Work ethic is a valuable feature that companies look for in their employees. But the devil is in the details.
Yes, an excellent work ethic can get you special projects because you're reliable, dedicated, and disciplined. But at which point does putting your job first start to take a toll on you?
That's exactly what Twitter users are trying to find out in this viral thread. Inspired by Samuel Pollen's humorous tweet about the differences between European and American out-of-offices, people from all over the world are sharing what's expected of them in the workplace.
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Pollen's initial tweet, the one that started this discussion, was born out of his own work. "I live and work in the UK, and I have a lot of US clients," he told Bored Panda. "They send emails at all times of day, and never go on holiday. Conversely, our Swedish clients disappear all summer! So it was very much informed by my direct experience."
However, he wouldn't describe its subject matter as work ethic. "You can have a great work ethic and still appreciate the importance of family time, your health, and proper rest and relaxation," Pollen said. "But there are many legal and cultural factors at play. The cliché is that Europeans work to live, and Americans live to work. That elides many different individual experiences, but there’s a great deal of truth in it. Things like having a set number of sick days seem completely absurd to people on this side of the Atlantic!"
There are numbers to back up these statements, too. For example, Brits tend to put in fewer work hours than Americans (OECD data places average hours worked per year in the U.K. at 1,538 and in the U.S. at 1,779).
Then there's desk dining—the sad act of having your lunch where you work. A 2015 survey found that only 1 in 5 Americans actually spends their lunch break away from their desks, with most eating their midday meal while they continue to work. Plus, millions of Americans are skipping lunch altogether to continue working.
My German brother in law, working in Germany, once found himself locked out of his office. He hadn't taken a vacation in three years and Personnel decided that this behaviour was bad for his health.
Actually I'm (German) jealous of some Skandinavien work places. They practice 6h per day (instead of 8h) 5b days a week and studies show, that you can accomplish the same amount of work in that time. They get paid full time. And I know for a fact that it is true, I can be as productive in 6 hours (or even more productive) than in 8h.
Less time doesn't necessary mean less work. Instead in that little time you can optimize work
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It appears that Americans live to work, while Europeans work to live.
I had a friend who went to Sweden with her American colleague to run tests at a paper mill. They had two days-- one to do tests and one to go through results. They arrived at the plant early to begin the test but had to wait until the key personnel arrived which they did at 9ish. First order of business was a talk through of the test and day, which took 1 hour or so. The American colleague was visibly stressed and wanted to get going on the test. After the meeting the Swedes said 'time for fika (coffee break)' and the American lost it and said they didn't have time for that, they needed to begin the test because if something went wrong they would need time to do the test again. The Swedes looked at each other and said 'Well let's take our time, follow the plan and make sure the test is done right the first time instead of rushing it and making a mistake'. In the end they did it the Swedish way and got it right the first time.
In the Netherlands working hours are changing to 9AM till 4.30PM for offices. The Average working week is 31 hours.
In CZE we usually have from 7AM- 3.30PM, 8AM-4.30, or 9AM-5.30. Depends on profession and employers.
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Americans always miss their deadlines whereas Europeans always meet theirs -- I find that entirely arguable the other way around. But it really depends on the company. Some companies, regardless of what country they're in, are simply incompetent, and others are competent.
That makes sense to me. Being late because you're overwhelmed with too many things. However not all Americans are anti-punctual
This stems from the misconstrued notion of more effort vs more reward standpoint. The "effort" part of this should be maximizing efficiency and not just working more. Time spent inefficiently isn't going to achieve anything.
Europe is big. Not all European countries have the same rules. Not even in the same country, depends on unions, industry, etc. I'm the only one in my group of friends and family who works half day on Fridays.
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I can't even tell you how much America sucks right now. I know most of you know it, but wow - it's truly awful. On a separate note, I once had a job where I worked SO much, and would get calls on my way home saying, "I need you to get on a plane to xyz city tonight." And I did! Then they let me go once I had a family and a sick child and took some time off.
Hello! (Finn here) I aim to always be on time so this is accurate. Same can't be said from our transportation >_>
It's as if happier and less stressed out people were more motivated and effective. Funny how that works.
I have a 35 hours week. On Fridays we leave at 14:45. What I found was, that working 7,5 hours day can be less stressful, because personally I need more breaks during the day. Working less hours per day can be more productive, but truly exausting. I get home brain dead.
When you weigh as much as four Europeans, you have to go a quarter the pace.
Yet, in another situation regarding international work relations i am familiar with, the Americans and 1 Canadian make every deadline and the Europeans can't turn on their computer. It is all relative. Every situation begets a different outcome.
Pure workaholic BS. I work 8 to 16:30, half hour for lunch. If you are missing a deadline that's your fault for not planning better. No company is worth my family time.
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Sorry to burst your bubble, but Americans aren't the one who works the most in the world, nor are they the most productive... But that deadline comment from OP was stupid, it depends on the company more than the country.
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At the time of writing the tweet, Pollen thought he was exaggerating things for comic effect but as you can see, the replies tell a different story. "There was the woman who gave birth on a Thursday and was back at her desk the next Monday. There was the person whose colleague literally had a heart attack in the office, and they sent paperwork to the emergency room for him to sign. And there were people from other countries – India, Israel – who described a work culture just as bad."
