Work culture in Switzerland

My friend pointed me to this article the other day and I just had to share it.  The work culture here is so incredibly different than the USA.

Here are a few direct quotes from the article.  It's worth a read if you have a few minutes.  I shared a little while ago about some basic differences about living here, mostly trivial things.  The article shares many detailed differences regarding work and family life.

The Swiss have a culture of professional part-time work, and as a result, part-time jobs include every benefit of a full-time job, including vacation time and payment into two Swiss pension systems. Salaries for part-time work are set as a percentage of a professional full-time salary­ because unlike in the United States, part-time jobs are not viewed as necessarily unskilled jobs with their attendant lower pay.

During my Swiss career, I was employed by various companies from 25 percent to 100 percent. When I worked 60 percent, for example, I worked three days a week. A job that is 50 percent could mean the employee works five mornings a week or, as I once did, two and a half days a week. The freedom to choose the amount of work that was right for me at varying points of my life was wonderful and kept me engaged and happy.

When I took only 10 days for a trip to Spain, my colleagues chastised me for taking so little time off

Not owning a car is financially freeing — and it saves the environment, too. In Switzerland, 21 percent of households do not own a car, versus 9.2 percent in the US.

Swiss law also mandates a 14-week maternity leave at a minimum of 80 percent pay. I was lucky enough to receive 100 percent pay. Compare that with the US, where new mothers aren’t guaranteed any paid time off after giving birth. In Switzerland, it’s also common to choose how much work to return to after having a child. Since my Swiss job at the time had been full time, I chose to return at 60 percent.

We had great careers, we had balance, and we also had a Swiss government that paid a monthly child stipend whether we needed it or not. For Americans like me, Swiss Reality was privilege.

It's been just over a year since we moved here.  The truth is, so many things about life here are pretty great.  There are a lot of advantages--this article points to many of the reasons like vacation time and the work/life balance.  On top of that, so many beautiful places are so easily accessible for us right now.  Bryce and I often find ourselves saying, "that will be hard to deal with when we move back" which is unfortunate.

People back home often ask, "so how much longer will you stay there?"  At this point, we are staying past his original contract.  We will definitely be here for another year, but beyond that, it's uncertain.  While life here is really good, it's also true that nothing replaces the blessing of living near (or within driving distance) of family and lifelong friends.  It's really tough to get phone calls or FaceTime when the family is together with all the cousins Easter egg hunting together, or when grandparents are babysitting grandkids for the parents to go on an overnight vacation, or when most of the family is together hanging out after church on a Sunday, or worse, when a health issue comes up with one of our immediate family members, then there's weddings, births, graduations, and special events like a very special change of command for our military brother.

With all of this in mind, we know that our time here (and even this stage of life) is precious, one that we'll never forget, no matter how long it is that we're here.   Too bad everyone can't just move here, right?!