Does your boss call you at crazy hours?

What is the work culture in your country like? Does your boss expect you to be reachable at all hours of the day or night, even on weekends and holidays? Smartphones and tablets seem to control our lives now, both work and personal. It is the same everywhere in the world, both developed and under-developed.

When I read this article, I cheered! Germany is doing something about the ridiculous work culture! Yay! It is now illegal for bosses to call employees at some crazy hour outside of work hours. Germans can actually have a life now.

Now, will the rest of the world follow suit?

What do you do to combat this unhealthy stress?

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3 countries, 1 piece of history

Piece of Berlin Wall on display in Singapore

This headline caught my eye when I saw it. Three countries were involved in this display: former East Germany, Singapore (where Bedok is located) and USA.

Former East Germany: piece of Berlin Wall that was on display.
Singapore: welcomed the piece of Berlin Wall to be displayed in Bedok, where the then-Member of Parliament (MP) was personal friends with the owners of the piece of Berlin Wall.
USA: where the owners of the piece of Berlin Wall are from and will be returning to shortly.

Is this multi-cultural? Certainly. Singaporeans living in Bedok (an everyday, ordinary neighbourhood) got to appreciate a piece of world history, plus the artwork that was painted on. Some of the elderly who have never been to school may not even know where Germany is, or that there once was an East and a West Germany, divided by a large wall. Yet, thanks to the generosity of the American owners and the innovative thinking of the MP and personal friend, ordinary folk were exposed to a piece of world history that would enrich their lives for a period of time.

Well, the display period has come to and end, but the people who have seen this piece of art will have their lives forever changed. One cannot walk past a piece of world history and not be affected by it. Similarly, one cannot come into contact with a person of another language and culture and not be affected by it.

Let's embrace another language and culture, instead of waiting for another language and culture to affect us. Our lives will be so much richer for that.

Let's celebrate each other's language and culture!

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