"My favorite story was from someone who visited Italy, and spotted a sign on a sandwich shop: 'It was a nice day so we went out.' That's a sentiment I can get behind," Pollen recalled.
"If you’ve been working through this pandemic you better believe you deserve a break," he added. "I hope you all get one!"
And you'll still need that second and possibly third job so you don't have to sell your food stamps to pay the rent.
Trust me, we'd LOVE more time off. We're just not offered the chance. Workers here are considered replaceable at any time. If we're taking time off we can be fired. We have to have our days off approved most of the time. It's very very frustrating to worry about your job if you want to go to things at your kids school or appointments or have to leave early to take care of an emergency. If you don't have any time off left you're in real danger of disciplinary action.And we don't get much time off.
Only people who think that they are indispensable do that. The majority will tell you that you shouldn't even dare to consider contacting them during their holidays.
I do this. Call me before a) we lose a customer b) i have to do damage controll afterwards. It works well if your team knows what an emergency is.
Well, usually there's someone listed who can be contacted if necessary, but that's only for emergencies.
Ouch. Yeah that hits home. I work when sick because I will use all 5 of my "sick" days to take care of my kid through the year.
First child back after 6 weeks. Second back after a week. I was self employed. If I didn't work I didn't get paid. Also after insurance her birth was $8k
"and generous people help with the gofundme to help them afford the bills"
Uh.. what would have been the solution without him taking one of his vacation days?
And that's when think of your own and the baby's health and get out without even answering the fool.
I'd be pisssed if I HAD to take 4 weeks in a row in summer. That would eat up two thirds of my vacation days and I want/need those days at other times of the year. I like to take more time off around Christmas and New Years.
I get what this is saying, but there's some part of me that breaks out in a cold sweat thinking "yes, but what if there's a deadline and you watching the world cup instead of being in the office means that your counterpart in the US doesn't make their deadline? What if they get reprimanded? What if they get fired?"
My cousin is legal counsel for Greensill. Between their current catastrophe and the American work culture, i have never seen a human being crumble into a shell faster. 18 hour days for years and panic every second of the way.
lol, in the USA a bank holiday is only a day that banks take off. No one else.
Sure, boss. Just let us know when it's convenient for you. Her mother will hang in there until you find an opening in your agenda.
My job: 'yeah, we should plan too much from June up to October, people take holidays then.'
My UK-based wife once considered a job offer in her company's New York office. Not talking scrubbing toilets- a good white collar publishing job on 85,000. More pay than the same job in London, but by the time we worked out the costs of things like health insurance that difference was wiped out immediately. And then there was the fact her paid leave would be less than HALF what she gets now, and the company wouldn't give her a contract with guarantees of basic workplace expectations such as a guaranteed notice date or even a guaranteed FIXED leave entitlement (company's US hiring policy document actually said *leave entitlement subject to change). It turns out that for not a lot more money we would have a terrible overall package. I think you'd need to be earning well over £150,000 a year to make moving to America work out better than in the UK- and that is about the top 2.5 percent of earners here. I don't understand why the middle class put up with it in America.
teacher here too--Covid rules- if health dept quaratines you then 14 days off with Personal Days no email/no work (close contact/tracing etc)..if you become sick without notifying the health dept the you take sick days and are still responsible for your class via zoom in your classroom (we're in school, not remote)...we also don't have a union
Tricky, what country can this be?? It's so hard to guess!!! *rolling my eyes*
My (US) company has an office in India. Even though we try to be cooperative and balance meeting times so fewer people get the bad end of it on late evening meetings, it's not unusual for me to be starting work in my morning, which is their late evening, and they're still at it on our group chat, or staying up past their midnight so they can collaborate with the US team. Also, their managers don't seem to hesitate to give them weekend work whereas something better be on fire here for our managers to mandate it. Sure, we sometimes do it anyway because of our deadlines, or we'll take courses on our own time, which I imagine would appall our European pandas, but that's far less often than our India teammates. The standard work week in India is 48 hours, and from what I can tell, that's a minimum, at least in tech.
They have this amazing invention called a "kitchen". You can find one in all German houses. You use it to prepare and cook your own food because adults should be able to feed themselves. They have time to do this because they don't live in a backward country where they work ludicrous hours and have no holidays.
The world makes fun of us for not being worldly and untraveled and ignorant of other cultures. This is why. A Canadian friend of mine asked me why i would travel to a far away place for only 5 days. I told her that even that was stretching it and that is all i could possibly muster for that period of time.
I'm sure the American reaction would be "I hope I don't get fired, because if I do, I won't be able to pay for my mother's insulin injections."
I'm in end stage renal failure and am on dialysis (3/week at 4 hrs/session, plus travel time) and work full time. The only way I get in 40 hours is to skip all lunches, start at 7:30 am. I keep my laptop up and running next to me all evening and answer e-mails immediately. Why? Because it's the first job I actually wanted that would hire the sick girl who can't work until 11:00 am every Tuesday and Thursday. My mom told me to NOT tell potential employers I'm on dialysis, but how do I explain that absence every week? I hope when we're back in the office, they'll let me work from home on Tuesday and Thursday, otherwise, I'll have a hard time getting in a full 40 hours. Plus, I'm kind of a mess after treatment. It sucks the soul out of you and you just want to not be around people. Working remotely those 2 days is a gift!
