My Brilliant Career

Remember when you were a kid, and adults used to ask you "what do you want to be when you grow up?" And you'd say stuff like 'train driver', or 'fireman', or 'nurse'?

Ask a Dutch child and they will say, very determinedly, "on long term benefit - just like Mummy and Daddy".

Up to 75% of the Dutch workforce is on sick leave or long term benefit at any one time. OK - so it's probably a bit less than that; but it is the highest proportion of the workforce in any industrialised nation. I could understand it if Dutch people were particularly hard-working, or dedicated, or vigorous in their pursuit of professional excellence. But they're not. Far from it.

The typical Dutch work day goes something like:

10 am - arrive late
10 - 10.30 - get coffee (only if free from machine)
10.30 - 11.00 - shout "Dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooook!!!! Oy! Oy!" randomly
11.00 - 15.00 - lunch (raw herring, raw meat balls and 7 slices of bread)
15.00 - 16.00 - complain about how stressed you are; request forms for long term sick leave from your HR department
16.00 - leave early

If you are working in a consumer-facing role, where you are supposed to deal with members of the public, your day is not as hectic in that it just consists of 1 step: shrug shoulders and repeat, over and over "that is not possible".