“Ready for lunch?” 

Every day at 11:45 AM, this is what I would hear while working in the lab. This lab and many other labs in Switzerland have a culture of eating lunch together. I was surprised by this because in the other labs that I have worked in, everyone ate their meals at their computer or alone. Here, the norm is to eat together. My colleagues would wait by the elevator after walking by all the lab offices with people in the Ackermann group asking if they want to join for lunch. Almost every day when I had time and chose to eat with the group, there was quite a group of us who would go down to the cafeteria. We would always sit together as well and have good conversation too. It was always very light-hearted and there was always talk of science at some point too. It wasn’t just my specific lab. Talking to other American students working in Swiss labs around the country, I found out that they also found this surprising. Furthermore, the head of the lab and the secretary also often joined us for lunch when they weren’t out of town or on the other campus. 

Lab lunch in Lenk, Switzerland

After bringing this habit up with the head of the lab, Dr. Ackermann, he replied that it is very much a part of the Swiss culture to take their meals together so that they may get to know each other better and form a friendly, collaborative environment. Thinking about it that way made sense to me. Friendly relationships with your colleagues could lead to easier working relationship and increased willingness to collaborate in science. Dr. Ackermann also told me that it was important for him to engage with his lab members as well and socialize with them so that he knows what’s going on in people lives. So, whatever is going on, he can best support his lab members. I felt very inspired by his reasoning and amazed at the lab culture and how sustainable it was. 

The Swiss are very hard-working and care about the quality about their work a lot. We also had a discussion about the sustainability of work culture in Switzerland. When I was told that the people here have a “required” 5 weeks of vacation, I was very surprised. I would think to myself, “How do people get anything done around here if everyone takes 5 weeks of vacation?” Of course, there was a reason for the vacation that lended well to the reasonable and logical work-life balance here. Literature has often looked at burnout especially in the science discovery fields where more experiments fail than succeed. The 5 weeks of vacation given by the department are thus a way to combat and prevent that burnout. People who do not take vacation time usually have to talk to the department head and give good reason. This is because with constant working and thinking of one’s work, quality and productivity decline. And the Swiss love their efficiency. During work hours, they are always very focused on their work, but during breaks they really take a break and go off-line with a hike in the mountains or a walk by the lake. Another interesting point is that almost everything is closed on Sundays as this is a day to let people recuperate and spend time with their families. This rest and switching refuels their creativity and motivation to do this scientific work. 

This mindset is very different from what we think and do in America. Americans work hard and we always have a “go, go, go” attitude. Although I haven’t read comparative literature, my guess is that burnout rate is higher in America. Americans have their work/life balance or imbalance, and the Swiss have their own balance as well. However, during my time here, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Swiss work/life balance. I feel less stress constantly even though expectations for quality work are very high and have given myself time to enjoy the culture, environment, and people around me.