Speed, speed!

Column If stress, then at least in
Europe. This is not only the view of the author, but also the
The result of an American study carried out a few years ago by two
Psychologists study the lifestyles of South Tyrolean farmers. Amazed
they found that they did not distinguish between work and leisure time.
differentiate. The farmers milked their cows, mowed meadows, told
stories, played the accordion - without being caught between duty and pleasure
clearly separated. Asked what they would do with more time,
they replied in astonishment: the same.

Milk, mowing, fairy tales, music.
Too good to be true. Don't we constantly torment ourselves with the
breathless feeling of not having enough time for everything and anything? In the
In the United States, the term "express disease" is already in circulation. They
is expressed in the feeling of being constantly rushed, as well as in the
Inability to make pleasant memories.

There is another way.
Among the Kapauka people in Papua, for example, it is frowned upon to
to work the following days. The Hausa, a Nigerian
ethnic group, take it more leisurely. They need up to 20 minutes,
to say hello to each other.

To compare the pace of life in different cultures, the
American psychologist Robert Levine has traveled the world. In just as
ingenious and bizarre experiments in 31 countries, he measured the
The speed at which pedestrians cover 20 meters. Or how
postal employees take to print a standard stamp
sell. Or the accuracy of public clocks.

The result: all Western European countries are at the top.
Switzerland is even in first place, followed by the Asian tiger economies
and the USA. While the last eight places were taken by
non-industrialized countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America
be occupied.
According to Levine, the data shows that the pace of life can be used to
can make a relatively reliable prediction as to whether a person will suffer from a
heart attack dies. The study once again proves the paradox that
in countries where people have a great deal of life-sustaining
technology, everyday life is much more stressful.

The Japanese set one of the highest working speeds and are modest
and with 1.5 weeks of vacation a year and die of "karôshi",
death by overwork. They suffer from "nichiyô byô", the
Sunday sickness, and "kyùjitsu byô", the vacation syndrome. For these
People find it unbearable not to be allowed to work.

In what is certainly an unprecedented project, the Japanese
government with official campaigns to reduce the work frenzy in the country.
throttle. With posters such as "Vacation is proof of your competence"
the government representatives are appealing to the employees' common sense.
Private companies are more unrestrained. Announcements such as "We
order you to take a week's vacation" no longer surprises anyone.

Levine comes to the surprising conclusion that the dolce vita is, of all things
takes place in Europe. Although people here live much more
faster, but also have more vacation time than in the USA, for example, where
on average has to make do with two weeks.
We should be happy about that. At least for a few seconds.

Alexander Jaggy is Managing Director Creation and partner at Jung von Matt/Limmat.