Viva Mexico? Viva el Trabajo!

I find it kind of ironic that after writing about “Why I Write”, I go on a one-and-a-half month dry spell before I write my next blog post. I’ve always been a believer of practicing what I preach and I intend to do just that. In the last couple of months I’ve transitioned into a new job; one that has basically taken over my life. Though I haven’t published new blog posts as of late, it doesn’t mean I haven’t jotted down notes or made social observations. A new workspace always leads to fresh and new social observations that inevitably captivate my curiosity. Observations that are always worth writing about.

Last month there was an article on CNN that discussed the findings of a study that compared the average total hours worked (paid and unpaid) by citizens in each country. I was surprised to see Mexico at the top. I know we work long hours in this country. I was just hoping that there was another country juicing its citizens more than Mexico.  The equation is pretty messed up. 2+2 does not equal 4, it equals -1. I say this because Mexicans working long hours (or the longest hours according to the study) should correlate to a higher standard of living, higher wages, overall citizen satisfaction, etc. Unfortunately it doesn’t. Because I can indeed verify this study as “true” based on the realities I’ve witnessed and experienced with traditional Mexican companies, working that many hours leaves people feeling depleted, tired, with less motivation to do bigger and better things in their free time. It’s not a coincidence that I haven’t blogged ever since I got my new job. I love to write. I just spent my free time after work doing other things I like such as playing basketball and eating 🙂 Don’t worry though, I got some decent blog posts stewing in my head and in random notes buried in random pockets in my dirty laundry.

This work topic is actually something I’ve been thinking a lot about and will certainly be sharing my thoughts and hopefully get some feedback from those who feel inclined to comment.