December 28, 2015

"Why so many Dutch people work part time."

#1 on The Economist's list of its 10 most popular "explainers" of 2015.

21 comments:

TWW said...

And why is so much chocolate Dutch?

Gahrie said...

Shorter answer: Dutch women behave differently from Dutch men...everybody is happy except American feminists.

traditionalguy said...

That's gouda news.

Jupiter said...

"More than half of the Dutch working population works part time, a far greater share than in any other rich country. This is partly a relic of prevailing Christian attitudes which said that mothers should be home for tea-time, and partly down to the wide availability of well-paid “first tier” part-time jobs. But part-time work is not always good work: women in the Netherlands may work, but they consistently fail to get into top management roles."

Hmmmm..... I think he meant to say, that the sexist racist colonialist capitalist swine consistently bar women from top management roles. No woman has ever failed at anything.

Static Ping said...

Shockingly, in my two weeks in Amsterdam this subject never came up. However, two related things were observed:

1. Waiters do not expect tips and, if you feel so inclined, a 1 or 2 euro tip is considered generous. The explanation I was given is waiters are paid significantly more, so the tips are not needed to supplement income, which does make it easier to work part time. That said, I encountered several Dutch who thought that the lower wage/tips system would improve wait service. I'm also told that Dutch waiters know that unaware American tourists expect to tip and prefer serving them for that very reason.

2. Pretty much in everything in Amsterdam was closed after 5pm with the exception of businesses specifically targeting evening business (restaurants, bars, clubs, etc.) Even the supermarkets tend to close early on most days, though they have a late day or two (late being 7pm). Shorter hours require less employees and more part time work.

madAsHell said...

Who knew?? I figured it was the red lights, and the weed.

Dan Hossley said...

The Economist did this as a joke, right? Sort of a self parody of pompous prognosticators?

I'm pretty sure that "tea time" isn't a bedrock Christian principle.

The Godfather said...

The explanation of the Iranian nuclear "deal" doesn't sound anything like what I'be been reading.

tim in vermont said...

That's gouda news

"Howda" news?

JZ said...

The only reason that one was number one is because there was a picture of three hot women.

Anonymous said...

Explanation #6 : "Tehran reached a historic deal with the West over its nuclear programme, made possible by the election in 2013 of Hassan Rohani. Mr Rohani had promised voters engagement with the international community with the aim of lifting harsh economic sanctions and ending Iran’s international isolation. In exchange, America and others placed strict limits on Iran’s uranium enrichment programme and imposed intrusive inspections to prevent cheating. The deal made the Middle East a bit safer, heading off the prospect of a dangerous nuclear arms race."

I used to subscribe to the Economist and its been awhile since I've read on. But this synopsis of the Iran nuclear deal is divorced from reality. Delusional in the extreme.

Bob Ellison said...

The Dutch are also wealthy. Might be part of the explanation. Kinda like the Swiss. Why are they happy and also lazy?

HoodlumDoodlum said...

The teaser picture certainly make me want to...investigate for myself, so good job marketing dept.

Curious George said...

They would be working overtime if we hadn't kicked out the Germans in WWII.

cubanbob said...

One gets the impression its mostly women who are the part-timers. If the photo of the woman is any indication I can see where the men work overtime too afford dating the hotties.

rcocean said...

"But part-time work is not always good work: women in the Netherlands may work, but they consistently fail to get into top management roles."

Yeah, those Male chauvinists pigs should let women get "Top management roles" whether they work full time or part time.

After all, they wear dresses!

jaydub said...

Dutch tax rates and social policies have much more to do with people opting for part time work than a leftist rag like "The Economist" would ever admit. The Premium National Insurance (think SS, survivor benefits and long term care) rate on income up to 33,500 euro is 28.15%. Then there are four tax brackets: 8.35% of income up to 20K euro, then 13.85% between 20K and 33.5K euro, then 42% of amount between 33.5K and 57.5K euro, then 52% for income over 57.5K euro. So, the effective tax brackets, including PNI are: 36.5% of the first 20K, 42% of the next 37.5K, and 52% of everything after that. There are also other adjustments - most notably on owner-occupied houses, for which the house's potential rental value, less mortgage interest, is counted as income - but they are minimal except for the lowest and highest income brackets. So, there is definitely an incentive to earn less than around $22,000 per year, which brings part time work into play for a lot of people. Also, Dutch employers must offer new mothers part time work until the child is 6, which may, itself, have a teeny, tiny affect on those women's future journey up the corporate ladder.

More and more articles with a political slant instead of real analysis is why I quit reading The Economist ten years ago.

tim in vermont said...

After all, they wear dresses!

We wish!

Left Bank of the Charles said...

The Netherlands were liberated from the Nazis by Canada.

Steven Wilson said...

I spent ten days in Holland in 2013. I can't say I enjoyed it aside from the golf which is why I was there. Although the young people to a large speak almost perfect idiomatic English I caught the same whiff of superiority that the Euros accuse us of. I will say that the service, even in the five star hotel I happened to be staying at (deeply discounted) was not up to the standard we expect here. It wasn't unusual to be ignored, sometimes markedly.

During one inadvertent conversation about WWII I remarked on the heroism of the English men and particularly women who parachuted into occupied Europe and set up espionage and resistance networks. I was immediately countered by being informed of the Dutch resistance. Admirable chauvinism from the citizen of a continent attempting to abolish nationalism, but it wasn't until a few weeks later that I encountered the fact (factoid) that the occupied country which had the highest percentage of recruitment into the SS was Holland.

Just a few impressions. Did I mention the speed cameras? Beware!

However, all is forgiven because Audrey Hepburn did apparently participate in the resistance while marooned in the Netherlands with her mother throughout the war. Of course, she was half British so the Dutch can't claim her completely.

Steven Wilson said...

I spent ten days in Holland in 2013. I can't say I enjoyed it aside from the golf which is why I was there. Although the young people to a large speak almost perfect idiomatic English I caught the same whiff of superiority that the Euros accuse us of. I will say that the service, even in the five star hotel I happened to be staying at (deeply discounted) was not up to the standard we expect here. It wasn't unusual to be ignored, sometimes markedly.

During one inadvertent conversation about WWII I remarked on the heroism of the English men and particularly women who parachuted into occupied Europe and set up espionage and resistance networks. I was immediately countered by being informed of the Dutch resistance. Admirable chauvinism from the citizen of a continent attempting to abolish nationalism, but it wasn't until a few weeks later that I encountered the fact (factoid) that the occupied country which had the highest percentage of recruitment into the SS was Holland.

Just a few impressions. Did I mention the speed cameras? Beware!

However, all is forgiven because Audrey Hepburn did apparently participate in the resistance while marooned in the Netherlands with her mother throughout the war. Of course, she was half British so the Dutch can't claim her completely.