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‘We call it work-life balance’: Indian man on Swiss lawyer's ‘very hectic’ 7-hour work days
An Indian man’s conversation with a Swiss couple has prompted him to reflect on the stark differences in work-life balance between the two countries.
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An Indian man’s conversation with a Swiss couple has prompted him to reflect on the stark differences in work-life balance between the two countries. Manuraaj Garg, an investment professional who was travelling in Vietnam with his wife, said an interaction with a retired Swiss corporate lawyer made him realise how differently people in some countries approach work and leisure.
In a LinkedIn post, Garg said he met the couple while waiting in a hotel lobby in Hanoi. He initially assumed they were in their mid-40s, but was surprised to learn that both were in their late 60s.
Garg said that nothing about the couple’s appearance belied their true age. “The tight skin, the bright smile, the firm handshake - nothing matched the number. They were Swiss, and this was their 15th or 16th trip to Asia,” he wrote.
(Also read: ‘They are living life, we are surviving it’: Indian man voices frustration after visiting Paris, Zurich)
‘Very hectic, most days’
The conversation that followed made Garg realise the huge gap between European and Indian work culture.
The Swiss man told him that he had worked as a corporate lawyer in Germany before retiring at 55. Garg noted that he seemed “almost embarrassed” to have retired at 55 — he described it as “quite late”.
The European retiree then went on to talk about his busy life as a lawyer. He described his working years as "Very hectic, most days", saying he worked seven to nine hours a day, and added that he barely found time to golf once a week and gym three times.
Most days, he only slept seven hours. On some days, he even worked after 5 pm.
(Also read: Indian woman stunned by Germany’s work culture: ‘No overtime, no quick call, everyone leaves at 5’)
“Very hectic, most days. Seven to nine hours of work. Some days, I was working even past 5 PM. I could only manage golf once a week. Gym three times. Barely seven hours of sleep,” the man told Garg.
The gap in work culture
This description struck Garg because what the Swiss man was describing as a “very hectic” work life was most Indians’ idea of work-life balance.
“I kept a straight face. I didn't have the heart to tell him that in India, this hectic, exhausting life he was apologising for - we call it work-life balance,” the investment professional said.
“We put it on job posters. People switch companies hoping for it.”
In his LinkedIn post, Manuraaj Garg pointed out that working seven to nine hours a day, finishing by or around 5 pm, would be a dream for many Indians.
Changes after retirement
Garg said the Swiss man's routine became even more relaxed after retirement. He had doubled the amount of time he spent playing golf and going to the gym and was also sleeping more.
The retired lawyer also travelled for around four months a year, according to Garg.
The contrast became more apparent when the man asked Garg how long he and his wife were staying in Vietnam. Garg, ashamed of his short break, he told him they would be there for three weeks, even though their actual trip lasted only four nights.
(Also read: Norwegian boss scolds Indian employee for working on Saturday: ‘I broke in tears’)
“‘Three weeks,’” I lied. In half shame. It was four nights. I had a job to get back to,” Garg wrote.
The Swiss man responded that it was “a pretty short break” and told Garg to make the most of it.
‘The geographical dividend’
The encounter stayed with Garg after he left Vietnam. During his flight home, he kept thinking about why he had felt embarrassed about admitting that his holiday had lasted only four nights.
“Because four nights was the truth, and the truth was embarrassing - that I'd flown 3,000 km for a break shorter than his morning routine,” he wrote.
Garg said he struggled to find a term for the difference he had observed between his own experience and that of the retired Swiss man. He eventually called it the “geographical dividend”.
“Economists should have a term for this. I call it the geographical dividend: the invisible income some countries pay their people - unhurried time, working systems, and evenings that actually end,” he wrote.
According to Garg, this was not necessarily about earning more money — in fact, the Swiss man was not richer than some millionaires he knew in Delhi and Mumbai. He argued that people in some countries are born with the advantage of better work policies and work-life balance.
“You don't earn it. You're born into it, or you're not,” he declared.
