Part I- Global Comparisons/U.S. vs. Switzerland
My global comparison on work life balance will be the U.S. and Switzerland. I chose Switzerland because I have always heard great rumblings about how well the Swiss treats its workforce. I decided to explore this more to determine whether or not it compares positively or negatively on the work life balance in the U.S. My objective is determine which country promotes the best work-life balance that promote a healthy and productive work environment. I will specifically discuss workplace culture and socialization – how does each company shape the culture of work in a business environment and does the business necessarily dictate how employees interact with one another , unemployment and income – …show more content…
In the US we tend to blend the two topics together, it could be attributed to the long hours employees work in business organizations. The philosophy is that workers spend more time at work than with family. According to the Washington Post (McGregor, 2014), the average full time worker in America clocks approximately 47 hours per week. In contrast the Swiss business unit is more rigid and focuses tends to be more traditional, leaving not much room for socialization inside the work space. According to CNN Money Online (Kurtz, 2013), our Swiss counterparts work an average of 35 hours per week in 2013. The Swiss work 12 hours less per week than most Americans which equates to a whopping 624 hours less per year! What can you do with the equivalent to an extra day per work week? I can think of a million things I can do with more leisure time. So far the Swiss is leaps and bounds ahead of the US in the work-life balance. The question that comes to mind is, how productive are these companies in terms of work produced? Well it seems as though the Swiss are more focused on employees making time for family life and leisure time it leaves little room to cultivate social behaviors that promote the likelihood of friendships. It’s not to say they don’t have harmonious work environments but any fraternizing will or should be done in the abundance of leisure time the work week provides. In the U.S. we as employees and employers are from the microwave mindset in that we want it quick and fast. We want to reach the finish line first and often times we misstep and don’t thoroughly deliver or we simply just burnout. The Atlantic Business website, cites the reason why Americans are overworked and have less work life balance is because we work longer hours to make more money and the result is that we sacrifice much needed
My global comparison on work life balance will be the U.S. and Switzerland. I chose Switzerland because I have always heard great rumblings about how well the Swiss treats its workforce. I decided to explore this more to determine whether or not it compares positively or negatively on the work life balance in the U.S. My objective is determine which country promotes the best work-life balance that promote a healthy and productive work environment. I will specifically discuss workplace culture and socialization – how does each company shape the culture of work in a business environment and does the business necessarily dictate how employees interact with one another , unemployment and income – …show more content…
In the US we tend to blend the two topics together, it could be attributed to the long hours employees work in business organizations. The philosophy is that workers spend more time at work than with family. According to the Washington Post (McGregor, 2014), the average full time worker in America clocks approximately 47 hours per week. In contrast the Swiss business unit is more rigid and focuses tends to be more traditional, leaving not much room for socialization inside the work space. According to CNN Money Online (Kurtz, 2013), our Swiss counterparts work an average of 35 hours per week in 2013. The Swiss work 12 hours less per week than most Americans which equates to a whopping 624 hours less per year! What can you do with the equivalent to an extra day per work week? I can think of a million things I can do with more leisure time. So far the Swiss is leaps and bounds ahead of the US in the work-life balance. The question that comes to mind is, how productive are these companies in terms of work produced? Well it seems as though the Swiss are more focused on employees making time for family life and leisure time it leaves little room to cultivate social behaviors that promote the likelihood of friendships. It’s not to say they don’t have harmonious work environments but any fraternizing will or should be done in the abundance of leisure time the work week provides. In the U.S. we as employees and employers are from the microwave mindset in that we want it quick and fast. We want to reach the finish line first and often times we misstep and don’t thoroughly deliver or we simply just burnout. The Atlantic Business website, cites the reason why Americans are overworked and have less work life balance is because we work longer hours to make more money and the result is that we sacrifice much needed