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The Chinese seem to be more relaxed at work than almost any other people in the world. They make time to gossip, rest their eyes and sip tea. The applicable Confucianism here may be: "The able man is never busy; the busy man is unable." Nonetheless, Chinese workers put in long hours, six days a week, with only six days off a year for national holidays. This seems to be true at every level of society. Though productivity is still low by Western standards — mostly for lack of modern machinery — the Chinese have made dramatic economic progress in the past 30 years. At plant after plant, commune after commune, the F.F. is treated to a list of impressive production gains. "God!" exclaims a Western rancher after hearing one such catalogue. "If only I had some Chinese workers!" Some Chinese exemplars might even apply to Western bosses. Lars-Erik Granqvist, skipper of the Lindblad Explorer, sought out the head of the biggest Shanghai shipyard to discuss terms for drydocking his ship next spring. Finding no one in what passes for the executive suite, the captain learned that the shipyard's Most Responsible Person was down on the wharf, doing his required weekly stint as a common laborer.
— Michael Demarest