Work to Live or Live to Work

Have you been asking yourself with the question Live to work or work to live philosophy?

Do you work so you can live or you live so you can work?

Work to live is an ideal situation where the reason for working is to provide means of livelihood.

There is a purpose of doing something. At the end of the day, we look forward to spending quality time doing what we like to do.

On the other hand live to work is a way many people are forced to do. We wish that the days were longer so we can squeeze more time to finish stuff.

In Hong Kong we have an hour lunch break. Although it is not being enforced strictly. it is sometimes hard to find seats during lunch time.

Worse, there are those who are given 30 minutes break. .

Apparently this is an unhealthy way to live your working life in Hong Kong. So every second counts as shown on brisk walking citizens who read newspapers while walking or in the MTR / buses or ferry.

If you work 10 to 12 hours a day, your ultimate relaxation is sleep. I myself have lots of plans of things to do on weekends but the next time I blink, it's Sunday night and working week is again in my midst.

We need to relax as a way to replenish our energy. Unfortunately, this is treated as waste of time by many people in Hong Kong who can't afford such "luxuries". And who could blame them? Companies shrinking in workforce numbers only mean more workload for fewer people.

In a way it shows Hong Kong people are hardworking, but isn't it also a sign of inefficiency?

Just asking, because in my opinion, I think many European countries practice long lunch breaks, enjoy lengthy vacations and still maintain their status.

I don't know much about how things work there so feel free to enrich and enlighten my mind.