It's mainly a culture thing. We (although I don't count myself in this, nor I suspect most folks here, but Brits in general) have become conditioned to working all the hours under the sun, to fund a lifestyle we can ill afford. We're obsessed with 'stuff', and so earning enough money to pay for it all has become the primary focus, thus encroaching on our free time and ability to LIVE.
My experience of how folks live abroad, in the countries I've mentioned, is that they tend to lead a more frugal existence, with less focus on having 'stuff', and where TIME (to spend doing what *you* want) is ultimately more important than money - and so if you have less 'stuff', you don't have to work such long hours to pay for it, thereby reducing stress and achieving a healthier work/life balance.
Try telling a Frenchman, for example, that he or she can't have (at the very minimum) a one-hour lunch break, in order to relax and enjoy a proper cooked hot meal, and that instead they'll have to eat a microwaved pie, or some such, at their desk, whist carrying on working, and they'll tell you where to go in no uncertain terms!!
Yet we put up with it here and don't dare say 'boo to a coo', continually accepting being put upon by our employers, to the extent that they put upon us more and more (because they know that they'll get away with it), and so control our lives, not just in work, but also (supposedly) out of it, by expecting us to be contactable virtually 24/7, at the beck and call of an email or text message....
It's a vicious circle that has put so many people in a lifestyle trap (made them become a slave to the 'rat race') that's very difficult to escape.
However, from what I've seen abroad, in the countries I've mentioned, they seem to manage the pressures of modern living rather better than we do, and have held onto the things that ultimately matter most and make life precious: having TIME to
ENJOY LIFE (spending more of it with their loved ones, than working their fingers to the bone - for *what* exactly in the end?) and simply continually running around like a headless chicken.
They don't seem to care about 'keeping up with the Joneses', or are as obsessed with lifestyle trends, as we are, and aren't so materialistically-driven, nor generally, do they give a bugger what others think of them, as they tend to have the self-confidence to adopt more of a 'fuck you' approach.
After all, in terms of working like a dog to earn lots of money, what good will it do, if you've got
NO TIME to enjoy it...? Life's too short to ultimately waste it neglecting the people who matter to you most. None of us know how long we've got on this earth, so why not ensure that when you do depart, you've got as little regrets as possible?
If you're a parent, what would you like your kids one day to put on your gravestone: 'We loved you dad, but never really knew you, because you were always working', or 'We loved you dad and will treasure all the wonderful memories we made spending time together while you were here'?
The 'headless chickens' of today would do well to think about that, and make the appropriate changes to their 'busy lifestyles', before it's all too late....
Marco.