[wizerdrobe]

Don’t Europeans typically work less hours than Americans and do so as a point of pride? I’ve spent over a decade lurking HN, Stack Exchange, later Reddit - and I always seem to see Europeans coming in with the “We work 32 hours at most in my country” or “We have a 35 hour standard here.”

Wouldn’t that necessarily imply a reduction in productivity?

[iamflimflam1]

I've worked in the UK, Europe and the US. From my personal experience I haven't seen any difference in the amount of effort, productivity or skill level.

Maybe I've just been lucky with the people I've worked with. In one company we had a representative of pretty much every major European country working there along with quite a few guys from the US. Everyone worked hard to get stuff delivered.

[disgruntledphd2]

Nope, because productivity is output divided by hours worked, so working longer can decrease productivity.

[HDThoreaun]

I think youre just using a different definition of productivity. Hourly is valid, but yearly is too.

[disgruntledphd2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_factor_productivity is my definition, as it's the one that actually gets talked about in the press (as opposed to the nebulous "productivity" beloved of tech people (including me)).

[myaccountonhn]

No that’s a false equivalence. More hours ≠ more done.