I think the definition of "work hard" and "rich" is different in every culture. In general, you don't have to be so rich in Europe to have a high quality of li

I think the definition of "work hard" and "rich" is different in every culture. In general, you don't have to be so rich in Europe to have a high quality of life, and even then the differences aren't so huge. (Anecdote: When I worked in the US, I was a bit shocked when somebody basically told me only poor people use public transport). Also, when comparing working in England, Germany, and the US, I'd rank them in that order for working "smart" vs "hard". Roughly: In the US, overtime is expected. In Germany, 9 to 5 is expected. In England, getting the work done is what matters - they seem to be far less hung up on actual time tracking (and meetings, oh god, either Americans love meetings or don't tell their boss to get lost). Obviously, this works better for some industries (software being one). Many of us work intensively, e.g. coding when in the flow. In general, my boss doesn't mind me leaving early or taking an hour break to go to the gym or walk around, because we both know at that point I'm mentally spent. In the US, people just didn't do that, and it was frowned upon.