To the people in the US just to avoid all confusion: the people in all the first world countries get PAID vacation, PAID sick leave, PAID maternity/paternity leave. And they do not have to have an expensive private insurance plan if they need 6 weeks recovery after surgery and want to feed their family at the same time.
Unfortunately many of my fellow Americans are brainwashed to scream socialism at those things and act as if that is a bad thing. I always feel I have to add this amazing quote to these threads. “John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
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What did you think would happen in a country that systematically enslaved people to work? It's always profits above people.
Not saying I like the work ethics of the USA but if you think the USA is like this because of slavery you need to read up on the history of Europe. The USA isn't the only place with a dark past. You just sound willfully ignorant
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It is the old we laid Phil off and now you haver to do his job too and not get a raise.
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Wow, another "America sucks" post and it's only Wednesday. We know America employment sucks. Can we talk about something else for a change? (not even an American and it's tedious)
Indeed. European here, but it looks like it's becoming a trend, and they are repeating same and same statements with each single article of how bad America is - no paid sick and maternity leaves, short vacation, ineffective and expensive insurance, we heard enough. Other countries have also shitload of problems - let's say Russia for a starter. I'd be glad to read articles on how human rights are constantly violated there.
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A real shame, and confusing as to why kids have the whole summer off in the U.S who is looking after them, when are family vacations etc...Hollywood is always lying to me.
Honestly it's a real struggle for a lot of families. Summer day camps are common, but can be quite expensive, and usually you sign up by the week, not the entire summer. Kids from lower income families often end up home alone or watched by older siblings. Parents sometimes stagger the vacation time they do have so each parent has a week or two home with the kids, but that prevents going anywhere as a family.
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America needs a serious "have you tried turning it off and on again?".
I Japan when the advertise jobs, they have to say the job is 5 days a week otherwise it could even be both days on the weekends. Most jobs say that people get two days off during the week but dont necessarily specify which ones...and it's not always Saturday and Sunday even if you work at an office. You are also expected to stay at work until the boss leaves which can be any time in the evening. Leaving before them is considered rude. They had a drive from the governement to encourage companies to let workers go home on Fridays at 3pm the last week of the month. 45% of the companies said they had no plans on doing that. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/24/premium-fridays-japan-gives-workers-break-go-shopping Also you would think that since they work so long hours that they would just go home after work but no. They are expected to go drinking with their colleagues and boss (nomikai) in the evening if someone wants to. https://blog.gaijinpot.com/5-strange-quirks-working-japanese-company/
I had a miscarriage while working for a great company that let me have time off, but the cultural expectation in the US that I get back to it and the fact that my time off was unpaid was too much for me and I ended up just quitting my job to avoid the anxiety of when to go back. It's sad that giving unpaid time off for trauma is something only "good" companies in the US do now seems toxic to me since you can't really focus on dealing with your trauma if you're also drowning in debt from not working.
US bosses (and the politicians who love them), "But... SOCIALISM!!!! Scary! Bad! Take away all your freedoms!"
The USA suck. I once called in sick to attend the final appointment of my cat, who I shared 20 wonderful years with. I didn't wanna be dishonest, but also had succeeded in getting a severe concussion on my way to work the friday before (and didn't leave, although sick and clearly unable to understand my work - I didn't understand the procedere of which doctor I was to see and so forth either, so instead of going home, having 8 hrs on the clock and nothing done, I made things worse for 5 hours, which I had to repair tuesday then...). Sunday it was clear that he might make it another week, but with liver failure, basically everything is suffering - so we waited long enough to be sure it is final and I called in sick and gave both reasons. The concussion made it to my boss' desk, I didn't wanna fight THAT battle then, but, generally, a job that doesn't allow me to relieve a bit of stress from my dying cat is a job that I don't do.
This is going to sound a bit harsh to Americans. You guys know why you wanted independence from the imperial tyrants thousands of miles away back in the day. But now, you've installed your own tyrants all my yourselves. Perhaps it is time you get some perspective on things?
This is just sad, I once had 2 weeks off paid after my dog died, it was at the boss's discretion and she okayed it, she knew how much I loved that dog and knew I was not emotionally fit for work, it's called being human.
I love my country, but as a technology contractor in the US, I am available 24/7, have no PTO (except for the mandated 7 sick days per year), no paid holidays, pay exorbant insurance premiums for awful insurance coverage, have 100k+ student loan debt. One expensive medical emergency would break my family and render me homeless pretty quickly. I would love to pay more taxes to have more assurances that I'm not one bad luck event from poverty.
We (Americans) have had this problem since 1880s/1890s, and have been fighting it since then. Imma tell you foreigners that it ain't that simple especially since the elite used to hire the mafia and the government to kill Americans who tried to unionize. There's still a lot of fear associated with unionizing even though blatant murder has since been rectified (as far as I can tell thanks to Teddy)
Wow. Just when I think I've read the most inflated example of extremist hyperbole, this place manages to top itself the very next day.
