Just a bit ago I read an article about the CEO of Norway's Oil trust fund. He said.that while he won't comment on work life balance, Americans are just more ambitious than Europeans. But I wonder, can we really separate the two? Or is what he reads as ambition and hard work really the desperation to insulate ourselves against future cala…
Just a bit ago I read an article about the CEO of Norway's Oil trust fund. He said.that while he won't comment on work life balance, Americans are just more ambitious than Europeans. But I wonder, can we really separate the two? Or is what he reads as ambition and hard work really the desperation to insulate ourselves against future calamity because we have no social safety net? Given the opportunity, how many of us would gladly trade our 'ambition' and our burnout for their 28 days of paid vacation each year?
The wisest thing I ever learned in accounting was the seminar instructor who told us that it was up to us to figure out our tolerance level and set our boundaries with our employers, because they were never going to do it for us. Not everyone has that freedom, I know, but the more of us who stand up and say 'enough' the more they are forced to heed.
There are cultural values around work and class mobility that differ. Europe still values blue blood and nobility. US was built on puritan work ethic and loves a bootstrap story of rags to riches. Everyone in the US believes they can play the odds and get ahead and the economy is built that class mobility is easier than Europe because there is no social safety net and we have more disposable income and higher wages. In Europe it’s much harder to jump up in class or buy land when it’s usually passed down, they also don’t value consumerism, consumption, customer service the same way. So a worker will take long breaks, have their coffee and cig and talk to their friends. Food and rent are cheaper but that same worker in US has to run and say customer is always right. Not cus she is ambitious because she has to and she maybe is miserable and thinks she can get the F out of there.
Just a bit ago I read an article about the CEO of Norway's Oil trust fund. He said.that while he won't comment on work life balance, Americans are just more ambitious than Europeans. But I wonder, can we really separate the two? Or is what he reads as ambition and hard work really the desperation to insulate ourselves against future calamity because we have no social safety net? Given the opportunity, how many of us would gladly trade our 'ambition' and our burnout for their 28 days of paid vacation each year?
The wisest thing I ever learned in accounting was the seminar instructor who told us that it was up to us to figure out our tolerance level and set our boundaries with our employers, because they were never going to do it for us. Not everyone has that freedom, I know, but the more of us who stand up and say 'enough' the more they are forced to heed.
There are cultural values around work and class mobility that differ. Europe still values blue blood and nobility. US was built on puritan work ethic and loves a bootstrap story of rags to riches. Everyone in the US believes they can play the odds and get ahead and the economy is built that class mobility is easier than Europe because there is no social safety net and we have more disposable income and higher wages. In Europe it’s much harder to jump up in class or buy land when it’s usually passed down, they also don’t value consumerism, consumption, customer service the same way. So a worker will take long breaks, have their coffee and cig and talk to their friends. Food and rent are cheaper but that same worker in US has to run and say customer is always right. Not cus she is ambitious because she has to and she maybe is miserable and thinks she can get the F out of there.
In other words, we’re fucking idiots. Clueless rubes. That’s the culture here. Your understanding of either society is rather poor.
You’re tossing pearls to pigs here.