The buzzword ‘work-life balance’ seems to be of great importance, especially for the younger generation. One person who thinks little of it, however, is education expert and author Andreas Salcher: “Idealizing your own free time and discrimination at work is extremely problematic,” he says in the LIVE conversation with moderator Conny Winiwarter. You can only get better at your job “if you work as much as possible”. What keeps many people from working full time is states of exhaustion or a lack of meaning in their own work. Salcher has dedicated his new book to the former. In it he pleads for letting go of victim thinking and taking personal responsibility. Because no matter how precarious a situation is: “We always have a choice!”
But Salcher does not want to lump “the young” with the same brush: “I am not one of those who say that all young people are lazy”. It is not a lost generation, but a “split” generation: Some would have too many choices, which they then exhaust. Others, on the other hand, would have a total lack of life opportunities – for example, “if they can’t read meaningfully after nine years of school”.
Missing knowledge of German? “The heart of the problem lies in kindergarten”
In Austria, we have the second most expensive education system in the world, but “not by far the second best education system,” Salcher clarifies. That more and more children speak little or no German is “still an ideological issue”. But Salcher sees the solution before primary school: in kindergarten. In addition to linguistic ones, “social disadvantages” must also be eliminated there – but preferably with “little effort”. But the next construction sites are already lurking there: “The kindergarten groups are too large, the teachers there are not academically trained and poorly paid. That is the core of the problem,” is the sober summary of the education expert.
There are countries that do better, says Salcher: “In Canada, every migrant child can speak English, sometimes even better than the children born in Canada.”
“Part-time work is a dangerous bet on the future”
“We will only get better at our work if we work as much as possible,” summarizes the former politician. He is skeptical that many young people want to start working life with shorter working hours – key word ‘work-life balance’: “We only get better by practicing, giving feedback and constantly doing”. We must stop “idealizing leisure and discriminating against work”. Even free time can be exhausting. Moreover, no one knows how the labor market will develop in the coming years: “Soon there will be a time when employers choose their employees” – and not the other way around. It seems clear that people then fall back on highly motivated candidates. “So part-time work is a dangerous bet on the future,” Salcher warns.
Personal responsibility versus guilt
It may be true that outside influences affect our lives. But: “We always have a minimal, definitive freedom of choice”. There is not always freedom in action, but at least in thought. The ‘victim thinking’ that many people show will get you nowhere. Taking responsibility instead of blaming is the motto. But the author of the book admits: Luck plays an important role in life: “If you are born in an educated and wealthy family, you have better prospects”. Yet his urgent appeal is: “One must never let oneself take the ultimate influence on one’s life”. If you want to learn more about how it works, you can read Salcher’s new book “The Great Exhaustion.”
You can see the entire interview with Andreas Salcher in the interview above. KroneLIVE can be seen from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m.
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Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