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America (and capitalism as a whole) frequently builds itself into these bubbles where everyone is trying to blow theirs bigger, and nobody is looking at how thinly stretched it all is. This is what happens with scheduling and costs: "I can deliver the cheapest product in the fastest time, assuming that nobody takes a day off, everyone is underpaid, people are willing to volunteer their time, and absolutely nothing goes wrong, even these long-shot hopeful chances that I've built into the plan". Naturally, these 'dream' plans never work out, and things are beyond the schedule and budget. In this scenario, tiny little things like taking a few hours off work or making a small data entry error or having to repair a machine are enough to pop the plan's 'bubble', and that's why people are made to feel like they are ruining the business for taking a day off, having a child, or neglecting a 9 PM phone call. The whole way of doing business ignores that it's built upon a fragile system.
I legit couldn't read all of these out of envy and my stomach hurting. While at work... 8h a day, 5 days a week, 3 days a week of over time. I have paid vacation and sick leave but get in trouble if I call in sick. Absolutely ridiculous.
So my boyfriend works for extremely long hours and everyone night till one for almost 2 years. Every time we are on a date or hanging out with friends together he is constantly checking his phone to as if he excepting them to call him in and it pisses me off. He feels guilty when he is unable to go in or if I suggest we go on vacation he says he can’t because they don’t have enough people to cover for him. That pisses me off even more because he gets very little sleep and stress like crazy.
IT’S THE AMERICAN DREAM BABY! Hmmm, something tells me that giving employers all the power and NOT giving the employees any rights is a sure fire way to run people into the ground. Live to work or work to live?
One of the many reasons why it is so easy to make fun of the US.
I didn't see my homeland of Greece mentioned.. It has been awhile since I visited my relatives, so perhaps they don't do this anymore, all the retails shops closed at a certain time, I can't remember the exact ime, for a rest period, then reopen and party on thru the night!!! OPA!!
Capitalism has been and always will be a predatory economic system giving preference to the employer.
Not in a knowledge economy. Highly skilled employees have all the power. Companies here have to compete for top talent, and do so by offering high salaries, excellent benefits, generous time off, and a great work environment. Otherwise good people leave and join the competition. It's a meritocracy where skills are valued and hard work is incentivized. It benefits both workers and companies.
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I live in the US. I get 5 weeks of paid vacation, nine sick days, four floating holidays, all major and banking holidays (11 per year) and five volunteer days (to be used to volunteer at a non-profit organization of your choice) paid each year. Maternity and paternity leave is 6 months paid. I can take up to 20 days consecutively, that is four full weeks. The only time I have been bothered on vacation is when the office was hit by a tornado and we had to move offices temporarily, my boss texted me with the address of the new office the day before I was due back so I didn't go to the damaged building the next morning.
I don't believe you, but please, name your employer. As someone who has worked for three of the "Best Companies to Work for!" in Seattle, I've never had anything close to this and I'm executive level. I'd love to work for your magical employer.
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"You don't!" Is exactly what I say to people when they try to contact me
I still remember discussing vacation with a European once while we were both on vacation in Vietnam. Something like, "Oh, I'd love to do that, but it's hard as I only get two weeks of vacation a year." The response was a horrified expression and, "I thought that was a myth." I replied with, "I wish. And I'm lucky. At least I get paid vacation. It's not mandated in the US." You should have seen the poor man's expression.
We get it! America sucks but seriously I'm done with this trend. What does it do to just write articles about it? Are those people voting in this country to change the laws? And I mean in local and national elections. I'm sick of people just complaining. Physically do something about it!
"30 People Share What Work Ethics are like in Different Countries". More like 29 people complain about the USA (plus one happy Italian. )
I also notice people live for their US-bashing in this place, but boy... if you dare return even the tiniest criticism back their way it's met with petulant outrage and double digit downvotes. Especially if you fire back something that's true (probably why it hurts). The behavior is exactly like.. what was it? Ah yes. A certain orange-tinted child we recently had as president. #europeansdishitbutcanttakeit
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Yes, vacation is terribly important, especially in France. In August the country closes, everyone goes on vacation: doctors, workers, nurses, families, stores close, all except for the elderly, who are left alone. And in 2003 over 15,000 elderly, hospitals were barely open because they REDUCE the number of beds in the summer, because, everyone, except for the sick, are on vacation. Look it up.
I work in IT and during this pandemic I'm dealing with a lot of people working from home. I work from home right now as well. I often get messages from people still working at 2 am or getting up to work at 6 am. No one is reachable during that time. What is so important that they can't function in a 9-5 day??? And weekends... don't contact me on a weekend to fix your remote connection. Go and play with your children! I'll talk to you at 9 am on Monday.
At my Company, those that have been here less than a year, get 19 days year; 1 year - 20 days a year; 2-4 years - 21 days a year; 5-14 years - 26 days a year; 15+ years - 31 days a year. You can use your time however you'd like. We also get MLK Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day. If New Years Day, Independence Day, or Christmas Day falls on a weekend, we get an extra .33 hours per paycheck for each. So in 2021, two of those fall on a weekend and I've been here 22 years, so I get 33 days off this year + the those standard Holidays for a total of 38 days off in 2021. Whatever days I don't use, carry over to the next year. Right now, I have 130 hours of time off I can use how I please.
You think 13 months of parenting leave is mind-blowing? I left for maternity in april 2019, and it was supposed to end in May 2021. But i got pregnant again, so i started new maternity in May 2021 that's gonna take till february 2024. Which means i'm on a PAID maternity leave from april 2019 to february 2024 for two kids total. It's paid from social security system (So by governmant, not my employer), but my employer has to keep my position for me... My replacement Is highered for the time i'm off...
