What Work is Like in the World's Happiest Country

&nbs

... What work is like in the world's happiest country ...

While I never worked in Finland, I did have responsibilities for a company in The Netherlands at one point in my career. The Netherlands is ranked as the 6th happiest country ( www.afar.com ).

One of the things I notices a I visited a couple cities and went out into the countryside during my many business visit to the country.

The people there were a happy folk. Everyone I met and everyone I talked with, smiles everywhere. It was even before I had known about these "happiest country" ratings. My impression whenever I visited was, wow, these people are so happy.

It was an odd experience.

If you give me $1.6 Billion I'll be happy, too.

Good for Finland. A lot of take always from it.

I left China so I could get out of its "hellhole" communist ways.

#3 | POSTED BY ONEIRONAUT

Yes, China has gone too far to the left. And the US has gone much too far to the right. If you don't want a social safety net, go somewhere else. There a several other libertarian(crony capitalist) crap holes that should suite you just fine without destroying this country. Given a choice between what you want and what most of the developed world has, I will certainly take the later. The best and happiest countries in the world have a healthy mix of both, socialism and capitalism.

And stop making broad assumptions about people on an anonymous website, jack---. I've done just fine. But that's because I came from an era when more of the middle class did just fine. I only spent a short part of my life working for one of those slave masters before that employer sold out to someone outside the US, where wage slaves were even cheaper. Then I spent the rest of my life never working for anyone but me. But for our children it's a much harder road. Not everyone is cut out to work for themselves. And the masters know it. We are slowly becoming one of those nations where labor is highly exploited, just like China. But it didn't have to be that way... Greed is a common trait among sociopaths.

There is less stress and anxiety in many of these European countries because they have universal health care, low citizen access to firearms, living wages, robust social security nets, as well as affordable pharmaceuticals and free college. And in some countries, the police are unarmed (e.g. the UK and Ireland).

Financial problems and debt (school, home, or medical) causes stress.

A 2015 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that medical bills caused one million US adults to declare bankruptcy every year and that 26% of Americans age 18 to 64 struggled to pay medical bills. Medical bankruptcies are mostly unheard of outside of the US.

Lastly, when you walk into a penzion in Germany, the TV might be set to a soccer game. In Paris and Vienna, people eat and drink on the sidewalk terraces without TV. But walk into a bar or hotel room in Florida, and the TV is already set on Fox News.

Sources:

worldpopulationreview.com

www.studying-in-germany.org

@#14 ... There is less stress and anxiety in many of these European countries because they have universal health care, low citizen access to firearms, living wages, robust social security nets, as well as affordable pharmaceuticals and free college. ...

The workplace in The Netherlands was a huge change for me. My manager had told (bordering upon warned) me to be prepared, so it was not a surprise, just a change.

The people who worked for me were great. So focused upon accomplishing their goals. To the point that they asked me rather direct questions. OK, stunningly direct questions. Once I got over the initial surprise, I found the subsequent conversations to be knowledgeable and very informative. I learned a lot by listening instead of managerial commanding. (to which I say "thank-you" to the Effecting Listening course that was a part of the General Electric Management Training Program I was in back in the day).

Another aspect of the workplace in The Netherlands, stated simply, the employees of a company get to elect members of the ~board~ of that company.

Works council or staff representation
business.gov.nl

... Does your company employ 10 people or more? You need to set up a works council (ondernemingsraad, OR), staff representation (personeelsvertegenwoordiging, PVT), or hold staff meetings (personeelsvergadering, PV). It depends on the number of employees which type of representation of you need to set up. ...

When I talked with the people on that works council, I found them to be quite focused upon the good and benefit of the company. To them, it did not seem to me to be, ~what can I get~ but more of ~how can we make this company better.~

So, another reason for the happiness.

#'s 13 and 14 both NW

Thanks for posting.

I might add that in many of these N European countries, who are every year in the Top 5 Happiest People list, businesses are often less regulated than in in many other countries.

It appears that a fair system has a positive effect on the companies as well as the people... they don't seem to feel the need to treat people like dirt, and aren't really allowed to, so perhaps they see themselves as worthwhile, too.

You're welcome, Corky. But I'm not sure about the less regulated part of your statement. Besides national laws, European companies must adhere to EU laws. I'll have to look into that.

BLUF: There is just less tension in these unarmed societies where the wealth gaps are minimal.

And LL: You worked for Neutron Jack?

@#17 ... And LL: You worked for Neutron Jack? ...

No.

@#18

Let's just say that I was on the General Electric Management Training Program decades before Mr Welch took helm and, in my view, destroyed an iconic American company.

@#19

Not just your view, LAMPLIGHTER. I knew several people at GE as well as an outside consultant who oversaw its re-structuring a few years ago. The post mortem was both eye-opening and terrible.

Where would you rank Neutron Jack? Somewhere between Bernie Madoff and Armand Hammer?

@#20 ... Where would you rank Neutron Jack? ...

imo ...

I'd place Mr Welch in the realm of the wealthy that try to extract money from companies for their own personal benefit, but to the ultimate detriment of the company. A corporate raider, so to speak.

As a CEO of GE, Mr Welch may have achieved his personal wealth-oriented goals, but long-term investing to the benefit of GE, the corporation, well, I'd say that Mr Welch blew it.

General Electric is still trying to recover from what Mr Welch did to it.

Current management seems to be better. But will GE ever return to its former iconic status after the attack of the Welch era?

I doubt it.

... imo

Concur. And I have two relatives who were victimized by GE's retirement plans.

Link:

www.forbes.com

BTW:

Did you read "Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World" by Jill Jonnes?