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Post by librarylady on Mar 19, 2019 13:24:19 GMT
our work customs (vacation/maternity leave etc)
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Gennifer
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Post by Gennifer on Mar 19, 2019 13:36:13 GMT
Learning more about other countries is ruining America for me.
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Deleted
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Apr 26, 2024 18:56:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 13:36:50 GMT
Well now, they should go back and be happy.
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Post by busy on Mar 19, 2019 13:45:59 GMT
Well now, they should go back and be happy. Or, just spitballing here, we could learn something from the rest of the world. We are abysmal compared to virtually every other country when it comes to things like paid maternity leave. |
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scrappinghappy
Pearl Clutcher
“I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say “Hello.” Goodbye. I’m late...."
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Post by scrappinghappy on Mar 19, 2019 13:48:58 GMT
I agree totally with her. There is absolutely no work life balance here in the USA and the competition is intense. When we moved here my husband came from an internship with 6 weeks vacation a year ( and if you were sick you stayed home - no days were counted against you) to a full fledged job with 21 days and 3 sick days!! and heaven help you if you were ever sick. As he progressed up the ladder, he was required to be available on evenings and weekends. He is an actuary. What work does an actuary do that can't wait till the next day or Monday?!?! Well, if a client needs you, you need to be available.
Unfortunately the culture here will never change even with companies like FB and Google who do strive for a more balanced life. And then there is Amazon - the exact opposite from what I understand.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Mar 19, 2019 13:53:22 GMT
Learning more about other countries is ruining America for me. And living in six other countries has made me appreciate the ways that America is better. There is no utopia and every country out there has its problems and issues. |
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Post by busy on Mar 19, 2019 13:54:03 GMT
I agree totally with her. There is absolutely no work life balance here in the USA and the competition is intense. When we moved here my husband came from an internship with 6 weeks vacation a year ( and if you were sick you stayed home - no days were counted against you) to a full fledged job with 21 days and 3 sick days!! and heaven help you if you were ever sick. As he progressed up the ladder, he was required to be available on evenings and weekends. He is an actuary. What work does an actuary do that can't wait till the next day or Monday?!?! Well, if a client needs you, you need to be available. Unfortunately the culture here will never change even with companies like FB and Google who do strive for a more balanced life. And then there is Amazon - the exact opposite from what I understand. Hahaha Google and FB may *say* the right things about work/life balance but the reality is pretty different. They just get paid a lot and have lots of perks so they can have other people do the daily life stuff for them. |
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Post by gar on Mar 19, 2019 13:54:37 GMT
Well now, they should go back and be happy. Nowhere is perfect but at least read it with an open mind. |
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hannahruth
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,608
Location: Adelaide, Australia
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Post by hannahruth on Mar 19, 2019 13:58:45 GMT
My understanding of the great benefits in the Scandinadian countries is that the residents and businesses pay appropriate taxes for the countries to be able to support these benefit so.
In Australia as in America there are companies that next to no tax and so any benefits are watered down as they become unaffordable for the governments to support.
Some of the wealthiest pay minimal tax and that is part of the problem.
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Post by kristi521 on Mar 19, 2019 14:35:21 GMT
I agree totally with her. There is absolutely no work life balance here in the USA and the competition is intense. When we moved here my husband came from an internship with 6 weeks vacation a year ( and if you were sick you stayed home - no days were counted against you) to a full fledged job with 21 days and 3 sick days!! and heaven help you if you were ever sick. As he progressed up the ladder, he was required to be available on evenings and weekends. He is an actuary. What work does an actuary do that can't wait till the next day or Monday?!?! Well, if a client needs you, you need to be available. Unfortunately the culture here will never change even with companies like FB and Google who do strive for a more balanced life. And then there is Amazon - the exact opposite from what I understand. Hahaha Google and FB may *say* the right things about work/life balance but the reality is pretty different. They just get paid a lot and have lots of perks so they can have other people do the daily life stuff for them. Agreed. FB and Google have a lot of onsite "amenities" that keep you away from work less (i.e., onsite doctor or dentist, etc) |
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Deleted
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Apr 26, 2024 18:56:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 15:07:15 GMT
I can identify with what she is saying. We also benefit from most of the things she pointed out. Taxes are different but there is a lot of what she has experienced that we experience here. Work/life balance. Maternity benefits, commute times to work, access to public transport, paid vacation time and professional pay levels even if you do work part-time in a professional capacity.
I think every country has its good and bad it all depends on the individual what they think good and bad means in their particular situation.
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
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Post by sassyangel on Mar 19, 2019 15:12:27 GMT
Well now, they should go back and be happy. Why? There are aspects of the work culture in this country (in general) that ARE abysmal. 🤷🏻♀️ |
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lurkyloo
Full Member
Posts: 284
Dec 5, 2018 6:53:08 GMT
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Post by lurkyloo on Mar 19, 2019 15:33:30 GMT
But heck, American bootstraps are so fashionable. Who cares if we are all just worn out cogs in the corporations’ wheels? BBQ on Saturday, shut up, and get back to work.
