. Looking at [1], you can see that people in european countries come out on top of the happiness index. One could argue that working less is actually better for productivity and overall happiness. [1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-23/these-are-...
I've noticed some people just plain don't understand this mindset. My boyfriend was offered a higher-paying job in a state with lower cost of living but didn't take it. This was an absolute affront to some people we know, because we were turning down "more money!!"
We live more-than-comfortably and are able to save and make stupid impulse buys occasionally. We genuinely love where we live and are happy. For us, it seems just as insane to jeopardize that just for more cash and cheaper rent prices.
Re: Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
#298How happy are they working that extra 25%? They are richer, sure. But I don't think being rich is an indicator of your overall state. Looking at [1], you can see that people in european countries come out on top of the happiness index. One could argue that working less is actually better for productivity and overall happiness. [1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-23/these-are-...
There's more to living than being happy. A shallow, narcissistic life is not better than one with purpose and meaning.
Re: Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
#299Europeans have this shit figured out then. 25% less work means stopping at 3:00PM every day for me (unless you count the difference as block vacations). This would be LIFECHANGING. I get bored and stop concentrating around that time every day as is.
The workdays in Europe are your pretty typical 8 hour days, the difference I think comes from the 15-30 annual vacation days per year, plus all the public holidays.
This. Before I switched to 4 days a week (to do non-work stuff) I had 31 days holiday not including public holidays. I really value this extra time. The lack of holidays was one reason (albeit not the only one) I decided not to work in San Francisco when I had the chance in the past.
Re: Americans Work 25% More Than Europeans, Study Finds
#300Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "Common knowledge" isn't evidence. But it is. The data for public salaries generally has very good availability in the Information age. If you're trying to participate in a discussion in an informed way, you should at least conduct the minimum due diligence to do so.
Common knowledge is by definition not evidence. > The data for public salaries generally has very good availability in the Information age. The salaries don't seem particularly high, and in some cases (construction workers and bus drivers, top quarter) seem particularly low. Of course a lot more goes into job satisfaction than Salary but I agree, this is not common knowledge. http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs…
The point that BUS DRIVERS working for GOVERNMENT make better wages than BUS DRIVER working for PRIVATE sector. Not that bus drivers in general are rich people.