snowbunny

We do... though it's only tea, and not very good. Hot tea though!

Englishtart

That's one of the hardest things! hubby went from 30 days a year (military) to 4 hours every 2 weeks (Gov't job) he has to work 5 years before it goes up, big change for us on that, so now as a civilian, (unless he gets deployed) it's going to be a long wait for a trip to the UK now.

MsElui

yup - i worked in germany for a year and the beer in the staff canteen and vending machines was a surprise. Also any excuse (aunties next door neighbours dog had a puppy) to bring in cake and wine/beer to the office.

I just remembered - the other thing that is very different to the UK is the usage of thank you notes or cards from suppliers or services you use here. I got one this morning from a dentist i used for the first time 2 days ago telling me how muched they liked meeting me, thanking me for my business and hoping to see me again in 6 months. Never had anything like that in the uk.

Bob

Probably depends on the job....but not as much people hanging out after work, certainly going for drinks etc....that only ever happened when people were leaving and then that hardly happened.

ukintexas

I would say networking is a HUGE thing in the business arena here. Whilst I'd done some of that in the UK, I was amazed at how important it is here to belong to the right group, be seen at the right events etc. I haven't sold my soul to it yet (!), but I do think that's one difference here. Others I can think of that are a little generic, and won't apply to all, would be:
[LIST][*]Holiday as mentioned before - dire here[*]Political correctness -sarcasm not understood or welcome in most cases - taken far too literally and takes many hours to unravel and explain![*]Really early start to the day - people go to aerobics at 5am before work - mad![*]Lunch is really early - 11.30 - I used to think of that as mid-morning snack time but have now totally got into the routine of an early lunch. Also, people take prospect clients out to lunch far more often than I did in the UK.

Those are the first few things that spring to mind, but I can probably come up with more!

Xebedee

Never worked in an office back home as I did factory work, but I can at least describe an American office environment from an English perspective.

It involves getting excited or at least showing great interest in practically everything work related, lots of shaking hands when you meet people, swearing is unprofessional and certainly frowned on.

Doing the best in a lousy situation isn't enough as its results that matter above all else. Schedules are everything and there are lots of meetings. The meetings tend to be stilted and rude jokes or even sarcasm is viewed as anti-social and (again) unprofessional.

Socialising is limited to chats over the cubicle walls and lunches at Applebee's or the local sports bar. Drinking is verboten! On that subject, rarely are there after work drinks as Americans like to battle the commute home immediately after work.

Having a long weekend is considered a break and its very rare to take two consecutive weeks off as a holiday. On that note, your holiday (vacation)
time is not a right, its granted by the company as a benefit of employment.

As an employee, you are expected to make commitments and keep to them, but its often the case that you will not get this reciprocated by management. Review time is always fun and its rife with favouritsm and politics. Pay raises tend to be between 2 and 3% - even less these days.

Working hours are quite strictly adhered to and often there are people there early. A typical statement might be "we as management, expect you to be at your desk working at 7:15am, not wandering in thru the door and making coffee".

Basically, there is quite a lot of hype and noise, but little actual normal behaviour. Having said all that, if you do come across as a normal person, you will tend to gain the admiration of your colleagues but at the cost of being marked by management. Watch your back.

veryfunny

Depends on what region of the states that you are talking about, in California, there is this drive thing to not stop working until the task is complete. The middle regional states are a bit different.

CitySimon

Lets see... (Taking it at an individual level as being an employee for an IT company) From my own experience:

- Less vacation time
- No paid sick time
- Expectation to work longer hours
- Expectation to work unpaid overtime
- On-call 24/7 even when not necesasrily "on call".
- The whole "medical insurance" thing

All big differences and definitely challenges, but I'd not use any of them as an excuse to go back to england.

Xebedee

Oh that's just brilliant.
What idiot thought that one up?

snowbunny

Well - what he means is literally working around the clock or until you die, which ever comes first. Actually, the Japanese are quite good at that sort of thing.

NC Penguin

Like dying of overwork?

snowbunny

Like working insanely long hours, sleeping under your desk, arriving before the boss comes and only leaving when he leaves - which is often more than 16 hours per day.

My eldest daughter is currently in the throes of Japanophilia and wants to move there. So yes, we talk about culture - also the fact that a Japanese friend moved to the US because she was not able to be taken seriously by her male colleagues in Japan.

slidingbyee

I find Americans, in general, talk a good job of work. I never met an American who doesn't spend every minute of their day, usually 10 hours + working. Just like those people who never lose money in the stockmarket, well until recently?

When condensed into real work I think its usually 4 hours. What I mean is they seem to obsess about having to spend time at work, or be seen to be working. I have always gone by the motto: work is an 8 hour interruption of my social life, but of course, here I would never say that!

+ the vacation days are awful.

slidingbyee

Is there really any other kind!

Norri

The Japanese have a word for it Karoshi