[thomasdullien]

There are also cultural factors about how you present your work. GC Rota wrote about the mathematics culture in the 50's that European and US researchers worked similar amounts, but the Europeans took great care to present an image of working less than they actually did, and the US researchers often presented an image of working more than they did.

My experiences of working both in the US and in Europe (Germany and Switzerland) was that the number of hours worked in the US was higher, but the intensity of work was lower: There was more office chitchat, more goofing around, more "watercooler/coffee talk", and so forth. There is also an extreme culture of "presenteeism" in the US that starts in highschool (where being physically present is much more important than being attentive in any form).

[workingname]

> "presenteeism" in the US that starts in highschool (where being physically present is much more important than being attentive in any form).

This is an important point, and kinda scary; because I'm now actively aware of it and how I haven't viewed it this way before.

[ashtonkem]

I call it "performative productivity" since it's actually a performance.

[threwarew42343]

This is a bit ironic, since this is exactly the description that Americans generally have of the Japanese.

[Nasrudith]

Well everything is relative. If you lack an example more extreme than you by definition your stance is the most radical - which is neither inherently good nor bad.