I work hard for my money...so why shouldn't they

Stuck at home without access to public transport (doesn't really exist outside London) in my first few months in Wales I was quite surprised to observe our eccentric neighbour (he who carpets his garage floor, and bids his bike a tender goodnight) mucking about the garden during the day. And he wasn't the only man around during "office hours". On my infrequent excursions to the village Co-op for staples (usually too cold for a daily walk), I would come across men in our estate engaged in strenuous D-I-Y (did I mention it's the national pastime). Used to India's strict 9-to-7.30 corporate culture, this was always a bit of a surprise, particularly as we weren't exactly living in a low Socio-Eco Class neighbourhood. And it wasn't just on our estate, there was plenty of traffic on the roads during work time. I could understand the well-dressed mums on the shops/bank/friend run. But what of the men?

I was to witness further examples of a generally more relaxed attitude to work here. In my first week here, A's bosses sent him home for lunch every single day so that I wasn't left completely on my own (inconceivable in India). I was invited to every official dinner for the same reason. And everytime I had an interview in town or wanted a day out at the shops, I was allowed to spend the rest of the day in A's office, chatting with his colleagues and staff! I don't know about you, but I've never seen this form of kindness in all my nine years of work in either B'bay or Hyd.

Kindness aside, when I broached this topic with A, he said people don't necessarily work 9-to-5 here. A lot of work is in shifts. As I scanned the job market for opportunities, I realised that while Swansea was Wales' second city, the corporates here didn't fit "Indian" specs. The big employers here were the Univ, the Driving and Vehicles Licensing Authority, the Welsh Development Agency and Council.

People not employed in the Big Four worked in the healthcare profession, or as social workers, driving instructors and in the 2-3 bank branches. More flexibly, they worked in the shops.

Or, they didn't work.

A few days back the Western Mail, Wales' leading newspaper, confirmed my theory, albeit not for the classic Indian reasons of unemployment. It reported that: "Just over a quarter (25.8%) of the adult population in Wales are outside the workforce - with two-thirds saying they would not like to work. In 2003 there were only 65,900 unemployed people in Wales out of a potential workforce of more than 1.7 million but 448,600 were judged to be economically inactive. This group includes people in full-time education, but the vast majority are either ill or choosing not to work...experts are concerned that close to a fifth of 25 to 34-year-olds are not working."

They'd chosen not to work. In India, they would have starved. Here, they live on benefits.
Here's the article. http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0300business/0100news/tm_objectid=15370349%26method=full%26siteid=50082-name_page.html