I've been born and raised in Canada and my parents are immigrants from the former Yugoslavia. I've taken many extended trips back home and I have to say that "working efficiently for only half of their eight-hour workday" is overstating their efficiency. Socialism destroyed work ethic in Yugoslavia amongst other things. The villagers and farmers were the only ones who had any work ethic left as they were primarily subsistence farmers on the "receiving end" of socialism if you will. They were the ones who left to work and settle in other countries.
People with money aren't viewed as investors, but crooks. Anyone who turns a profit is suspected of stealing. Almost no one understands the concept of looking for work or creating their own job. It's sad.
If the EU consisted of just those places it would probably be as productive per capita as California.
... which is why Austria and the Netherlands are so poor and backwards??
Well, 90% of them are crooks.
It can take longer than 1 generation to destroy a country's work ethic.
Work ethic is shaped by social and economic factors rather than some ethereal work culture independent of them. Social and economic systems do in fact shape culture to an important extent.
I've heard this 'Every body has a job to do' thing many times when I ask managers what they do.
But they never tell 'what exactly are they doing or they are supposed to do'.
According to a recent domestic survey, average I.T. managers work efficiently for only 10% of their eight-hour workday. The rest of the time is spent reading email, conducting pointless meetings, or having interminable private chats with colleagues over "best practices".