Over the break I went on vacation to Costa Rica with my family. Adjusting to the warm weather and nice beaches was not a problem, however, Tico time, an aspect of the Costa Rican lifestyle, was a bit harder of an adjustment. Tico time basically means one can show up to an event 30 minutes, an hour, or even two hours behind the scheduled time. My family and I would always scramble to try and be ready by the designated time, yet we would always be waiting 20-30 minutes for others to casually arrive. As we got used to this "Tico time" I noticed our overall moods became slightly more relaxed. Tico time is used mainly with social situations rather than business dealings. The idea of Tico time is not just practiced in Costa Rica, but also in many European countries such as Spain and Portugal.
This slower paced and more relaxed lifestyle is a sharp contrast to the fast, uptight attitude in America. Americans value time greatly, and don't enjoy wasting it, or in other words, over work themselves. For example, at least 134 countries have laws setting the maximum length of the work week; the U.S. does not. To add, the average American works more than 40 hours per week, while in Germany it is around 35 hours. As well, according to the ILO (International Labor Organization), Americans work 137 more hours per year than Japanese workers, 260 more hours than British workers, and 499 more hours than French workers. With more hours spent at work, it definitely leads to more stress. Stress is the number one cause of health problems in America-mentally and physically. I mean just the other day my mom, a lawyer, did not come home from work until 3 in the morning because she was finishing a brief that was due the next day! As you can imagine, the stress level in our household was quite high that evening.
As such, I wonder what would happen if a thing like Tico time was brought to the U.S.? By that I mean, a relaxation on deadlines, or amount of hours needed for work, etc....Would Americans benefit by decreasing their stress levels, thereby creating a better quality of life? Or would it have the contrasting affect because Americans would feel lazy and undirected if they had this extra time on their hands?
This is a really interesting idea, Alex. I for one know that I get incredibly stressed over the time (or lack of) in my every day schedule. I know that "Tico time" would definitely decrease the stress levels caused by time crunch, but would disorganize my life in the process. I feel I may just be a product of American society, trained to be concise with my always prompt arrivals. Sure, the stress levels of Americans may be higher, but the extremely progressive and successful nation we live in has to be in part because of our driven and concise characteristics.
ReplyDeleteFun stuff, Alex. Your question is a great "what if?" but I think it would be a better idea to posit WHY there is no "Tico" time in America rather than imagining if it was actually implemented. Remember, American society is a construction, just as Costa Rican society. Stats are informative but need a hyperlink. And it would be interesting to better link the photo to your words.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Please turn off "word verification" for comments, k?