It's official Britain is a bunch of lazy good for nothings!

[Rockin365]

I read this on a news page so i guess it must be true, lol :o)

I guess we all spend to much time posting c**p on internet forums! ROFL

 

Britons don't feature anywhere in the ten hardest working nations. We are, in fact, some of the laziest workers in Europe, clocking in just 1,673 hours on the job per year. In our defence, a lot of us work unpaid overtime which goes unrecorded.

 

We Brits are also known for our fable telling prowess, taking 6.7 days off sick a year.

 

Utilising all the skills of our illustrious literary forefathers such as Dickens, Wilde and Shakespeare, sickie excuses range from ‘dead relatives’ to ‘thinking it was Sunday.’

 

What's the lamest excuse you ever gave a boss for not going to work? :D

 

I cant remember giving a lamer one than 'ive locked my keys in my house'!

[The Holy Hand Grenade]

Come down here and say that you filthy fat American and i will take you to the cleaners.

 

Just kidding us Brits are a lazy bunch aren't we.

[charlie brown]

Not just the UK, apparently: ;>)

 

 

 

The Lost American Work Ethic

by Julia Nelson

 

I chuckle and shake my head whenever I remember one of my sociology professors in college, droning on about how hard Americans work compared to the rest of the world. Of course she was comparing Americans to a certain variety of Western Europeans, in that ignorant Euro-centric way so typical of second-rate academics. Her point was that we, as a nation, need to learn how to relax more, take more time on vacation and stop being in such a rush. Was she suggesting we take lessons from the Japanese or the South Koreans? Not likely.

 

While I agree that for the very career-driven workaholic American, a lesson in rest and priorities may be in order, I am afraid that the opposite is the case for most. Far too many of my fellow Gen-Xers are disgustingly lazy, as far as I’m concerned, addicted to entertainment and recreation. Now I’m sure that the twenty and thirty-something internet millionaires don’t fall into the category, but last time I checked those were still a minority, albeit a visible one.

 

The ability of people of any age to sit and watch television for hours on end while procrastinating shamelessly on very important tasks never ceases to amaze me while turning my stomach at the same time. Certainly a lot of it can be chalked up to an affluent society with too much disposable income and not enough concern about starving, but there is more to it than that. The entertainment industry is booming, and they have a bunch of recreation-obsessed thrill-seekers to thank. Many people out there are looking for something to do, while avoiding what they know they should do.

 

Many in my generation despise work. They don’t hate activity necessarily, but they are utterly unwilling to put in the planning, effort, dedication and self-sacrifice that are vital to meaningful accomplishment. What too often passes for hard work these days is staying up all night to correct a mistake made in laziness or compensate for two weeks of sloth. The end product is almost always late or substandard, for which excuses undoubtedly abound.

 

And what is it with this endless search for something fun to do? I love a good movie or a weekend activity as much as the next person, but I realize that the old saying is so true “You have to love to work and like to play.” That is because play does not have real meaning unless it is an earned break from work. Only then is rest and recreation it truly satisfying. When entertainment is used as a distraction from work or a tool to avoid it, it becomes like a drug, a temporary high that leaves the user lower than ever.

 

Please don’t think I am talking about “work” only in the sense of “career” or what you do at your job. Personal interests and projects require work. Family life requires a lot of work also, which I don’t mean at all in a negative way. Teaching and training my kids is work. Cleaning my house and cooking dinner is work. So are all the other things I have to get done in between diapers and walks. See that’s the thing, when you have a real purpose for living, work, while sacrificial, is also joyful. Our generation has gotten confused because we think that anything joyful has to have a pleasurable sensation associated with it. Not so with childbirth, and not so with a lot of other deeply meaningful things.

 

If I might indulge myself for a minute, I think all this started to bother me after I had children. I think hearing people my age whine about how much they had to do, while watching them consistently not take care of their most basic responsibilities, while I took care four or more people, started getting to me. So what is the bottom line of all this complaining? I’m afraid that it all boils down to one’s purpose and world-view. Most in my generation have decided that a winning strategy in life is to take the lot you’ve been given, maximize your pleasure and minimize your pain: hedonism-lite. And since most haven’t the faintest idea what it means to live for something larger than themselves, this makes sense.

 

So my hardworking fellow-soldiers, remember this fall that your rest, while shorter you’re your television-watching colleagues, is much sweeter. Recreation is your time to reflect on the wonder and joy of the work you do, not escape from it. That is the road to real success.

[Thundergod]

You should come down here... there are no numbers about it because people are too lazy to work them off...

[dc3c46]

I read this on a news page so i guess it must be true' date=' lol :o)

I guess we all spend to much time posting c**p on internet forums! ROFL :-

 

Britons don't feature anywhere in the ten hardest working nations. We are, in fact, some of the laziest workers in Europe, clocking in just 1,673 hours on the job per year. In our defence, a lot of us work unpaid overtime which goes unrecorded.

 

We Brits are also known for our fable telling prowess, taking 6.7 days off sick a year.

 

Utilising all the skills of our illustrious literary forefathers such as Dickens, Wilde and Shakespeare, sickie excuses range from ‘dead relatives’ to ‘thinking it was Sunday.’

 

[b']What's the lamest excuse you ever gave a boss for not going to work?[/b]

 

I cant remember giving a lamer one than 'ive locked my keys in my house'!

Oscar Wilde was Irish!

[Rockin365]

Oscar Wilde was Irish!

 

Guess the lazy editor at virgin media UK couldn't be a**sed to check. )