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July 23, 2004
THE NEXT BIG THING IN GERMANY: PSYCHOTHERAPY
I've railed more than once on this site about the current state of the American worker... specifically, the intense pressure and 55-60 hour work week that have become common -- not an anomaly -- in corporate America today. I simply do not know anyone who works less than 10 hours a day (even if they do some of it at home after returning for a couple of perfunctory hours of home-life); many put in 11 or 12 hours routinely, and most of my colleagues and I end up at least checking e-mail over the weekends, if not doing work. I don't think this is healthy, but it's no different at my company than anywhere else... it's what business demands of us today.
I don't think this pressure for "increased productivity" with a "rightsized" work force is nearly as healthy for American businesses as some CEOs and HR partners might think. I also don't know anybody who does not feel overly stressed, overly tired, and like they're close to burning out. And I don't think it's any coincidence that the rate of depression and those seeking therapy to deal with stress have also ballooned in the last decade. Sure, we have the highest standard of living in the world; but I think it's come at the expense of our quality of life.
I've always thought that the Germans had it closer to right when it came to work-life balance. While they weren't as affluent as the US, I don't think anyone would argue that Germany has done pretty well and is a very modern, more affluent society. And they managed to do it all while pretty much working 35 hours a week and while practically giving everybody the month of August off. I've always thought that American business could learn something from the Germans.
Apparently, not anymore. Faced with extensive costs (still) from re-integrating the antiquated and crippled economy of the formerly communist east, the world's second highest labor costs, and struggling to keep up with a rapidly changing global economy, Germany has been forced to re-assess its long-standing social norms.There is a growing feeling that European economies can no longer compete if they continue to emphasize a work-life balance; frankly, they wonder if they can afford to keep giving people so much time off. NBC News has done a very interesting report on the questions Germany and other European countries are asking themselves; read it here.
I think this is a shame.A cliche I have often heard from my European friends - one that I have personally felt rang true - is that Americans live to work, while Europeans work to live. I've always felt that eventually the world would end up having more similar workstyles; I just thought that the US would eventually shift toward the more European style work atmosphere, if for no other reason than that burnout en masse would force us to. Unfortunately, it would appear that the Europeans are moving more toward our workaholic style.
Oh well. At least the psychotherapists in Germany will make a lot more money.Then again, they're going to be the most overworked people in the country soon enough.