I would like to express a different opinion that the ones I see here: I need to find that "Americans" and that "Europeans". I'm Portuguese and we worked in Europe, Asian and America. I understand that North Europe is the way it is written in the article, but south of Europe is the opposite. Regarding "American", it's true if it is an immigrant. However If it's a "Real American" I mean, a person with American nationality with several generations in USA, i bet that he/she is more likely a North European than as it written on the article. Regarding with social benefits and so on... north Europe wins by far any other place and they are still competitive countries.
I worked for a LARGE computer manufacturing company and out of the blue, with no warning they announced changes in their pension plan. Formerly, if you started there at 20 years of age and worked 30 years, your pension began immediately. They changed the rules so that you could only start collecting your pension when you turned 60 years old. Therefore, with a stroke of the pen, that 20 year old had to work ten more years to get his pension. The management requested that they not have to wear suits anymore because they fully expected someone to come in and start gunning down managers.
The US military basically has socialism... my healthcare is free, I get 30 days PTO (and it rolls over into the next year, up to a point), maternity and paternity leave... But apparently it's "too expensive" to give to the American people as a whole, which is a load of horseshit. It's just not as profitable for insurance companies and the politicians they bribe-- sorry, 'contribute to their campaigns'.
The more I learn about the US the more it seems to be a developing country, rather than an economic super power. Yes big business is doing well, but only at the expense of the majority of the population. How has there not been a rebellion? Why are the down trodden masses not marching on Washington demanding better workers’ rights? Oh, that’s right, they aren’t allowed any time off to go and protest.
Clickbait title,it is about how USA sucks...This week only 2 times?Bp manages to be "tolerant" and xenophobic at the same time.
Whenever I read about US- work condotions, I think: They did not realy abolish slavery. They just rebranded it and enslaved everyone who owns less than a million $
Wow I was getting worried there for a little bit. I haven't seen a USA sucks post for a couple of days. Meanwhile, China. But hey, at least you all have your cheap slave labor made gadgets as you sit cozy at your laptop made by 13 year olds.
Soooooo. A Bash-America post cleverly titled so you THINK it will be international. But no. Just more "The US is stupid, fat, and hates employees." We know. We know.
I thought this thread would be a little bit funnier. Work ethics on things like 1 hour lunch breaks, meetings that begin on time but the first 15 minutes are just friendly banter, coffee breaks (hugely important in Portugal), deadlines being more flexible, punctuality, civil servants and their lack of sense of urgency. Nonetheless it was an eye opener.
It seems to me, that all the examples are what would be called "Agentur Mentalität" in my office. Basically doing everything for the customer no matter if it breaks your back. We always have to remind customers and new employees that we are not an agency (I have no idea if it is fitting word in english) but a software profider. We don't plan their projects outside the IT aspects, we do not create content and we have business hours.
If someone asks me what I do as the first couple of questions when I first meet them I kind of tune them out. Not interested in what people do to make money. My job isn't my life it's what I do to provide for my family I do not want to talk about my work when I'm not working. I do however have off 41/2 mths out of every year my business is seasonal. I pay my employees well and I make up the difference they don't get w unemployment when they're laid off. I don't think life should be revolved around your job if you're able to do so.
It seems like most of the developed world works to live, while in the US we live to work (those fortunes of the 1% aren’t going to grow themselves!).
At least this time there were some other countries thrown in occasionally. An improvement, albeit slight.
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Being a freelancer is even better in Europe and other contries, and people really respect your "Out of office" weeks.
Being a freelancer here in Germany is the absolute worst!
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So sick of this American hating site. Do you ever ask what Americans think is absurd about Europeans?
I’ll take the oddball stance here and just say I like our work culture. I like having to work lots of hours to get lots of money. I like grabbing clients who want things done after hours. I like being able to just fire people who aren’t productive. I like having access to things no matter what my situation is or where I am. I just like that stuff. I was talking to my partner about it recently. I just don’t want to move away and live somewhere where working isn’t a way of life. I fuçking love money. Like pretty much more than anything. Nothing is more reliable or life changing than money. It’s everything to me, besides the handful of relationships I have that matter. Money makes my heart beat faster and swell with emotions. The only way work would matter less to me is if I already had enough money to slow down. And when could it EVER be enough? I can’t imagine not living for it and being all slow and not caring about my business.
BUT it isn’t for everyone. But I think we should embrace our differences rather than saying one place is better or worse. Sure in Italy there’s paid leave but there’s less emphasis on work in general. Some places like USA have more emphasis on work and THATS OKAY. It’s a cultural thing. All cultures are different.
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I live in south america, and even this shïthole has a better workplace culture than the U.S. of course, there are crap bosses who abuse, and people who do nothing when being abused, but over the last 10 years there's been a change for the better. It's not perfect, but at least it's improving. And based on what I just read, is waay better than I thought. I am self employed, so I manage my time the way I want/need to.
Here we go again with the predictable xenophobia. Have you ever considered just not?
Load More Replies... To the people in the US just to avoid all confusion: the people in all the first world countries get PAID vacation, PAID sick leave, PAID maternity/paternity leave. And they do not have to have an expensive private insurance plan if they need 6 weeks recovery after surgery and want to feed their family at the same time.
