Are Estonians fundamentally lazy?

I left a long comment and typed in the code perfectly but it did not appear. What gives? answer

Although I find most Estonians complicated, the last thing I would say was that they were lazy. Maybe the writer was looking for the real word for that and just had a brain fart... answer

@ken
Maybe the system was just too lazy.....

On a serious point I had a business in estonia for 7 years. I found that in most cases Estonians are hard workers but certainly not on the level of Asians and those from the far east. I think therefore that benchmarking productivity and work ethic with other nations does not necessarily help, as there are so many differing cultural differences when assessing laziness. Besides my class teacher always said I was hardworking but I think I am pretty lazy!

So to emphasise my point let me say this....I work 6 days a week here in Africa but some of my colleagues work 7. As for Africans everyday is a Monday, as they have to work to feed and clothe themselves in a way that those in the west I hope will never have to understand.

So therefore are Estonians lazier than the Africans I see everyday, pushing wheel barrows up hills weighing two tons for just a dollar, or travelling 5kms to fill buckets for water? Yes...... but then so are the vast majority of the western world. answer

I have working in East Asia, too. They don't work more than Europeans, but they do spend more time at work. Problem is that their products are competitive - we buy them a lot, but it is very hard for European producers to get access to world markets. If you are successful, your product will be copied by competitors and you will go out of business soon. You need to protect your local industries, especially for emerging countries like Estonia. answer

I'll try again. I do not think Estonians are lazy. However, they are not being as productive as they should be. They should be working to export more finished products that bring the higher prices. They should slow the export of raw Baltic Gold--Birch. They should automate to make birch related products that would compete favorably on the World Market. Estonia used to have a robust fishing industry preSoviet. I love sprats and I can only buy Latvian sprats in the U.S. I can't seem to find Estonian Vodka and Beer in the States either. It was high priced and people did not buy. I could by a Heineken cheaper. What about Estonian GPS systems. Forget about GPS in clothing. I always hike and hunt with a GPS. Don't just lean on Skype. Begin to utilize Tartu Univ. Genetics Labs at researching and building new products. Finland used to call Estonia their "Big Brother", preSoviet! Look at Nokia, etc. (tires, GPS,cellphones). Does Estonia have the will to go this way? answer

Estonians are not lazy but slow. If you give an product order with a deadline, you can be sure, that you get on the deadline mostly only excuses about the "problems in the production" or they even do not answer you, if you ask by e-mail. This is the problem and makes the working market unattractive. answer

The Pres. of Finland or the Prime Minister visited Tallinn during Estonian Independence period, post First World War, and made a speech about "Our big brother Estonia"? Over the last 50 years of my involvement with Estonia I have heard about that comment he made. I do believe Estonia was active in a lot of emerging market areas. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I also believe Turkey used the Estonian Constitution as a template for their Constitution back then. At any rate, if I'm wrong I stand corrected on all counts. However I do believe Estonian Independence saw a real burst of economic vitality in many areas. Again, I would like to see the rebuilding of the boat and ship building capacity of Estonia, and other industries like Estonian fisheries, more musical instruments besides the famous Tallinn Grand Pianos, etc. on and on. Again, Estonia is a small Country and there is only so much, I suppose, you can expect to wring out of its land and people. Technology is a sector that I am sure can be developed, and exported, eventually. answer

The problem by the fishery and boatbuilding is, that Estonia is cutted by the EU on restrictive laws. The market in the Netherlands and germany are to big and filled up with lobbyists, that economical Estonia will have in this case no chance. The second mistake indeed was the entry into the EURO-zone, without asking the Estonian folk, in a time, where it was obvious, that the EURO has no chance to survive any 12 month anymore. This means, that investments freeze. You can notice it quite easely on the (in the last time) very hysterical reactions from the Estonian politicans. They made some mistakes and are now afraid to loose their faces. And unfortunately they develope themselfs into "personas non grata", not only in Estonia.
Sometimes I feel very ashamed. answer

Estonians are not LAZY. I know. The lazy Estonian is one who sits behind a desk and surfs the Internet to enhance his or her already privileged status. PreSoviet Estonia was ahead of Finland between 1920 and early 1930. The Estonian Academy of Science, Humanities, and Social Science Vol. 41 (1992) No. 3 published an article by Timo Myllantaus titled "Standard of living in Estonia and Finland in the 1930s". They found Estonia to be ahead of Finland after 1918 to the early 1930s. In a study by the International Labor Office in 1938, when looking at 14 food items in a shopping cart, a Finish worker had to work 8 hours to buy the food versus 1 hour for an Estonian. It is a tedious thing to read but it says what other articles have said along with the Pres. of Finland's speech in Estonia (or Prime Minister of Finland) about our "Big Brother Estonia". No way after their 50 year subjugation can Estonia catch up totally to Finland. I was against their entering the EU and going to the Euro. I said so in many Comments in BBN. Estonia is doing so well in large part due to influx of EU money. Finland is preparing for the change out of the Euro, is Estonia? I hate Wikepedia as it is for the brainless lazy ditto heads. Its contents can be changed on a dime. What is new and fresh for debate is the state of affairs of all of us who may sink or swim depending on the whims of competing self interests running each and every Country. If a World Depression hits you will rue the day you pontificated and lamented that there is nothing "New". Who wants to be a sheep in this instance. By the time something "New" comes along many who wait for the "New" will be under the heel of some politician's foible. answer

Estonians aren't lazy, but there is simply not enough produced in this country and the prices aren't competitive at all.

For example, is there any factory in Estonia that can provide me any firewood of 10000+ Cubic Meters per Month?

No, I don't mean distributors importing stuff from Russia and like. I mean stuff produced in and by Estonia.

And is there any logistic company in Estonia that can provide transportation for max. 70 eurocents per kilometer?

The answer is mostprobably NO! answer

"When we look at our employment structure, it shows that very many Estonians work in labour-intensive sectors that create little added value for the economy"

But this was the MUCH VAUNTED advantage of the Estonian economy, but now they are complaining that they don't produce anything with enough added value...!!!

You've got to know what you want Mr Ansip!

A garbage economy trying to compete with Asia & India with a corrupt government, mass migration, & low wages,

...or the even more "much vaunted hi tech economy" which doesn't really exist except in the febrile imagination of Ansip and his crony politics.

Making some bits for Nokia and Ericcson on the cheap doesn't somehow turn you into a European Samsung. CQFD answer