http://www.marketingmanagement.cz/press/press105_en.htm

One factor is common to all the countries surveyed. Both in the 20 European countries surveyed and in the USA, people generally put more effort into their jobs than their free time. In Western Europe work comes first for one in three. This also applies to four in ten respondents in Eastern Europe and in the USA almost one in two believe this to be the case. Portugal and Turkey top the list, with two in three respondents saying that most of their energy goes into work.

The work life balance of the Dutch, Swiss, Swedes, Belgians and Italians is more or less 50-50. The British are the Europeans who focus most on their leisure time, with one in three putting more energy into their free time than their work. In Germany, the USA, Italy, Finland and Sweden this applies to around one in four.

The survey also revealed differences between the sexes, irrespective of nationality. While around fifty per cent of men believe their job to be more important, only 40 per cent of women share this view. Other socio-demographic features such as income, education, wealth and geographical region have no impact on people’s attitude to work and life.

Relaxing at home - the world’s favourite pastime

All nations agree when it comes to their favourite pastime. Three in four respondents unanimously state that relaxing at home, watching TV, listening to music or reading are their favourite activities to while away the time. US citizens and Greeks are particularly keen on watching TV, with over 80 per cent preferring to unwind in front of the box above all other activities. In Western Europe this applies to only 66 per cent of respondents.

With regard to people’s second most favourite leisure activity there are clear differences. In Central and Eastern Europe, DIY, including gardening and redecorating, is consistently cited as the No. 2 favourite pastime.

Western Europeans also like to make home improvements, but they still prefer to go out to eat or for a drink. In twelve of the fourteen Western European countries, this ranks as the second most favoured free time activity. In Finland, the picture is different and sport reigns supreme, with going to restaurants and bars being less popular.

In Germany, after relaxing at home (70 per cent), DIY and going out come equal second. Around one in three respondents state these two among their three favourite leisure activities. One in four like to go to the cinema or do sports.

Surprisingly, US citizens rarely state sport-related activities as their favourite pastimes, with only one in five considering sport and fitness to be favourite activities and one in six having a preference for spectator sports.

Women like culture

Cultural events are very much at the bottom of the list across all countries. Women show slightly more interest in this respect than men, with one in four confirming that attending live events is a favourite activity. Belgians, Danes, Dutch, Swedes, Swiss, Brits and Americans have a particular penchant for this kind of activity.

Going out to dinner with friends and family is not something Central and Eastern Europeans choose to do as often as Westerners. While one in two US citizens, and one in four Western Europeans, eat out at least once a week, in Central and Eastern Europe only one in 14 opt for eating out once a week. Over fifty per cent of people in these countries never go out for a meal.

The spending behaviour of consumers also varies widely between different nations. Overall, around fifty per cent of those who eat out at least a few times a year will spend between EUR 10 and EUR 29 per head. Around one in three will only spend less than EUR 10. The Dutch are top consumers in this area, splashing out between EUR 60 and EUR 90. However, they do not eat out as frequently as their European neighbours.

Although they eat out very often, people in the USA, the home of fast food, spend comparatively little in restaurants with 90 per cent of meals costing under EUR 29 per person.

Productivity with a solitary vice

.... most modern organisations do not merely tolerate [computer] chatting but actively encourage it. Chatting supposedly spreads knowledge and increases the buzz that is meant to lead to creativity. I am glad they see it like this, though the link between creativity and asking "Did anyone see Celebrity Wife Swap last night?" has never been clear to me.

Next to chatting come frequent visits to the vending machine and the loo. Companies generally do not or cannot object to this. You meet people on the way and then chat some more.

Further down the peckingsgroupsare shopping on the internet and researching obscure medical conditions on Google. Some organisations outlaw this sort of thing but most tolerate it, more or less....

Yet I now find that there is no reason to be ashamed of playing solitaire at work. Spending time playing these harmless little games may even be good for your work.

Jeffrey Goldstein of Utrecht University has just conducted an experiment on 60 people in a Dutch insurance company. Half of them were allowed an hour a day to play basic computer games such as Solitaire and Minesweeper. The other half were not. And guess what? The half who played the games were happier and more productive.

If this is true, it is quite important. Here is a way of making people feel better that involves no expenditure, no culture change, no managerial initiative, no nothing.

Instead of taking games off personal computers and sending round beastly memos, it seems companies should allow everyone to play these games, and watch morale climb.

Up to a point, Prof Goldstein's results make sense. A good game is soothing because it requires just the right amount of mental activity. While you play, the rest of your mind can be a blissful blank. If you do a boring job or a stressful one, such escapism is a fine thing: a mental break from which you return feeling refreshed.

I have found it is also good to play games when you are talking to someone on the phone. It is far less rude than typing, as the mouse noise is not so obvious to the person on the other end....

lucy.kellaway@ft.com

If you wonder why the United States can afford policing the rest of the world, part of the answer is contained in the answer to this question:

Are holidays good for the economy?

Oct 21st 2009
From Economist.com

STRIKING the right balance between life and work can be tricky. Employees in European countries tend to have a better deal than most, enjoying more days off work than their counterparts in Asia or America. Workers in Finland, France and Brazil have the most generous statutory allowance, getting 30 days of holiday every year. Americans work longer hours: theirs is the only rich country that does not give any statutory paid holiday. (In practice, most workers get around 15 days off.) This work ethic may in turn help to explain Americans' material wealth. Even adjusting for purchasing-power parity, America generates more wealth per person than all but a handful of mainly oil-rich economies such as Norway.

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