I am reading a book called Dealing With the Dutch right now and although I am only about 1/3 of the way through it has definitely got me thinking.
The book is directed towards foreign people working in the Netherlands or with a lot of Dutch people. It is written by a Dutch person. So far a large portion has emphasized the egalitarian values of Dutch culture and the work ethic which is described as very focused but also balanced with ample time set aside for personal activities.
One thing I have heard repeatedly from Dutch colleagues--and also from this book--is that Dutch people are motivated to work by a sense of personal satisfaction and achievement and not necessarily by money. I think there is even a Dutch word to describe this, but I don't know it. However a survey on Dutch workers reported on in the book revealed that over 3/4 of them would not go to work if they didn't need the money.
Last night on the train home from a BBQ for my husband's company, I was sitting in a train compartment with my husband, two of his foreign colleagues (one from Afghanistan and the other from Suriname) and a random stranger who is an immigrant but has lived in Holland for 17 years. We started talking about the Dutch work ethic and the random stranger strongly disagreed with the statement about the Dutch not being motivated by money. She seemed very angry and resentful about the topic and stated that she believed that the Dutch pretend to be motivated to work by noble and admirable reasons, but it is really all about the money.
I haven't been here long enough to state an opinion, but I think it's an interesting issue. I plan to keep my eyes, ears, and mind open.
1 comment:
Post a Comment