What is the work/life balance really like?

6 comments

1. Define “good money” and “Not working much”. Compared to a factory worker in China we’re doing great. Compared to how much individual worker’s productivity has gone up in the last 150 years, people spend too much time working.

   For me personally, it’s fine. But there are many in the working class who aren’t as privileged as I am with my cushy IT job.

2. Work/life balance is working the maximum amount of hours per week (something in the area of 36 to 42 or thereabouts), while overtime is the exception rather than the norm and adequately compensated (either in your salary, or as time off). It is also having guaranteed vacation time and sick leave, and adequate lunch breaks and coffee breaks.

   In addition, most people don’t commute more than, say, 1h. So the time left for leisure, rest, family activities, and everyday life management is ensured.

   We don’t “not work much”. We work the necessary hours to fulfill our contract obligations, and (ideally) get paid a fair amount per hour.

   It’s impossible to generalise cost of living. Some places have higher salaries but also everything more expensive, others have low salaries with everything cheaper, and others have low salaries with everything expensive or high salaries with everything cheaper. It’s not homogenous.

   In most european countries*, your take-home salary has already been docked your tax contributions. And your tax contributions are going for things that elsewhere would have been big expenses: education, healthcare, and your pension fund, for example.

   *In other countries, you’re taxed at the end of the fiscal year instead. In some countries healthcare is private, so you need to pay a private insurance – though it is strictly regulated to keep it affordable, because it is mandatory.

3. I used to work for the European subsidiary of an American company here and it really opened my eyes to the work culture in the States. A few examples of things I experienced which made me realise how good we have it here:

   The first time I really realised the gulf between working in the US and Europe was one morning not long after I started in my role, I circulated a meeting invite at about 9:30am our time and, to my absolute astonishment and bewilderment, my colleagues in NY responded almost immediately. At 4:30am their time! I nearly fell off my chair in shock. That would never in a million years happen here.

   My NY colleagues used to regularly have calls at 3:30am with our Singaporean clients which was bizarre to all of us working in the European subsidiary. We just don’t do things like that. When a big time difference is involved, we might schedule a call for 7am or 9pm, for example, but never 3:30am.

   We get about 23-25 days of leave a year and we take those days and enjoy them. I used to hear NY colleagues talking about how they didn’t take their holidays and hadn’t had a break in years. Again, that’s beyond bizarre to us. I think the reason for all these differences is that we have such great job security. Sure, we could lose our jobs if the company is downsizing or for some egregious breach but we don’t live with the threat of being fired over our heads on a day-to-day basis. I never got used to the fact that American colleagues could be fired pretty much at any time for seemingly any reason.

   Another thing is that I was sick a couple of years ago and was out on sick leave for six months on full pay. I received my annual salary increase and bonus in that time too even though I wasn’t actually working. My company covered all my medical expenses for that period too. I don’t think my NY colleagues would have had the same benefits if they had been sick like I was. I will say though that my NY colleagues were better remunerated for the same role but that doesn’t really mean much when the work/life balance is so bad.

4. There are always a handful of countries who are exceptions to the rule, for example in a few they work a lot less and have a lot more vacation time, or in a few there are alternative ‘flexible’ style contracts which although they currently make up a very small % of the labour force, they tend to be concentrated in low skill industries and are used to bypass the benefits.

   Whereas in a few others there is a sizeable shadow economy so whats in law doesn’t always play out in practice for some people.

   I believe that in the ‘Western half’ the benefits also tend to be better.

   **But broadly speaking**

   – The number of hours worked isn’t too different compared to the US, on average across Europe.

   – Full time employees across the continent receive somewhere between 3-5 weeks of paid vacation time, which may or may not include the several national public holidays (depends between countries and even companies) . For Part time workers any vacation entitlement is on a pro-rata basis of course.

   – On-call requirements are rare. Doctors maybe? if any

   – In a few countries there appears to be a defined ‘lunch period’ of a couple of hours where many businesses will not operate, and in some cases there are laws around noise disturbance etc.

   – Salaries are lower than the US despite a higher cost of living. An exception is the ‘eastern’ half of europe where cost of living is lower, however wages are similarly significantly lower in these countries.

   – I’d be wary of the stereotype of Europeans working less and having a good life across the board, there is plenty of poverty in Europe too despite all the government benefits and in general the high cost of living without accompanying high disposable income means that those who aren’t poor still feel a squeeze and live a lesser lifestyle as a result – fewer basic (usually household) luxuries, frequency of eating out etc – that are taken for granted in the US etc.

5. It depends a lot on what you want to have.

   A friend of mine, he has a Master’s degree, for example, works 16 hours a week as a bicycle food delivery man and makes a living without any problems. He has a small rented flat in a quite good location in the second largest city in the country. His hobby is programming. He could earn a lot more money with it, but why should he?

   But he doesn’t live lavishly, doesn’t have a car (which isn’t necessary here anyway), doesn’t fly around the world and isn’t interested in expensive consumer goods and regular visits to restaurants.

   He often goes on holiday, but usually by bicycle within Austria or to neighbouring countries. I would say the work/life balance is excellent.

   I myself live quite frugally and work very little, although I come from a poor family. I travel a lot, I have 2 Master’s (maybe I’ll make a third one, just out of interest), have a rented flat with garden in a very good location close to the center and basically have zero stress in my life. I really can’t complain. If you want a house, a car, children, luxury, etc., you also have to work a lot and be very successful to be able to afford it. Or be politically well connected.

   If you are content with little in the way of material things, you can have a very relaxed life here.

6. Decent. Obviously people will say they’d like to be paid more, but doesn’t everyone?

   I work for a municipality and my contract is 36h 15min/ week which is very typical. I get paid less than the national average and currently less that my wage-bracket. At my last job I worked more at weird schedule for about the same (more per hour, but I had to work evenings and weekends).

   I make enough to live very comfortably in a house we fully own – no debt – and to buy what I need and go wherever I want to (both which are admittedly not that much). Combined, me and my spouse make below median 1 person income at the moment (my spouse esp. is being paid like shit, I will be getting a raise eventually that’ll bring us closer to average).