In Arab culture, people tend to work to live and not live to work, which is to say that people tend to view work as something that needs to be done and gotten out of the way. In Kuwait, public sector jobs (which I believe are more reflective of the local culture as opposed to global market forces) are 7:30 am to 2 pm, and most people actually leave before 2. I’ve asked people why they like 7:30-to-2 jobs as opposed to 9-to-5, and the usual answer is that they prefer to get work out of the way to get on with the rest of their day. People expect to have a social life throughout the week and not just on weekends.

What you’ve said about Asian countries has given me perspective on some of my relationships. I have some Asian friends, and they tend to work way more than I do. I don’t see them regularly, and I can only ever see them on weekends. I like to go out all days of the week. I finish my work in the afternoon then get on with the rest of my day.

I love my work, but I need to have a life outside of it. I’m a very driven person, and one of my goals is to be able to do work that I want to because I want to, not for the money. I seek to minimize the amount of work I need to do, to be able to maximize the amount of work I want to do. I am an artist, and I want to have the freedom to pursue my art as a creative endeavour and not worry about money.

I aim for 4 hours of work a day, but I do often work more than that doing more creative work. I also have creative endeavours outside of my work and like to dedicate time to pursue them as well.