Assuming that you are not retired yet, is your job an important part of your life? The average person will spend 90‘000 hours at work over a lifetime, compared with roughly 230‘000 hours (or approximately 1/3 of our life) we spend sleeping. According to the World Values Survey published in 2023 by King‘s College London only 74% of Brits seem to be thinking so, which puts them right at the bottom of the 24 countries covered in the study.
Other European nations rank much higher than the UK on this measure, with 96% of people in Italy and Spain agreeing, and 94% in France. This is quite astonishing considering that these are countries not normally associated with a high work ethic.
I have been writing about the work motivation of Generation Z previously, and another study recently published in Germany finds that only 43% of 20 to 29 year olds give their best during working hours, in comparison with 63% of Baby Boomers.
Homeoffice most definitely plays a role in these surveys, as many younger people haven’t had a long first hand experience of congregating with colleagues in an office and the fruitful exchanges which derive not only from face-to-face meetings but also informal exchanges during breaks.
But this doesn’t mitigate the fact that in general we seem to be less inclined to prioritise work over personal interests and commitments. But is that such a bad thing? Automation means that labour intensive and sometimes dangerous manufacturing processes previously completed by humans are now executed by robots and even administrative tasks where employees are assisted by computers (and increasingly artificial intelligence) are quicker to complete, freeing up time for other things – and ultimately allowing humans to spend more hours on leisurely activities.
A main issue is productivity, which has stopped growing since the pandemic at least. Wages on the other hand keep rising which means that our output (as in services and products) increases in cost per unit. This again means the goods and services we buy become more expensive, which in turn means an increase in demand for yet higher wages. Artificial intelligence may eventually help improve productivity, but I suspect we are still a good number of years from this happening. In the meantime something has got to give. A good work-life balance is important, but eventually the Gen Z folk will have to decide what price they are prepared to pay for it, at least until such time as automation and AI pick up the slack.
Interesting in the KCL study is that countries generally perceived as having a more relaxed attitude towards work seem to be doing better. Assuming that people answered honestly (rather than just saying what they feel they should reply), countries like France (or potentially Italy and Spain) could eventually sport higher economic growth rates than some of their northern neighbours and most notably Britain.
The generational divide will no doubt play a major role in future economic growth overall: As more of the Baby Boomers retire and the Gen Z generation moves into leadership positions, there will be ever less people to drive economic development forward. On the other hand expectations of a comfortable lifestyle and a good work-life balance remain high. James Watt, founder of BrewDog (a multinational brewery and pub chain based in Scotland), scolds the British for their cavalier attitude towards work and says we should talk of work-life integration instead of balance.
But while the KCL study also finds that work becomes less important to Baby Boomers as they retire from the workforce, in 2023 roughly 20% of Americans aged 65 and over were still working, roughly twice the percentage in the late 1980s. Since we stay healthier for longer, many of us aim to maintain some level of meaningful activity beyond retirement. And that includes me: Although I could officially retire at the end of November of this year, I am currently in negotiations with my employer to extend my tenure by a year or two.
So what’s expecting us in the future? As we strive for a better work-life balance (or integration if you prefer), we also are likely to work for longer. With social security systems strained in much of the developed world, people choosing to extend their years in the workforce reduce the pressure on governments by drawing pensions and other benefits later, while at the same time saving more money and for longer in their personal savings plans. At the same time the accumulated knowledge of us seasoned workers remains available to a younger, more dynamic but less experienced workforce. As all of us strive to work less but for longer, everyone stands to win.
The grumpy older man 