People (some people anyway) often compare the attitudes of Americans with those of their French or Swedish counterparts in regards to work, money and their attitudes towards having a work-life balance.
Generally speaking Americans are "wealthier" than their French or Swedish counterparts and yet it is often argued that the French and Swedes are more "efficient" in carrying out their work. This would seem like a contradiction as if they are better at what they do then why are their incomes lower? This is because they use their better efficiency not to earn more money, but to spend more of their time relaxing and actually living their lives. In practical terms this means longer lunch breaks and more people actually clocking off at the end of the working day rather than simply working from home or while on the move.
It could be argued that this greater wealth creation could be used to pay for better healthcare and/or education and believe it or not the US does spend a greater proportion of its GDP on health and education than the likes of France or Sweden. However, as is widely argued, the standard of health and education in the US falls short of its European counterparts. So, less work, less spending and yet higher standards of living and yet another contradiction. This shows that money and wealth isn't the be all and end all when improving our quality of life which brings to mind the saying "work smarter not harder".
So what I am simply saying is don't worry about setting that little bit of extra time aside for leisure, relaxation or improving yourself. As the French and Swedes have shown we can have it both as long as we're smart about it and as the saying goes "work to live, not live to work".
Thanks for reading,
Jason
Generally speaking Americans are "wealthier" than their French or Swedish counterparts and yet it is often argued that the French and Swedes are more "efficient" in carrying out their work. This would seem like a contradiction as if they are better at what they do then why are their incomes lower? This is because they use their better efficiency not to earn more money, but to spend more of their time relaxing and actually living their lives. In practical terms this means longer lunch breaks and more people actually clocking off at the end of the working day rather than simply working from home or while on the move.
It could be argued that this greater wealth creation could be used to pay for better healthcare and/or education and believe it or not the US does spend a greater proportion of its GDP on health and education than the likes of France or Sweden. However, as is widely argued, the standard of health and education in the US falls short of its European counterparts. So, less work, less spending and yet higher standards of living and yet another contradiction. This shows that money and wealth isn't the be all and end all when improving our quality of life which brings to mind the saying "work smarter not harder".
So what I am simply saying is don't worry about setting that little bit of extra time aside for leisure, relaxation or improving yourself. As the French and Swedes have shown we can have it both as long as we're smart about it and as the saying goes "work to live, not live to work".
Thanks for reading,
Jason
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