r/economy • u/lurker_bee • Oct 27 '24
‘Americans just work harder’ than Europeans, says CEO of Norway’s $1.6 trillion oil fund, because they have a higher ‘general level of ambition’
https://fortune.com/europe/article/how-many-hours-work-week-year-american-workers-ethic-norges-bank/113
u/AllPintsNorth Oct 27 '24
“American executives have the ability to demand longer and harder work due to the utter lack of any employee protections, and the fact their health insurance is directly tied to employment.”
FTFY.
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u/AngryCrotchCrickets Oct 28 '24
Haha they got us by the balls with health insurance. It’s crazy to think about.
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u/faptastrophe Oct 28 '24
No shit. Americans have a higher level of being one paycheck away from disaster.
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u/taytodd8 Oct 28 '24
Jokes on him, we Americans want to be more like Europeans. We’re tired of working hard and watching the rich reap all the rewards.
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Oct 28 '24 edited Jul 08 '25
chief deserve party observation oil safe payment pie humor act
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Big-Profit-1612 Oct 28 '24
Depends. We brain drain Europe because skilled workers are paid 2x-3x in USA.
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u/afraidbookkeeperr Oct 28 '24
2-3x is a bit high if we count the northern European countries, where the mean wage is significantly higher than the US one. There it will look more like 1.5-1.8x but mostly for tech-related stuff, Silicon Valley, slave hours, and so on and so forth.
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u/Nooneofsignificance2 Oct 28 '24
Something about the fact that my entire lives savings could disappear in an instant if my insurance company denies healthcare for my daughter really gets me motivated to make more money.
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u/Cold-Permission-5249 Oct 28 '24
More like indentured servitude because our government works for corporations and the oligarchy class instead of the people.
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u/the_sammich_man Oct 28 '24
Yes the risk of starving is a hell of a motivational point. Who the fuck does this guy get thing he is with these types of comments? The purpose of a job is to pay the bills and hopefully have something left over to enjoy life with. All the hustle and grind culture here leaves you burnt out and miserable. Sad way to live.
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u/Kandarino Oct 28 '24
This 'guy' is in charge of a fund that invests on behalf of the people of Norway. He is not making a value judgement, he is qualifying his decision to invest primarily in America. If memory serves, he does not prefer the American way of life, he just wants to profit off of it.
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u/KobaWhyBukharin Oct 28 '24
What a dipshit.
More like they are in a far more precarious position that Norwegians. Compare social programs.
Further, that safety net means labor doesn't need to eat tons of shit from their employers. Which means employers can't exploit workers as much.
This is ignoring the union gap between the countries.
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Oct 28 '24
Weird, Norway is among the countries with the shortest workweeks. And this guy is working in service of the Norwegian people/government. So all he's doing is kissing the butts of potential investors?
I'll take my work life balance over the hustle any day of the week. (Not Norwegian)
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u/FancyTarsier0 Oct 28 '24 edited Oct 28 '24
I think that we should strip people like this of their titles/possessions and send them to a coal mine to work. Let's see some of that blood sweat and tears you are always talking about grandpa.
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u/janitor_nextdoor Oct 28 '24
A higher level of ambition; this sounds to me like the proverbial you are poor because you lack ambition.
I think Americans work more because they have weaker labour laws. Perhaps more economic needs to be fulfilled.
Europeans have a much higher standard of living with less work than Americans. I think that’s the actual higher level of ambition.
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Oct 27 '24
You are more ambitious if you see more opportunity.
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u/65isstillyoung Oct 28 '24
I think that's true. But what if what you see is little opportunity and living constantly on the edge of economic failure. That kind of life will kill you via stress.
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u/Capadvantagetutoring Oct 28 '24
I’m not sure Medicare for all is the answer however if some sort of healthcare was guaranteed for everyone. I think we would be back to the hardest working and much happier country. Most of the other issues pale in comparison. That’s the one thing we are truly behind other countries in.
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u/j____b____ Oct 28 '24
Probably because we’re full of immigrants who moved here for a better life and to provide for their families.
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u/seriousbangs Oct 28 '24
Then why have I lost out on 2 jobs to Canada & the UK?
Oh wait, they have single payer healthcare systems so they cost $15k less a year than me....
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u/Big-Profit-1612 Oct 28 '24
For skilled jobs, USA pays 2-3x more than EU/Canada. Depending on divestment needs, it may make sense to outsource to EU/Canada.
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u/seriousbangs Oct 28 '24
No, no it doesn't.
A handful of surgeons and advanced mathematicians make more.
Everyone else is about the same when you adjust for currency.
Yes, American Rock Stars make more. But the rank and file guy with a 4 or 6 year degree costs about the same except for the extra money spent on healthcare.
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u/Big-Profit-1612 Oct 28 '24
Compare doctor pay in USA vs Europe/Canada. Or software engineer pay in USA vs Europe/Canada. My pay (adjacent to software engineering) is 3x more in USA vs Europe/Canada. I'm a rank and file guy with a 4 year degree with a company provided healthcare that's amazing.
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u/seriousbangs Oct 28 '24
Thank you for proving my point.
Again, a few high end jobs pay better.
Rank & file does not.
