Norwegian CEO: "Americans just work harder than Europeans"

Norwegian right-wingers are an extremely frustrated lot.

Europeans know that some things are more important than money. 🇪🇺

Americans are also fatter, more unhealthy and more unhappy due to the constant all work/no rest or play mindset.

Fuck that. There’s more important things than money. Like my mental health.

Also, birth rates are crashing in China. 996 culture is brutal.

Meanwhile, Norwegians have a higher standard of living and a more literate populace.

Our stock markets are more overvalued than theirs.

[quote] Meanwhile, Norwegians have a higher standard of living and a more literate populace.

And 325,000,000 less people.

Norwegians are like Alaskans, who live off of oil revenue.

[quote]Americans are also fatter, more unhealthy and more unhappy due to the constant all work/no rest or play mindset. Fuck that. There’s more important things than money. Like my mental health.

EXACTLY R2. I don't doubt that he is right, but we are generally unhappier and more insecure financially, emotionally, and health wise than most of Europe.

[quote] And 325,000,000 less people.

Oh, dear.

“Work harder” to what end?

Work harder to innovate, according to him

"Work harder". HAHAHAHAHA! Has he met any Gen Y workers????

[quote] “Work harder” to what end?

To not be a lazy European goof-off.

One way Americans workers are better is they don’t take an extreme number of vacation days. They also don’t routinely “strike” for no reason, like you see in countries like Greece.

Lol. Of course he would say this. Typical freeper thinking. I'm sure he votes for the Tories. I'm fine with being less ambitious. I have my 5 weeks paid vacation a year, free health care, free education etc.

[quote] I have my 5 weeks paid vacation a year, free health care, free education etc.

I live in the US, and I have 3 weeks paid vacation, 3 weeks paid sick leave, and employer paid health care. My parents paid for my K-12 education, so that's a moot point.

And I'm still ambitious and work hard, R13.

It's about the mentality, and not only the perks.

Either you're going to be ambitious, motivated, and work hard, or you aren't.

What this CEO is saying, is that Americans have a better work ethic, which is clearly evidenced by what you wrote.

R9, he wants people to work harder so that the parasitic extractive class to which he belongs can increase the scope of their wealth and privileges, while everybody else slaves away for the sake of their uncontrollable greed.

R12, millions of workers are unionizing in the US and there is a very real class struggle that will sooner or later explode into an open conflict. European people work more than enough, thank you very much. However, we are not mindless, ignorant and propagandized dullards who vote against their own interests because 'slavery is better than being a Commie'. And maybe if Americans had more vacation days and went on strike more often, the American working class would have decent government run healthcare, access to education and decent living standards.

oh boo-hoo They can't ruin peoples' lives by getting more work out of them so that THEY can make more money. The greed in this world is outstanding.

Someone's doing it, R11. Every Euro I know says this and has been saying it for years. Not many anarchists in that bunch, granted, but saying the US leads the world in innovation to their detriment. American workers have long paid a price in terms of work/life balance for that.

Until they organize to change that in the United States it won't change.

We should also give credit to Asians for being hard workers. It’s specifically Europeans who are not ambitious and who are adverse to working hard.

yeah, and we're sick of it. It's a stupid goal, actually, and it's long past time we abandon this stupid goal of working for its own sake, productivity for its own sake, make more shit for the sake of making more shit, doing for the sake of doing, yeah, enough with that fuckery.

Spaniards love their "Siesta" and Italians love "La Dolce Vita."

Spain actually shuts down for several hours in the afternoon, just so they can take a nap, eat, and drink!

I love Spain.

He's right.

He's right in diagnosis, wrong in cure.

R14, your company is merging with a larger one and your department is being eliminated. Here’s your severance check, sign up for COBRA here, and security will escort you out of the building. Have a nice day.

[quote] What this CEO is saying, is that Americans have a better work ethic, which is clearly evidenced by what you wrote.

He's really saying that everybody should work as much as possible to make him richer. I can see why Norwegians might not be thrilled by that arrangement.

European countries do not have free education nor free healthcare. It’s (generally) free at point of use. You pay for it via taxes. Mostly without the huge markups applied in the insurance-centred USA healthcare system.

True, nothing is really "free" r25, but of course, with taxation you can spread out the costs and also be much better in the distribution of the benefits. Our American system is absolute shit, by our own estimate, by the world's estimate, by everybody's estimate, when it comes to health care and health care spending. We have managed to stumble into the worst fucking system in the world, and at this point we are only clinging to it out of stupid habit and braindead propaganda.

R6 yeah, how does one compare a population of 5.4 million (Norway) with 330 million (USA)?

The US states comparable to that are South Carolina (5.3 million) or Minnesota (5.7 million).

[quote] He's really saying that everybody should work as much as possible to make him richer.

This myth that people working hard is only for the benefit of rich owners is absurd. There are many people who own and operate a small family business for which they work extraordinary hours with no vacation. It’s an American work ethic. It’s superior to the attitude of Europeans who think they should be given stuff just for existing, and not as a result of hard work.

true, that really applies to corporations r28. Once you get to the corporate level, it's a large number of people being worked ridiculously to benefit a few rich people. Below that level, in the Mom and Pop shop level, it is people working to better themselves, and generally failing.

Regardless, the whole mentality is fucked up and stupid.