http://www.ideapipe.com/ideas/12/americans-should-adopt-european-work-culture 

As a 20-something female (ok, fine, slowly inching closer and closer to 30), I can easily look back on my professional life of the past 6ish years and wonder how I've gotten through them, with so little sleep. I'm awake at 6am in order to hit the gym, shower, grab some breakfast and commute to work, all before 8:30am. From 8:30 to somewhere between 5 and 6pm, its usually a nice mix and sometimes overlap of client-pleasing, meetings, deadlines, and inappropriate yet wonderfully entertaining, line-crossing sarcasm from co-workers. Somedays, I wonder how I make it through the workday without inadvertently giving in to the heaviness of my eyelids and passing out, right on my keyboard, only to wake up with rogue letters imprinted on my face and drool having short-circuited my Mac. After work of course, it's some sort of social plans, reality show, or family gathering that takes me through the evening and then at about 9:30 or 10, I've about had it, and I pass out.

All that have been said, i'm not one to sit around and complain, believe it or not – In fact, I happen to thrive on being busy, as I'm sure many of my peers and colleagues do as well. However, I know that when I am not exhausted from waking before sunrise and filling my schedule with only or mostly work-related things during the workday, I am a hell of a lot more productive. Sure, deadlines are important, but @!$%, so is my health and personal happiness. I do have to state this disclaimer: my workplace is a great place to work–a HUGE step up from the corporate 'prisons' of my earlier career years, which is not to say a mid-day nap or a rec room with table tennis wouldn't be appreciated.

Let me get to my point. When I was living in Milan while studying abroad in College, an Italian friend said something that stuck with me. He said, "Americans save their money to have things. Europeans save their money to have experiences". He meant "experiences" like travel, eat out with friends, appreciate things in life like art, music and other cultures. He meant "things" as in huge homes, expensive cars, pricey gadgets, trendy clothing, etc etc etc all the "things" from which Americans derive happiness.

Something I noticed that set not only Milan, but most of the European cities I visited, apart from the U.S. was that their work day was not nearly as long and/or as regimented. Granted, their economies are not nearly of the caliber of the U.S. either. But on a whole, as a culture, they seemed happier, and I feel as though there is great merit in that fact alone. For example if you visit New York city and you bump into a stressed-out I-banker, he might snarl and flip you off. Its probably because he was awake at 5:30am and hasn't eaten in 3 days because he has some ridiculous deadline to meet. He most likely retreats to his (upper east side) flat where his (trophy) wife barely greets him and his (show quality) chihuahua doesn't even look at him anymore for fear of being kicked. The italians I knew seemed happier as a result of their daily work schedules and routines. The day starts around 9:30 or 10 (even school classes were this way) and then, from 11-1, nothing is scheduled. Stores close, even public trans slows. People are eating prazo - (lunch). Pranzo doesn't just mean "down a sandwich and hurry back to work" . Its not the "obligatory hour or half-hour" that employers are required to give employees. Its a time to relax, enjoy the meal, socialize a bit, storytell, and gather your thoughts before the afternoon's work. On Mondays in Milan, grocery stores don't open until 1pm. Nothing is open on Sundays, which is considered a day of complete rest. Families stay home of friends gather to catch up. This exists in other European countries as well...ever hear of siesta? Same deal.