Mexicans, hard working people
- Javier Dávila
- Feb 9, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: May 20, 2022
There were many things that I was surprised about when I came to Sweden. But one evident was the number of hours that Swedish people work compared to the one's Mexican work. Let me start by saying that I believe the Swedish way is better, but It takes time to understand it fully. In Mexico, you can find professionals that work 16 hours a day but get paid only for 8 hours. It is incredibly unfair, and you can see international companies like Pirelli or Volkswagen taking advantage of poor labour laws in Mexico.
The point is that when I started working in Sweden, I just saw how everyone went home not more than 5:15 pm. While in Mexico, you see people are working at 10 pm or 11 pm as a routine.
We need to stop this abuse.
The only way to stop this abuse is by saying "no" and establishing limits. We were not born just to work! We are born to enjoy life, and work is a part of it but not the most significant or most important part.
If you are working in Mexico in an international company and working more than 8 hours a day, ask yourself why do you allow it? Why do other people working for the same company in the same position in another country only work 8 hours? Will you respect yourself and your country to stop this madness? Or will you continue with the Colonial tradition of being a kind of "paid slave"? It is your choice.
Meanwhile in Sweden
Life goes on. People will only work 8 hours, and if they are asked to work more, they will get double or triple paid for those extra hours. It is a fantastic place to work! #workInSweden
This is so interesting. Kenya and Mexico seem to share some similarities! We should embrace a culture that does not encourage people to work long hours. Everything should be done in balance.
My first weeks at the job in Sweden, i was feeling like a disaster, like very low in productivity, mainly because Sweds use to take twice a day, something called "fika", that is fr.10 to 20 minutes for a coffee break. My boss called for them that first day, and then, we went out for lunch and took an hour, more less, I was stressed already because I needed to stay for longer to cover my time. I remember I arrived that day at 7:15, I was one of the first ones at the office, the rest started arriving after 8:30, some others close to 10. My boss arrived like 8 and something, and by 16 hour, so many people…
I was surprised to find out about that according to the OECD Better-Life Index Mexico is the country with the worst work-life balance. It's a disheartening situation and I assume most people are not aware of this situation since it's so deep in our culture. 😥
There is also a time bank in some Swedish companies. In this bank, you can put this extra work time and use these hours to finish early the next day or go to personal appointments without any problems, or even get extra days of vacation! 😃 In Mexico, this is extra work is usually ignored or rewarded poorly with cheap pizza (and sometimes not even that)