Work/Life Balance

There was an article that said that the French get 37 vacation days a year, while Americans get 14 and don’t even use them all. Is that supposed to be progress? Let’s pat ourselves on the back for making life an endless grind.

Why do we have such a messed up work/life balance in this country? We need to recognize that putting in long hours doesn’t mean that you work any more effectively. We need to work less and work smarter and with more focus for the time that we are there. We need to get on board with telecommuting. We need employers to take care of their employees with benefits and flexibility for life’s circumstances and family and scheduling needs.

We need to have workplaces where it is more of a pleasure to go to work, even if the job itself isn’t a passion. So many workplaces are filled with power struggles and people giving their co-workers and underlings a hard time just because they can. Endless boring meetings which often seem to be ways to burn up the hours of the day rather than actually communicate effectively are the standard.

I always try to remember that we are all just human beings trying to live our little lives and do the best we can. Why can’t employers and corporations realize that and find some way to make a more nurturing work situation. When everything is about the profit, it comes at the expense of employees and also customers and people get hurt – and that seems unnecessary. What about a slightly smaller profit margin, and a slightly bigger contribution towards to good of society? What if gas prices weren’t so high, just because they can be. What if people didn’t practice predatory mortgage lending just because they could. Wouldn’t we all be better off?

Maybe we need to start taking up the concept of siestas in this country – recess of some kind. We need to step away from the whip and pick up the carrot.

Something….