RUBRIKE
BUSINESS
Why
We
Wo rk
“A
paid sabbatical? You
can do this every three
years?!” When I told
my American friends
that I was on a year-
long Bildungskarenz, the educational
leave approved and even encouraged by
my employer, they were flabbergasted.
I probably should have stopped there,
without elaborating on the many social
benefits of the Austrian welfare state –
the paid maternal leave, unlimited sick
days and at least five weeks of paidvacation time that is taken as a matter of
course. They stared, and could only re-
ply, “Why do we still live in the U.S.?”
For Americans, who often can’t take
more than two weeks holiday per year,
the Austrian welfare state must seem like
paradise – although they are often bewil-
dered that even in cities like Vienna
almost all shops and many restaurants
are closed on Sunday. And if you ever try
eating out after 10 pm or calling an office
on a Friday afternoon, you won’t get far. Is
it part of what has earned Austrians thereputation of being laid-back, a nation of
Owezahrer (unmotivated sluggards)?
According to OECD statistics, the
opposite is the case.
“Austria actually has a culture of hard
work and long hours”, says Jörg Flecker,
professor of sociology at the University of
Vienna. For many Austrians, the work-
day begins at 8:00 and ends at 18:00,
with half an hour for lunch. “In Denmark,
a country of comparable size and wealth,
people work five hours fewer.”
In 2016, Austrians worked 35.6 hoursAustrians enjoy generous worker benefits – hard to
imagine for Americans, who remain ambitious and
optimistic, a spirit that is harder to find in Vienna
BY BETTINA FIGL & DARDIS MCNAMEE