I have been interested in the ‘work-life’ balance issue for quite a few years and even more so after starting my concierge business. I realized that clients used our services not just to be more productive but also to reclaim some personal space, some free time.
We only bring up the ‘work-life’ balance topic because it is out of whack.
So the column "Leisure is the vital ingredient in Nordic success" by Risto Penttila (Finland) in today’s Financial Times (registration required,15 day free trial available) called my attention.
He details how seriously Scandinavians take their leisure time.
He calls it ‘the protestant leisure ethic’.
Most people are expected to be out of the office by four or 5pm (no late meetings).
In order to achieve that: work is very focused, little time is spent on small talk, lunch break is kept short.
The Danish Ministry of Science and Innovation for example describes the Interaction between work and personal life as harmonic balance.
In their Working Culture outline they mention a sense of humor as important and also open and informal dialogue at all levels.
I guess we can learn from this, starting with myself.
Call it a ‘Life TidBits‘ moment
Along the same lines, I talked about Ryan Carson’s Four Day Work Week challenge a while back.