The future is already here, but maybe in some
other place in the world. My experiences from many visits to Hong
Kong have made me realize how different the view on the balance
between your professional life and your private life is in Asia
compared to Scandinavia. Once, we were the Lutherans who put work,
career and duty before our private lives, but today few Swedish
company would look for workaholics for key knowledge work. A good
work-life balance is the politically correct attitude in
Scandinavia today.
I often get comments from young people in Asia
that they are very aware of the fact that they work too long hours
for their own good. Just to start to discuss it is one step up the
Maslow's hierarchy of needs and I think it is important that
we do not try to compete with less developed parts of the world by
downgrading our quality of life. They will upgrade eventually, and
the hard work, low wages and bad work-life balance will move to
other areas of the globe. It already happens when salaries for
unskilled labour in southern China have increased with 25 % the
last three years and companies hunting low costs move on to
Bangladesh and Vietnam. We hope that the distribution of wealth will be more
equal in the future so everybody can have a decent standard of living and
good working conditions.
This is why I have decided to have a special
section about things that has nothing directly to do with
work-place design or productivity. I say "directly" as there has
been quite a remarkable project going on in the Swedish-Finish
company Stora-Enzo where one has tried to find out the secret
behind those people who are never ever absent from work because of
illness. They call them "long time healthy people". Through
understanding the reasons behind this one has been able to increase
the number of healthy people in the company and at the same time
increase the productivity of the company. One of the tools has been
to promote those things that has nothing or little to do with
production or productivity; only things that people enjoy to do by
oneself or together.
Those who can read Swedish might like to know
more by clicking here.
This is the reason why I have this
section that gives my life better qualities. I hope some of you will
share my interests.
