Do South Africans work too hard?

I was struck by a thought this morning as I was driving through traffic to get to an 8am meeting [My official day starts at 8.30 but I'd scheduled it for 8am so that it didn't cut in to too much of the rest of my day...of course this means that I had to leave work at least 40 minutes earlier than usual too].

Do we, as South Africans, work too hard?

Coincidentally, my morning sms from Curly came through - he'd been at work since 7 (he's meant to start at 7.45).

I'd also stayed at work til 6.30 last night (2 hours later than usual) to try and get on top of things..as I'm stressing about a loss of productivity over the public holidays and my taking a day off on Friday to go to a wedding.

So do we?

Friends out visiting from New Zealand certainly seem to think so. They actually take their allotted hourly lunch break....and never take work home.

They were amazed at how fast-paced our lives are - how we just never seem to stop; not to mention the heavy traffic, extra time spent in our cars etc.

It made me think of the Spanish, Italians, Mexicans and others who take daily siestas. And their tea breaks broken up by work.

[My cousin worked as a scuba instructor on the island of Atilla, and said that trying to make things happen and completed within a reasonable time was simply not a way of life. People were even confused when you got angry about their lack of productivity.

So why do we have a different mindset here?

Of course not everyone does - just take a look (or smell) the rubbish that's been standing outside our houses for the last week because the municipal company who is supposed to collect it - Pikitup - is on a go slow...for better wages or something or another...

So why does one sector of society work their asses off (literally if you look at the cartoon :) and others just take life chilled?

Granted, perhaps we do work a little too hard.

At the end of the day I still have to get a magazine published by X date.

But perhaps it is a good idea for me to start taking lunch breaks away from the office (yes I do realise that a sandwich + facebook is not exactly time off)...but you see, then I just spend money? Whereas technically if I'm in the office, I'm earning money?

Ok fine - I'll go out this lunch time.....because I need to pick up some tailoring anyway.