On Friday evening, although I was a bit late arriving at Changi Airport, I still managed to complete my check-in and boarded the plane bound for Tokyo. During the flight, I did some reading and watched some Netflix, but I couldn’t get much sleep. That being said, it was a smooth and enjoyable flight.
The book I read on the plane was on the subject of how Finnish people live and work, especially in comparison with Japanese people, and it was a very interesting observation.
According to the author, Tokiko Horiuchi, what’s striking about the way Finnish people work is their relentless pursuit for efficiency, to the extent that most employees finish their work by 4 p.m., which stands in stark contrast to Japanese workers, who often hang around at the office much later, after having spent numerous unproductive hours during the day.
I was equally impressed by how egalitarian Finnish society is, and in a good way. Take education, for example. In Finland, even if you go to an average public school, you’re pretty much guaranteed a decent level of education, which equips you with the skills necessary to perform competently at work, such as critical thinking skills.
Unlike in countries like Japan, Singapore, and the U.S., people don’t attach that much importance to which university you’ve attended. In fact, Finland has consistently ranked high in the widely recognized PISA Global Competence Assessment, which is held every three years.
The book also mentions other aspects of Finnish life, such as easy access to housing, medical care, not to mention beautiful nature, all of which are the envies of most other developed countries. Granted, Finland is not a perfect society, but there is a great deal that we can all learn from its success model.
I’ve never been to Finland before, but reading about it has made me want to understand the country even better. I think I have a pretty good idea what my next travel destination would be.
No comments:
Post a Comment