Unfortunately many of my fellow Americans are brainwashed to scream socialism at those things and act as if that is a bad thing. I always feel I have to add this amazing quote to these threads. “John Steinbeck once said that socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”
Load More Replies... What did you think would happen in a country that systematically enslaved people to work? It's always profits above people.
Not saying I like the work ethics of the USA but if you think the USA is like this because of slavery you need to read up on the history of Europe. The USA isn't the only place with a dark past. You just sound willfully ignorant
Load More Replies... Let's also throw in "We're going to lay off people till we have JUST enough people to barely run things, and expect you to just deal when people are out because calling people in on overtime costs too much"
It is the old we laid Phil off and now you haver to do his job too and not get a raise.
Load More Replies... Wow, another "America sucks" post and it's only Wednesday. We know America employment sucks. Can we talk about something else for a change? (not even an American and it's tedious)
Indeed. European here, but it looks like it's becoming a trend, and they are repeating same and same statements with each single article of how bad America is - no paid sick and maternity leaves, short vacation, ineffective and expensive insurance, we heard enough. Other countries have also shitload of problems - let's say Russia for a starter. I'd be glad to read articles on how human rights are constantly violated there.
Load More Replies... A real shame, and confusing as to why kids have the whole summer off in the U.S who is looking after them, when are family vacations etc...Hollywood is always lying to me.
Honestly it's a real struggle for a lot of families. Summer day camps are common, but can be quite expensive, and usually you sign up by the week, not the entire summer. Kids from lower income families often end up home alone or watched by older siblings. Parents sometimes stagger the vacation time they do have so each parent has a week or two home with the kids, but that prevents going anywhere as a family.
Load More Replies... America needs a serious "have you tried turning it off and on again?".
I Japan when the advertise jobs, they have to say the job is 5 days a week otherwise it could even be both days on the weekends. Most jobs say that people get two days off during the week but dont necessarily specify which ones...and it's not always Saturday and Sunday even if you work at an office. You are also expected to stay at work until the boss leaves which can be any time in the evening. Leaving before them is considered rude. They had a drive from the governement to encourage companies to let workers go home on Fridays at 3pm the last week of the month. 45% of the companies said they had no plans on doing that. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/24/premium-fridays-japan-gives-workers-break-go-shopping Also you would think that since they work so long hours that they would just go home after work but no. They are expected to go drinking with their colleagues and boss (nomikai) in the evening if someone wants to. https://blog.gaijinpot.com/5-strange-quirks-working-japanese-company/
I had a miscarriage while working for a great company that let me have time off, but the cultural expectation in the US that I get back to it and the fact that my time off was unpaid was too much for me and I ended up just quitting my job to avoid the anxiety of when to go back. It's sad that giving unpaid time off for trauma is something only "good" companies in the US do now seems toxic to me since you can't really focus on dealing with your trauma if you're also drowning in debt from not working.
US bosses (and the politicians who love them), "But... SOCIALISM!!!! Scary! Bad! Take away all your freedoms!"
The USA suck. I once called in sick to attend the final appointment of my cat, who I shared 20 wonderful years with. I didn't wanna be dishonest, but also had succeeded in getting a severe concussion on my way to work the friday before (and didn't leave, although sick and clearly unable to understand my work - I didn't understand the procedere of which doctor I was to see and so forth either, so instead of going home, having 8 hrs on the clock and nothing done, I made things worse for 5 hours, which I had to repair tuesday then...). Sunday it was clear that he might make it another week, but with liver failure, basically everything is suffering - so we waited long enough to be sure it is final and I called in sick and gave both reasons. The concussion made it to my boss' desk, I didn't wanna fight THAT battle then, but, generally, a job that doesn't allow me to relieve a bit of stress from my dying cat is a job that I don't do.
This is going to sound a bit harsh to Americans. You guys know why you wanted independence from the imperial tyrants thousands of miles away back in the day. But now, you've installed your own tyrants all my yourselves. Perhaps it is time you get some perspective on things?
This is just sad, I once had 2 weeks off paid after my dog died, it was at the boss's discretion and she okayed it, she knew how much I loved that dog and knew I was not emotionally fit for work, it's called being human.
I love my country, but as a technology contractor in the US, I am available 24/7, have no PTO (except for the mandated 7 sick days per year), no paid holidays, pay exorbant insurance premiums for awful insurance coverage, have 100k+ student loan debt. One expensive medical emergency would break my family and render me homeless pretty quickly. I would love to pay more taxes to have more assurances that I'm not one bad luck event from poverty.
We (Americans) have had this problem since 1880s/1890s, and have been fighting it since then. Imma tell you foreigners that it ain't that simple especially since the elite used to hire the mafia and the government to kill Americans who tried to unionize. There's still a lot of fear associated with unionizing even though blatant murder has since been rectified (as far as I can tell thanks to Teddy)
Wow. Just when I think I've read the most inflated example of extremist hyperbole, this place manages to top itself the very next day.
