Editorial: Our Work Attitude Sucks

People in the tropics work a lot harder when they travel to countries with cooler climes. This means that Ghanaians are probably ever cursed to contribute more to the betterment of other more advanced societies than our own! A typical example is the hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians in the western world who send home billions of dollars every year. Many of them toil on three jobs a day ? early morning cleaning, 8 to 4 factory shift, and 6 to 8 evening clean. Some experts have sought to explain this away by blaming it on the weather. The argument is that the material conditions of life and social activity have a lot to do with our attitude towards work and at the bottom of this is geography. The American Ellsworth Huntington, though accused of giving geography a bad name, classified civilisations hierarchically and assigning the best ? or what he defined as best ? to the favours of climate.

On a map of the world in terms of product or income per head, the rich countries usually lie in the temperate zones, particularly in the northern hemisphere; the poor countries, in the tropics and semi-tropics. Even here in Africa, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya are geographically better positioned to excel than Togo, Benin and Ghana.

John Keneth Galbraith, an agricultural economist, puts it this way: ?[If] one marks off a belt a couple of thousand miles in width encircling the earth at the equator one finds within it no developed countries? Everywhere the standard of living is low and the span of human life is short.?

Paul Streeten agrees: ?Perhaps the most striking fact is that most underdeveloped countries lie in the tropical and semi-tropical zones, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Recent writers have glossed over this fact and considered it largely fortuitous.?

The hard question is that people in these parts of the world are operating at a fraction of their potential. At least, those of us in Ghana readily admit that we can do far better than we are. But what is causing this? Is it all down to geography?

A quote by a Bangladeshi diplomat Banyopadhyaya in his book Climate and World Order is rather revealing: ?In countries like India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ghana I have always felt enervated by the slightest physical or mental exertion, whereas in the UK, France, Germany or the US I have always felt reinforced and stimulated by the temperate climate, not only during long stays, but even during brief travels? India and other tropical countries I have noticed farmers, industrial labourers, and in fact all kinds of manual and office workers in slow rhythm with long and frequent rest pauses. But in the temperate zone I have noticed the same classes of people working in quick rhythm with great vigour and energy, and with very few rest pauses.? The discomfort of heat is said to exceed that of cold. Three quarters of the energy released by working muscle takes the form of heat, which the body, like any machine or engine, must release or eliminate to maintain a proper temperature. The best way to deal with the heat is not to generate heat ? keep still and don?t work, it seems. This explains the siesta, designed to keep people inactive in the heat of midday.

This year has been exceptionally hot in this country ? especially at a time when there is a construction boom. But, work must go on ? for only through hard work may one be able to afford an air conditioner to make the heat more bearable.

When the Chinese building the Essipong and Tamale stadia opted to bring in 800 labourers from China some of us felt the government was wrong not to have stipulated against such mass worker emigration in the contract or the immigration authorities should have simply refused them entry. But, a trip to Essipong explains the rationale. The Chinese, who may not even be used to our perpetually harsh conditions, work non-stop, while their Ghanaian counterparts complain of being worked like slaves. They hide away to sleep. They take days off and return to work with the excuse that their mothers were not well ? as if their other profession is a doctor.

Just last week they went on strike because their status was being moved from casual labour to employee, which would ensure the SSNIT contributions and other fringe benefits are taken care of. But, they oppose it because it would lead to a small reduction in their take-home pay!

Are we that lazy as a people ? both mentally and physically? No, because it was on the backs of our ancestors that great civilisations such as the United States of America were built. Is our clime that inhospitable? Partially, although if the Chinese can come here and work twice as hard as us then it must have a lot to do with attitudes.

Great societies are not built on the rail track of business-as-usual. Great heaps require hard work.

At the bottom of our low work attitude as Ghanaians, The Statesman believes, is the knowledge that we can get away with it. If being late to work or absent from work on three occasions means the sack, as pertains elsewhere, then we believe those who wish to stay in employment would find a way to beat the traffic or stop their mothers from falling ill. Something ought to give if we want to move.