In my naive youth I always thought that in the world of work everyone in Asia worked because they were scared not to, Europeans (including the UK) only worked because there wasn’t anything else to do, and Americans worked because they loved it so much.
Of course age and experience has changed my world view. I now realise that you can find cynical Americans. There are hard working people in Spain, Greece and East London. And people in Asia do think independently.
And then as I passed a random desk today I spotted this motivational postcard:
It made me think perhaps we are in fact all the same. I mean we all know success is in no way correlated to ability, skill or intelligence right?
As for changing world views, not sure about the British. All we seem to have done over the years is downsize en mass.
I love your posts that make me laugh and make me think. Wait, that sounds too much like work!
Well stop that right now!
In the connected world of the notebook, the iPad, the iPhone, work is something that you are rather than something that you do. That’s the way with me, unless of course, I am writing or reading blogs like this.
Best,
Conor
Its an amazing reality that despite all the things we have to make work quicker and easier we are no more efficient. I mean I remember email being introduced in my first office. Within weeks Memorandums in brown internal envelopes and telephone calls were decimated and yet here we are facing reams of unread emails. Emails are an effective work mitigation tool – ‘Oh I’ve just got to catch up on my 150 emails’ – 90% of which are from marketing list companies!
Well, I’d better get to work right away, being Asian, so afraid what might happen if I’m found reading your blog….
Yes blogging at work is very naughty. You could always come over here – its all we do.
Hahaha!
Love the quote! The Germans are supposedly hardworking… in my experience here I think they are just very good at looking busy!
(Stereotypes always have SOME truth in them though, don’t they?!)
I have views about hard work. I reckon a lot of people have work mitigation strategies that are so good you cant tell whether they asre doing something or not.