Load More Replies... America (and capitalism as a whole) frequently builds itself into these bubbles where everyone is trying to blow theirs bigger, and nobody is looking at how thinly stretched it all is. This is what happens with scheduling and costs: "I can deliver the cheapest product in the fastest time, assuming that nobody takes a day off, everyone is underpaid, people are willing to volunteer their time, and absolutely nothing goes wrong, even these long-shot hopeful chances that I've built into the plan". Naturally, these 'dream' plans never work out, and things are beyond the schedule and budget. In this scenario, tiny little things like taking a few hours off work or making a small data entry error or having to repair a machine are enough to pop the plan's 'bubble', and that's why people are made to feel like they are ruining the business for taking a day off, having a child, or neglecting a 9 PM phone call. The whole way of doing business ignores that it's built upon a fragile system.
I legit couldn't read all of these out of envy and my stomach hurting. While at work... 8h a day, 5 days a week, 3 days a week of over time. I have paid vacation and sick leave but get in trouble if I call in sick. Absolutely ridiculous.
So my boyfriend works for extremely long hours and everyone night till one for almost 2 years. Every time we are on a date or hanging out with friends together he is constantly checking his phone to as if he excepting them to call him in and it pisses me off. He feels guilty when he is unable to go in or if I suggest we go on vacation he says he can’t because they don’t have enough people to cover for him. That pisses me off even more because he gets very little sleep and stress like crazy.
IT’S THE AMERICAN DREAM BABY! Hmmm, something tells me that giving employers all the power and NOT giving the employees any rights is a sure fire way to run people into the ground. Live to work or work to live?
One of the many reasons why it is so easy to make fun of the US.
I didn't see my homeland of Greece mentioned.. It has been awhile since I visited my relatives, so perhaps they don't do this anymore, all the retails shops closed at a certain time, I can't remember the exact ime, for a rest period, then reopen and party on thru the night!!! OPA!!
Capitalism has been and always will be a predatory economic system giving preference to the employer.
Not in a knowledge economy. Highly skilled employees have all the power. Companies here have to compete for top talent, and do so by offering high salaries, excellent benefits, generous time off, and a great work environment. Otherwise good people leave and join the competition. It's a meritocracy where skills are valued and hard work is incentivized. It benefits both workers and companies.
Load More Replies... I live in the US. I get 5 weeks of paid vacation, nine sick days, four floating holidays, all major and banking holidays (11 per year) and five volunteer days (to be used to volunteer at a non-profit organization of your choice) paid each year. Maternity and paternity leave is 6 months paid. I can take up to 20 days consecutively, that is four full weeks. The only time I have been bothered on vacation is when the office was hit by a tornado and we had to move offices temporarily, my boss texted me with the address of the new office the day before I was due back so I didn't go to the damaged building the next morning.
I don't believe you, but please, name your employer. As someone who has worked for three of the "Best Companies to Work for!" in Seattle, I've never had anything close to this and I'm executive level. I'd love to work for your magical employer.
Load More Replies... "You don't!" Is exactly what I say to people when they try to contact me
I still remember discussing vacation with a European once while we were both on vacation in Vietnam. Something like, "Oh, I'd love to do that, but it's hard as I only get two weeks of vacation a year." The response was a horrified expression and, "I thought that was a myth." I replied with, "I wish. And I'm lucky. At least I get paid vacation. It's not mandated in the US." You should have seen the poor man's expression.
We get it! America sucks but seriously I'm done with this trend. What does it do to just write articles about it? Are those people voting in this country to change the laws? And I mean in local and national elections. I'm sick of people just complaining. Physically do something about it!
"30 People Share What Work Ethics are like in Different Countries". More like 29 people complain about the USA (plus one happy Italian. )
I also notice people live for their US-bashing in this place, but boy... if you dare return even the tiniest criticism back their way it's met with petulant outrage and double digit downvotes. Especially if you fire back something that's true (probably why it hurts). The behavior is exactly like.. what was it? Ah yes. A certain orange-tinted child we recently had as president. #europeansdishitbutcanttakeit
Load More Replies... Yes, vacation is terribly important, especially in France. In August the country closes, everyone goes on vacation: doctors, workers, nurses, families, stores close, all except for the elderly, who are left alone. And in 2003 over 15,000 elderly, hospitals were barely open because they REDUCE the number of beds in the summer, because, everyone, except for the sick, are on vacation. Look it up.
I work in IT and during this pandemic I'm dealing with a lot of people working from home. I work from home right now as well. I often get messages from people still working at 2 am or getting up to work at 6 am. No one is reachable during that time. What is so important that they can't function in a 9-5 day??? And weekends... don't contact me on a weekend to fix your remote connection. Go and play with your children! I'll talk to you at 9 am on Monday.
At my Company, those that have been here less than a year, get 19 days year; 1 year - 20 days a year; 2-4 years - 21 days a year; 5-14 years - 26 days a year; 15+ years - 31 days a year. You can use your time however you'd like. We also get MLK Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day. If New Years Day, Independence Day, or Christmas Day falls on a weekend, we get an extra .33 hours per paycheck for each. So in 2021, two of those fall on a weekend and I've been here 22 years, so I get 33 days off this year + the those standard Holidays for a total of 38 days off in 2021. Whatever days I don't use, carry over to the next year. Right now, I have 130 hours of time off I can use how I please.
