Clash of the Cultures....Part One

Ok, so I have been stateside for awhile now. People have asked me if I miss it or if I have reacclamated well. Although I am not always sure how to answer those questions, I will tell you the biggest differences I have noticed.

One thing I find to be a stark difference between the U.S. and Europe is the culture. I could go on forever under this heading, so I will break it up between a few subcategories.

The Work/Play Mindset
I have been raised that you work hard until your work is complete, then you play to your heart's content. So if you have a deadline for something at work that is due the next morning, you don't go home today until it is done, You try to anticipate any obstacles that may arise and combat them before they do, and you don't leave for tomorrow what should be done today. If that means you go home at 10pm, so be it. At least when you arrive tomorrow morning, you know that the work is ready for its deadline.

I think that most folks, at least near the bigger cities, would agree. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. But I know the folks in Europe, at least where I have been, do not agree. They feel that you work the hours you have been assigned and go home at the designated time so that you can enjoy the evening. They feel that play time is just as important as work time. If you have a project due tomorrow, and your day is over at 4pm and it is now 3:55, leave it for tomorrow and hope to finish in the morning.

Although you might think that makes them lazy, it isn't true. They just believe that to do a good job you must get enough sleep and rest to be physically and mentally capable. It isn't wrong thinking, it was just different for me. I was amazed when I awoke one morning with a sore throat and light cough, they told me I should stay in bed for three days. I thought, "Are you crazy?!?! Who will do my work?" They assured me that it didn't matter, my getting well was more important. And when I awoke feeling better the next day after an entire day of rest, they wouldn't let me go to work. It didn't matter if I felt better, they were convinced it takes three days to get over whatever I had. Can you imagine if you took three sick days every time you were sick? Certainly a foreign thought to us in America right?

But I can see the logic and even the benefit of what they were saying. How often do we go to work through our sickness and make it worse or just make ourselves miserable, and for what? Does it help us careerwise to push through and get more sick, perhaps hoping we can stick it out to the weekend and recoup then? I think that we think we have to because every day is another couple dollars in our pockets at the end of the month and we sure need that paycheck. But really, is it worth it?

My favorite part of the european mentality on work, is that they work hard but they play hard too! A common vacation period in the U.S. is about a week. Sometimes, two weeks if you have a really nice job. Everyone I know from Europe that takes a vacation will take, at the least, 3 weeks. Usually they will take a month off and go somewhere. No joke! What a concept! Do you realize how much more productive I think I might be if I had a month of vacation every year? WOW!

So, which is better: working hard or working smart? I am still debating that one, but think it over and tell me what you think.

Next time we will look at the difference between male/female roles...that should be interesting. :D