In today\’s world, performance is often more important than culture, tradition, or personality. It does not matter what you are, as long as you make money, perform at your best, and are simply perfect. This makes me think that some cultural companies may have an advantage in business.

We all probably know the image of that classic village diner. Crowded shelves in a restaurant as large as a living room, smiling Vietnamese men standing behind the counter. But have you ever wondered how often they are actually open? Not everywhere, but most are open at least 12 hours a day, including weekends and holidays. Have you ever wondered why? Hard work is strongly ingrained in their culture. In their homeland, long hours, hard work and overtime are the norm. This is also true for the Japanese. They often leave home for a week and sleep in offices or symbolic capsule hotels. This is because they are under too much pressure to deliver results, work late into the night, and are too tired to go home. [On the other hand, Italians work very quietly. They are not afraid to leave things alone, although it is probably not because they are lazy. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Photographer Pavel Kopp says, “[Italians] are very relaxed. We are industrious and try to change things in our own image. Things should just go with the flow.”

Education and genes play a big part. But it is never a good idea to sleep in the office to meet expectations.
It also depends on the nature and motivation of the individual. If you are a workaholic but not satisfied with your job, you will burn out quickly. If you love your job, you can do it with a smile on your face until retirement. Related to this is the aforementioned motivation, or reason for doing the job. If seeing children makes you happy, you will enjoy working as a kindergarten teacher. If one goes to work just to pay the bills, he or she will be unhappy and less motivated to succeed.
But in the end, neither aspect may matter. I went into the interview determined to give it a try. And during the interview I was motivated enough to do the job with enthusiasm. Sometimes it\’s important to think outside the box and try something.