BREWDOG co-founder James Watt has defended comments he made in which he said people don’t need to have a work-life balance.
The businessman attracted widespread criticism for his comments and has taken to LinkedIn to share some of the abuse he received.
In a video posted to Instagram, Watt (below), appearing alongside fiancé Georgia Toffolo, said: “I think the whole concept of work-life balance was invented by people who hate the job they do, so if you love what you do, you don’t need work-life balance.”
He instead suggested that people need “work-life integration”.
In a LinkedIn post, Watt said that he had been called a “gay Scottish egg-headed c***” and that “people are saying they’d like to murder me with a hammer”.
“The video went down well on here last week, with almost 2 million views and the vast majority of the responses being overwhelmingly positive.
"But on other platforms where it went viral, the amount of abuse I received was off the charts. And whilst I am always up for respectful discussion, there are only so many times you can be called a gay Scottish egg-headed c*** in one day.
"I didn't think the video was controversial at all, but this whole bizarre controversy has made me think: What does it say about our society when a post extolling the virtues of hard work gets met with this kind of furious backlash?
"As a nation, we love to joke about the French being lazy, but the reality is that our output per hour is 13% lower than theirs.
"And I've heard countless international leaders say that the UK’s work ethic just doesn’t stack up against other nations, especially the US."
Watt continued: "Indeed, a recent study by King’s College London’s Policy Institute found that Britain is now among the least work-oriented countries in the world. Worryingly, the study found the UK to be the least work-orientated, by far, of all 24 nations involved.
"With other developed countries now leaving the UK behind economically and as relative standards of living continue to plummet for families living in Britain, the Institute For Fiscal Studies conclusion was clear: ‘Britain’s relative lack of growth in the last 15 years can be explained by a decline in productivity.’
"Now, this isn’t to say nobody in the UK works hard – I know that millions of you do and are relentlessly grafting every day.
"And it's also not to say that people have to adopt my personal philosophy on work-life integration. But since when did it become mainstream to hurl vile abuse at somebody sharing their approach to hard work?
"And if we can’t have a civil conversation about work ethic without descending into personal attacks, how can we expect to compete on the global stage? What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts."
