In Switzerland, being late to any meeting –or anything at all – is poor form. Ten minutes later, a meeting cancellation pops up. Five minutes later, you see one other coworker and ask, “Is this meeting still happening?” They have no idea either. The meeting alert pops up on your computer, yet no-one is in sight. Read more: Tired of the grind? How to recover from a mid-30s burnout 3. This streamlines meetings, so that less time is spent on talking about things, and more is spent actually getting them done. No passive-aggressive, beat around the bush conversations. That 100 percent focus without distractions ensures that work time is for work - and leaves more play time for enjoyment.Īlso part of the German mentality: direct communication. Small talk and social network browsing is simply not tolerated. Part of this comes from the no-nonsense mentality in German offices. In a new study by the Trades Union Congress, the average German put in 40.2 hours of work and produced an index of 114.6 of productivity (for comparison, the average of entire EU was 91.4). Some may well associate Germans with being more efficient - but research does actually back this up. In fact, it actually leads to being happier and more productive, plus gives us the capability to do more meaningful work. The competitive nature of answering quickest after hours leads to a dog-eat-dog culture that keeps us checking our inboxes right before we go to bed and as soon as we wake up - on average 52 times a day !īut that mental space of not feeling like we’re on call all the time is essential. Read more: Four compelling arguments for a career break Middle-of-the-night responses are so commonplace that, at many companies, they go without any appreciation (or acknowledgement) of the overtime hours. Here in the U.S., we don’t think twice about answering that 10 p.m. And some companies have even gone as far as turning off access to email overnight. In 2017, the Ministry of Labor in France passed a law giving employees the “right to disconnect” and not look at work emails during off hours. And by the time you’re commuting home (glued to your work email), it’s likely dark outside. Disconnect from technology like the Frenchīefore you’ve even reached the office, you’ve already answered half a dozen emails and been on a conference call or two.Ī lunch break? If you’re lucky, you have time to run down and grab a meal to eat at your desk. So what gives? Here are five things we can learn from the masters of the work-life balance – and then put into practice in our own lives. Today, a third of the country’s employees still put in more 45 hours or more a week, and 9.7 million of us toil away for more than 60.įrom prioritizing vacations to healthier habits at work, our European counterparts seem to have figured out the tricky tightrope of balancing career and lifestyle far better than we have. But perhaps all of that is a result of the long-rooted European habit of balancing work with life.Ī decade ago, America was ranked the most overworked country in the world. Whether it’s slowly sipping fine wine after work like the French, taking siestas like the Spaniards, or leisurely enjoying a long lunch like the Greeks, Europe seems to own the most enviable lifestyles.įrom where we stand in the workaholic culture of the U.S., it’s hard not to crave a slice of that mentality from across the pond.
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