Halonen won / Things I admire in USA, part 1 / On working hours
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. Werner von Braun
In Sweden, the work week is 40 hours or less. One doctor has been working more since 1983 and has not got his overtime compensation, for a total of 10733 hours. Now his employer owns him $1.2 million or 6 years of paid leave. If you do the math, his average weekly overtime is less than 10 hours, so he has been working less than the Microsoft-amount. Strange how different societies can be.
I do not know which political system is best, but I do wonder, why there is this need to work 50 or more hours per week. If one just could be happy with a bit smaller house, a bit older cars, a bit smaller and older TV, maybe shorter hours would be enough and one would have time to spend real (as opposed to quality) time with one's family, friends, and self. But then, maybe being bossed around and obeying the cultural norms while drinking coffee in an SUV is easier than thinking and living the life one really wants.
As Russell wrote: Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so...
Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs January to February 2006".
Halonen won
The incumbent, Tarja Halonen, won the presidental election in Finland. Fine with me. What is surprising is that 80 minutes after voting ended, 99.7% of the votes had been counted. All counting is manual in Finland. Maybe USA should get some help from Finland in arranging elections and counting votes.Things I admire in USA, part 1
Again, a list of things, this time suggested by Dave:- 1. The constitution and system of government with checks-and-balance, rule of law etc.
- 2. Freedom of speech and press.
- 3. Multiculturalism.
- 4. Lack of envy as a guiding principle (as opposed to Finland).
- 5. The quality of the top universities (yeah, MIT, but also Stanford, Harvard, UC Berkeley, etc)
- 6. Friendliness of people and small talk.
On working hours
Many companies in USA advertise themselves to prospective candidates by posting "employee testimonials" on their website. At least in IT and financial industry, the testimonials almost invariable tell about 10-hour or longer workdays, how the employee comes to work at 8am, has a heap of emails to sort out, is too busy to have a lunch break, multitasks between email, phone, cell phone, meetings, boss. The day ends after 7pm, if the employee was lucky, but "often the days are longer". Also, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky writes that 50-hours workweeks are the norm in Microsoft, and that many work even longer hours. (See some example testimonials at a financial firm as well.)In Sweden, the work week is 40 hours or less. One doctor has been working more since 1983 and has not got his overtime compensation, for a total of 10733 hours. Now his employer owns him $1.2 million or 6 years of paid leave. If you do the math, his average weekly overtime is less than 10 hours, so he has been working less than the Microsoft-amount. Strange how different societies can be.
I do not know which political system is best, but I do wonder, why there is this need to work 50 or more hours per week. If one just could be happy with a bit smaller house, a bit older cars, a bit smaller and older TV, maybe shorter hours would be enough and one would have time to spend real (as opposed to quality) time with one's family, friends, and self. But then, maybe being bossed around and obeying the cultural norms while drinking coffee in an SUV is easier than thinking and living the life one really wants.
As Russell wrote: Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so...
Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs January to February 2006".
Kommentit