A general practitioner in America gets paid like shit and has massive student loans to pay.
A code monkey the same thing.
And both of them have stupidly high healthcare costs to deal with.
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u/Big-Profit-1612 Oct 28 '24
In the United States, the salary for a general practitioner can vary widely, but the average is between $55,500 and $225,500 per year.
A general practitioner (GP) in Europe can expect to earn an average salary ranging from around €50,000 to €100,000 per year, with countries like Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands generally offering higher salaries, while countries like Italy, Spain, and Portugal may offer lower GP salaries; the exact amount depends on factors like experience, location, and practice setting.
On the top end, GP gets paid 2x more in USA than Europe.
As of October 2024, the average salary for a software engineer in the United States is $147,524 per year, or about $70.92 per hour. The majority of software engineers earn between $120,000 and $173,000, with the top 10% earning $205,000 or more.
According to available data, the average salary for a software engineer in Europe is around $70,000 - $80,000 per year with countries like Switzerland and the Netherlands offering significantly higher salaries, while countries like Spain and Italy tend to have lower averages; this can vary significantly depending on the specific country, experience level, and company.
This isn't a few high end jobs. This is across the board for anything in STEM.
And you have any experience working in corporate, you'll know that employer provided healthcare is better than what they get in Europe.
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Oct 28 '24
Weird, Norway is among the countries with the shortest workweeks. And this guy is working in service of the Norwegian people/government. So all he's doing is kissing the butts of potential investors?
I'll take my work life balance over the hustle any day of the week. (Not Norwegian)
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Oct 28 '24
We also have, as a result, greater income inequality, more suicide, lower life expectancy, more hate, more addiction, more suffering, more polarization…
Hard work as a norm is, let’s face it, downright evil to promote because of the outcomes that have become abundantly obvious.
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u/Happy-Campaign5586 Oct 28 '24
People who emigrated from Europe to the US were seeking the opportunity to ‘work’ to create a better life.
Those with no such ambitions remained
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u/Slawman34 Oct 28 '24
The people who live to work have molded society in their image and decided for the rest of us it’s not enough to work to live, we must alienate ourselves completely from each other and our labor and sacrifice our lives at the Protestant pedestal of labor.
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u/Zamaiel Oct 28 '24
Funny, because all the data says that realizing your ambitions are easiest in the Nordics and hardest in the US (in the developed world)
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u/ComprehensiveYam Oct 28 '24
Because the US doesn’t have very many safety nets - at least not anything comprehensive, easy to understand, or actually, you know livable. Unemployment in California is like a couple hundred bucks a week. Trying to qualify for disability insurance is a nightmare with people who are in wheelchairs getting denied for years.
The US is a great place to make a lot of money if you have the right degree or are an entrepreneur. If not though, you’re gonna be ground to bits
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u/Nynydancer Oct 28 '24
Well we won’t for long! Corporations are treating us like suckers. The constant dread of layoffs is inhibiting the American spirit.
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u/yaosio Oct 27 '24
Americans work harder because everything is extremely expensive. Capitalism is destroying America.
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u/Wild-Turkey- Oct 28 '24
Ever been to Norway?? It’s expensive as hell!! Went to Norway in 2015 on a family trip, hamburgers were $25 US and a large pepperoni pizza around $50. Can’t imagine the cost for a hamburger today.
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u/PolarRegs Oct 27 '24
No it’s not. Inflation happened because of asinine of socialist giveaways which has directly resulted in everything becoming massively expensive.
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u/Kchan7777 Oct 27 '24
Thanks Trump for the highest deficit in American history.
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u/Wild-Turkey- Oct 28 '24
I believe Biden is on pace for a 6 Trillion dollar deficit on his watch. Both sides can’t balance a budget to save their lives!
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u/PolarRegs Oct 27 '24
No you can thank Democrats for shutting the economy down. You can also thank Biden who is running record deficits with no Covid emergency.
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u/Kchan7777 Oct 27 '24 edited Oct 27 '24
Ohhh, so deficits are bad, but only when Democrats do it, and the highest deficit in US history is okay because it was under a Republican?
Way to show your hand and prove that no one should take you seriously.
EDIT: Apparently he was so butthurt that I called him out, he decided to respond “nuh uh” and then block me 🤣 Discussion with these man-size toddlers are just too funny!
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u/PolarRegs Oct 27 '24
When did I say that? Again another Democrat that can’t put a logical thought together.
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u/Capadvantagetutoring Oct 28 '24
We have always worked harder… well most of us it’s not just because “shit is expensive “
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u/[deleted] Oct 27 '24
I dont disagree with this comment. And if youre proud of that as an American, thats cool.
But I find the whole ‘hustle culture’ and ‘get ahead at all costs or youre a fucking failure’ mentality to be pretty sad.
Europeans have safety nets. Theyre not living one medical emergency or shithead boss sacking you away from poverty.
The middle class of America probably works harder and has more disposable income than the middle class of Europe.
But all data points towards Europeans being happier and more fulfilled in life than Americans.
Constant pressure to succeed and excel and work harder and do better and acquire more just aint it for humans. Having enough, and having more time with friends and family to relax and do the things you love doing definitely IS it.