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Comment by ernst_klim | Hacker News Reader

> Nearly no one I know in NL and DE works more than 36hrs per week. And we all have a sh”tload of holidays and irregular days off additionally.

In DE I would argue that this is due to punitive taxes and I wouldn't call it progress.

Poor people work their asses 40+ hours and up to overwork since it's always paid here. White collars work less time and often switch to 4 days because at this tax progression working your ass is not worth it. Time is more valuable, indifference curve is screwed.

It also have negative effect on women's careers in combo with 3/5 tax classes thing. And it hurts EU economies very hard since the most productive ones are disincentivized to work more.

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Is this actually a problem? We all know the average white collar worker doesn't actually work for 40 hours despite being at the office. The average - everywhere - is more like the equivalent of 20 hours of solid focused work per week day.

Does more white collar work beyond a threshold produce more value, anyway? Sometimes yes but often no.

> We all know the average white collar worker doesn't actually work for 40 hours despite being at the office.

Yes bc now this worker works same 3-4 hours but 4 days instead of 5.

From an employers perspective it would make sense to have people working five six hour days rather than four seven and a half hour days.

20 “usable” hours a week may be realistic, but 20 hours of work per weekday is startup class heh.

I meant per week, of course.

I saw this when I worked in Germany. They might not have worked as many hours but they worked hard during those hours.

UK workplaces where much more relaxed in comparison so even though people put in more hours the results were similar.

I think it’s more that at a certain income, you kind of plateau. You can afford all the little pleasures you want, but you couldn’t meaningfully improve your life without doubling your income. It would not get you a nicer apartment, would not make a house more affordable, and would not give you more time to enjoy travelling.

It seems to me like in Germany, the rock bottom is high but the glass ceiling is low. I am very happy with this, but if you are nearer to the ceiling, it can feel cramped.

> I am very happy with this

I'm not. If you are european and will inherit something it's fine, but if not you'll barely be able to afford a house and a tiny investment portfolio. And at the face of the immense collapse of a pension system it's pretty grim.

This is all about how the housing market is structured, not the amount worked. If people worked even more, house prices would rise further to cancel it.

The housing market is heavily location dependent, if you want to avoid rising prices you should just move out.

It’s a mixed blessing. I am Canadian, and I prefer my quiet life and small flat to always being at work or mowing the lawn. I am always stunned to see how much people back home work. My friends in Germany have much more balanced lives.

If it makes you feel better, the pension system is collapsing everywhere. The scarier part is how we will find the workforce to care for us, but I digress.

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