You think 13 months of parenting leave is mind-blowing? I left for maternity in april 2019, and it was supposed to end in May 2021. But i got pregnant again, so i started new maternity in May 2021 that's gonna take till february 2024. Which means i'm on a PAID maternity leave from april 2019 to february 2024 for two kids total. It's paid from social security system (So by governmant, not my employer), but my employer has to keep my position for me... My replacement Is highered for the time i'm off...
I would like to express a different opinion that the ones I see here: I need to find that "Americans" and that "Europeans". I'm Portuguese and we worked in Europe, Asian and America. I understand that North Europe is the way it is written in the article, but south of Europe is the opposite. Regarding "American", it's true if it is an immigrant. However If it's a "Real American" I mean, a person with American nationality with several generations in USA, i bet that he/she is more likely a North European than as it written on the article. Regarding with social benefits and so on... north Europe wins by far any other place and they are still competitive countries.
I worked for a LARGE computer manufacturing company and out of the blue, with no warning they announced changes in their pension plan. Formerly, if you started there at 20 years of age and worked 30 years, your pension began immediately. They changed the rules so that you could only start collecting your pension when you turned 60 years old. Therefore, with a stroke of the pen, that 20 year old had to work ten more years to get his pension. The management requested that they not have to wear suits anymore because they fully expected someone to come in and start gunning down managers.
The US military basically has socialism... my healthcare is free, I get 30 days PTO (and it rolls over into the next year, up to a point), maternity and paternity leave... But apparently it's "too expensive" to give to the American people as a whole, which is a load of horseshit. It's just not as profitable for insurance companies and the politicians they bribe-- sorry, 'contribute to their campaigns'.
The more I learn about the US the more it seems to be a developing country, rather than an economic super power. Yes big business is doing well, but only at the expense of the majority of the population. How has there not been a rebellion? Why are the down trodden masses not marching on Washington demanding better workers’ rights? Oh, that’s right, they aren’t allowed any time off to go and protest.
Clickbait title,it is about how USA sucks...This week only 2 times?Bp manages to be "tolerant" and xenophobic at the same time.
Whenever I read about US- work condotions, I think: They did not realy abolish slavery. They just rebranded it and enslaved everyone who owns less than a million $
Wow I was getting worried there for a little bit. I haven't seen a USA sucks post for a couple of days. Meanwhile, China. But hey, at least you all have your cheap slave labor made gadgets as you sit cozy at your laptop made by 13 year olds.
Soooooo. A Bash-America post cleverly titled so you THINK it will be international. But no. Just more "The US is stupid, fat, and hates employees." We know. We know.
I thought this thread would be a little bit funnier. Work ethics on things like 1 hour lunch breaks, meetings that begin on time but the first 15 minutes are just friendly banter, coffee breaks (hugely important in Portugal), deadlines being more flexible, punctuality, civil servants and their lack of sense of urgency. Nonetheless it was an eye opener.
It seems to me, that all the examples are what would be called "Agentur Mentalität" in my office. Basically doing everything for the customer no matter if it breaks your back. We always have to remind customers and new employees that we are not an agency (I have no idea if it is fitting word in english) but a software profider. We don't plan their projects outside the IT aspects, we do not create content and we have business hours.
If someone asks me what I do as the first couple of questions when I first meet them I kind of tune them out. Not interested in what people do to make money. My job isn't my life it's what I do to provide for my family I do not want to talk about my work when I'm not working. I do however have off 41/2 mths out of every year my business is seasonal. I pay my employees well and I make up the difference they don't get w unemployment when they're laid off. I don't think life should be revolved around your job if you're able to do so.
It seems like most of the developed world works to live, while in the US we live to work (those fortunes of the 1% aren’t going to grow themselves!).
At least this time there were some other countries thrown in occasionally. An improvement, albeit slight.
Load More Replies... Being a freelancer is even better in Europe and other contries, and people really respect your "Out of office" weeks.
Being a freelancer here in Germany is the absolute worst!
Load More Replies... So sick of this American hating site. Do you ever ask what Americans think is absurd about Europeans?
I’ll take the oddball stance here and just say I like our work culture. I like having to work lots of hours to get lots of money. I like grabbing clients who want things done after hours. I like being able to just fire people who aren’t productive. I like having access to things no matter what my situation is or where I am. I just like that stuff. I was talking to my partner about it recently. I just don’t want to move away and live somewhere where working isn’t a way of life. I fuçking love money. Like pretty much more than anything. Nothing is more reliable or life changing than money. It’s everything to me, besides the handful of relationships I have that matter. Money makes my heart beat faster and swell with emotions. The only way work would matter less to me is if I already had enough money to slow down. And when could it EVER be enough? I can’t imagine not living for it and being all slow and not caring about my business.
BUT it isn’t for everyone. But I think we should embrace our differences rather than saying one place is better or worse. Sure in Italy there’s paid leave but there’s less emphasis on work in general. Some places like USA have more emphasis on work and THATS OKAY. It’s a cultural thing. All cultures are different.
Load More Replies... I live in south america, and even this shïthole has a better workplace culture than the U.S. of course, there are crap bosses who abuse, and people who do nothing when being abused, but over the last 10 years there's been a change for the better. It's not perfect, but at least it's improving. And based on what I just read, is waay better than I thought. I am self employed, so I manage my time the way I want/need to.
Here we go again with the predictable xenophobia. Have you ever considered just not?
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