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Comment by hans0l074 | Hacker News Reader

Since 2001 I've lived and worked in Finland, Denmark & Sweden. Achieving a healthy & meaningful work-life balance is emphasized in the Nordic countries (I do not know about Luxembourg) The authors experience in Switzerland strikes a familiar chord with me. I have close friends in the Valley who envy me because I get 6 weeks a year off. I don't think this article is necessarily about high salaries and the luxuries you can afford with that salary (and I'm not saying that that was what you were saying) but I have come to believe that there is a better work-life balance in certain northern european countries than anywhere in the U.S.A (I'm willing to be corrected of course) especially when it comes to maternity and paternity leave. In discussions like these, I am reminded of a video my American friend sent me a while ago : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNzXze5Yza8

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> I have come to believe that there is a better work-life balance in certain northern european countries than anywhere in the U.S.A

It really depends.

I know several companies offering 6 weeks of paid leave, plus holidays, in my area.

On the other hand, that's certainly not the norm. There are many people working jobs which provide no paid holidays or vacation.

At my previous job it was expected that you'd work overtime and weekends if anything remotely important was going on (and not get flex time or anything like that to make up for it) for no extra pay. At my current job there is no such expectation at all and nobody does it. Critical events wait until Monday.

My perception is things are especially bad in startup culture/the valley, but that's not necessarily representative of the US.

I think the real difference between the US and European Country X is the lack of any universal minimum standards in the US. There is the federal minimum wage and the FMLA, and that's about it. There is no federal requirement for paid leave or maternity benefits. But there are plenty of jobs with paid leave and maternity benefits (other than FMLA unpaid leave). So in reality, the work/life balance in America differs dramatically by locale, industry, and company.

>>It really depends. >>I know several companies offering 6 weeks of paid leave, plus holidays, in my area. >>On the other hand, that's certainly not the norm. There are many people working jobs which provide no paid holidays or vacation.

Yeah, so on average, the parent's point is correct: on average, the standard of living and work-life balance in the US are abysmal compared to those in most Northern European nations.

Sadly there are concerted political effort being focused on going American in the Nordics, as the current system is considered "inefficient". Even the supposed left is in on the game, pulling a double talk akin to UK's Labor...

That's because the benefits are expensive, from a capitalistic point of view - six weeks maternity leave? That's six weeks of lost productivity!

I think it's important that everyone keeps defending the liberties and rights that we (in Europe) have right now - and that the people in the US that just accept their shitty working environments because it's considered normal fight it, and demand what I think is getting basic human rights like caring for your newborn without losing your job or getting into financial trouble over it.

I almost can't even believe that commercial is real.

I would love to see how it affected Cadillac's sales.

Oh it's real alright. I'm pretty sure that was a Super Bowl ad recently.

[Off Topic] - did he have his bottom button done at https://youtu.be/xNzXze5Yza8?t=41 ? :)

Jesus that ad is horrendous. It's definitely tragic, and almost a comedy, if only I didn't know that there are some people who think that for real.

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