Do We Work Too Hard?

[wiseheart]

Im not going to read all these stupid posts,
but I hope someone else pointed out that most
of you are making normative statements (opinions)
as opposed to positive statements (facts)

The US works more hours than some countries and
less than others... here is a link to a nifty
chart that shows it for you Click here and scroll Down

Took about 30 seconds via google. By the way,
for those who think that this nation is working
harder, the average number of work hours/week has
continuously fallen over the past few decades in
the US. This is a nationwide statistic though and
is more related to working population. The average
work week for full time workers has not seen much
gain either though.

[Darryl_P]

That Hungary is tied with the USA and ahead of Canada on that chart is a complete farce. I live in Hungary and it is plainly obvious why the economy is half of what it is in the west -- people are lazier and work less, end of story.

Sure, when there are 8 guys on a construction site, one of whom is manning a piece of equipment while the others stand around and watch, all 8 are technically "working" because their contract says they are, but I think the OP is talking about *really* working, not just on paper.

Also if you go to a shopping mall in Budapest at 2pm on a weekday you'll see plenty of able-bodied working age adults shopping for themselves. Most of these are officially "working" and have just "stepped out". Same goes for the people in cafes and restaurants.

And you'll often see long lines at various shops and offices while the clerk finishes her private gossip session, not giving a crap about how much money her employer makes. The employer doesn't ever find out because he's busy shopping, er I mean "working".

I could go on and on, but the idea is that just because someone added up a bunch of numbers doesn't mean they have more facts than someone who just walks around with his eyes open.

[MMMMMM]

[ QUOTE ]
Sure, when there are 8 guys on a construction site, one of whom is manning a piece of equipment while the others stand around and watch, all 8 are technically "working" because their contract says they are, but I think the OP is talking about *really* working, not just on paper.

Also if you go to a shopping mall in Budapest at 2pm on a weekday you'll see plenty of able-bodied working age adults shopping for themselves. Most of these are officially "working" and have just "stepped out". Same goes for the people in cafes and restaurants.

And you'll often see long lines at various shops and offices while the clerk finishes her private gossip session, not giving a crap about how much money her employer makes. The employer doesn't ever find out because he's busy shopping, er I mean "working".

[/ QUOTE ]

This is how I would imagine a world to be if it were populated primarily by ACPlayers and Cyruses:

ACPlayer would be using the company forklift to do donuts in the reception area, gassing and giggling and waving his scuba mask 'round his head; seven solemn Cyruses would be looking on, and offering profound commentary on the meaning of it all. And all the while customers waiting.

This could be the forefronts of the "semi-waking dream before the coffee" syndrome...still, it rings somehow true, I reckon...[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[SheetWise]

OMG! You cloned Cyrus! [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

[Cyrus]

[ QUOTE ]
Seven solemn Cyruses be looking on

[/ QUOTE ]


Lemme guess. You be foreman.

And Sheet here be snowhite ?

[Peter666]

I have travelled extensively across Eastern Europe and I agree that people are lazier at their jobs. It is obviously a result of the former communist environment where good work and independance were not rewarded.

[Darryl_P]

[ QUOTE ]
It is obviously a result of the former communist environment where good work and independance were not rewarded.

[/ QUOTE ]

That certainly contributed to it significantly but in the case of Hungary at least (can't speak for other countries), there is a 500+ year history of always being ruled by outsiders. The people have gotten used to the "mouse" role in the cat and mouse game and so there is a culture of pretending to work to satisfy the rulers while cleverly wiggling out free time for themselves. It's so deeply ingrained in the people that they are not even aware of it.

In contrast, America knows that it must work hard to maintain its "cat" role and (most of) the citizens can identify with the collective objective. That provides the motivation.

There is no identification with collective goals over here, and it's not just because of communism. It's a 500-600 year-old continuous story.

[SheetWise]

[ QUOTE ]
That certainly contributed to it significantly but in the case of Hungary at least (can't speak for other countries), there is a 500+ year history of always being ruled by outsiders. The people have gotten used to the "mouse" role in the cat and mouse game and so there is a culture of pretending to work to satisfy the rulers while cleverly wiggling out free time for themselves. It's so deeply ingrained in the people that they are not even aware of it.

[/ QUOTE ]
Thank you for that post.

[Cyrus]

[ QUOTE ]
In the case of Hungary ... there is a 500+ year history of always being ruled by outsiders.

[/ QUOTE ]
Since Vajk became King Stephen around the year 1000, the Magyars have been fighting foreign invaders! If anything, Hungary has always been a nation under fire and its citizens have known little peace. They were always fighting - against the Byzantine imperial armies and then the Turks. Before them, the Mongol Tartars clashed with the Hungarians who put a stop to the easterners' advance towards Europe.


The Turks occupied eastern Hungary for more than 150 years. The Austrians kept the rest, except for eastern Transylvanian (now Rumania's). But the Magyars were always rebelling against the Austrians, until the middle of the 19th century when a double-centred monarchy was set up with seats in Vienna and Pest-Buda. Th Austro-Hungarian Empire was a glorious era for Mittel Europa and, of course, Hungary!

Such a predicament is supposed to breed men who fight and are individually strong. If you are looking for a reason that the Hungarians (speakers, by the way, of a rather "unique" language, that has no relation to any other European language whatsoever!) are "lazy" and whatnot, you better look elsewhere.

Because I know that (a) the Albanians who have been mostly servants to foreign rulers, and knew nothing about national identity until have been the most formidable capitalists within the socialist camp of Eeastern Europe, and were the first to break out of the communist model as well.

There is little ground grounds for your argument. And you're getting SheetWise all excited.

[Darryl_P]

It's true the Magyars (Hungarians) did fight each time, but they always lost! And so they needed a way to keep their dignity so they developed a wonderful way to make the rulers feel welcome yet find little loopholes to steal whatever commodities like time and material goods they could get away with.

Even in the glorious days of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the Austrians always regarded themselves as the superior group of the two, and the stats of conflicts between the two show that they're right.