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Post by annabella on Mar 19, 2019 18:35:41 GMT
I'm in a facebook group and this European woman moved to America and is now getting a divorce in her 20s with no kids. She said in whatever country she was from she could apply for benefits during this time. Everyone laughed her out the water and said she needed to get a job and move on with her life. it was such a different sense of reality in terms of the paid benefits people get in other countries.
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Post by bc2ca on Mar 19, 2019 18:46:09 GMT
I had an interesting conversation with a local in Prague and asked where he'd learned his excellent English. His dream growing up was to move to America where his uncle lived and he did in his early 20s. He had his own business, home and cars and felt he's hit the American dream jackpot until on a visit home saw that the only thing he had that they didn't was he had a bigger truck. They worked far fewer days/week and traveled more. He moved back to Czechia and started his own business.
Microsoft is another company that has brought dentists and doctors onto their campuses. It isn't primarily to add value/convenience for their employees' lives. People were going for those services off campus, taking an afternoon or morning off, and putting them on campus means you are only out of your office for an hour.
We are watching all of our Canadian friends retire between 55 and 60. None of our American friends are considering this because of healthcare. I think of all the jobs that could be freed up.
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Deleted
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Apr 26, 2024 18:56:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2019 19:06:36 GMT
Deleted my post as I miss read the post I was replying to. |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Mar 19, 2019 19:32:06 GMT
I had an interesting conversation with a local in Prague and asked where he'd learned his excellent English. His dream growing up was to move to America where his uncle lived and he did in his early 20s. He had his own business, home and cars and felt he's hit the American dream jackpot until on a visit home saw that the only thing he had that they didn't was he had a bigger truck. They worked far fewer days/week and traveled more. He moved back to Czechia and started his own business. Microsoft is another company that has brought dentists and doctors onto their campuses. It isn't primarily to add value/convenience for their employees' lives. People were going for those services off campus, taking an afternoon or morning off, and putting them on campus means you are only out of your office for an hour. We are watching all of our Canadian friends retire between 55 and 60. None of our American friends are considering this because of healthcare. I think of all the jobs that could be freed up. What is really tough is that my DH works a very physical job. He is a big, strong guy, but there is no way he will be able to do his job at 65 years old. He might not be able at 60. I will have to continue to work (even though the vast majority of retirement earnings are due to my work) to provide health insurance for us. ETA: I expect he will pick up a job to bring some income in. But I assume it won't be near what he makes now. |
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Post by mrst on Mar 19, 2019 19:58:29 GMT
I find this really interesting. I often find some of the references to holidays and hours in the USA very disturbing. I haven't worked for 15 years but I had 5 weeks holiday, maternity pay and a really good pension. We have excellent health care both in the UK and here in Spain at zero cost. Ok we pay tax but not that much.
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Post by miominmio on Mar 19, 2019 21:01:05 GMT
I'm in a facebook group and this European woman moved to America and is now getting a divorce in her 20s with no kids. She said in whatever country she was from she could apply for benefits during this time. Everyone laughed her out the water and said she needed to get a job and move on with her life. it was such a different sense of reality in terms of the paid benefits people get in other countries. I would like to know which country, because that wouldn’t happen here, and our benefits are generally viewed as generous. |
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Post by lauradrumm on Mar 19, 2019 22:13:08 GMT
We’ve been blinded for so long. Buying the bullshit the 1% and corporations have paid our politicians to spout! Voting against our own best interests!
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Post by hop2 on Mar 20, 2019 0:34:00 GMT
We’ve been blinded for so long. Buying the bullshit the 1% and corporations have paid our politicians to spout! Voting against our own best interests! People here who get decent benefits, retirement, & decent PTO are called entitled leeches and are said to be milking the system. Even though they pay for those benefits in every paycheck If you don’t believe me ask a teacher |
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
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Post by sassyangel on Mar 20, 2019 1:40:40 GMT
I had an interesting conversation with a local in Prague and asked where he'd learned his excellent English. His dream growing up was to move to America where his uncle lived and he did in his early 20s. He had his own business, home and cars and felt he's hit the American dream jackpot until on a visit home saw that the only thing he had that they didn't was he had a bigger truck. They worked far fewer days/week and traveled more. He moved back to Czechia and started his own business. Microsoft is another company that has brought dentists and doctors onto their campuses. It isn't primarily to add value/convenience for their employees' lives. People were going for those services off campus, taking an afternoon or morning off, and putting them on campus means you are only out of your office for an hour. We are watching all of our Canadian friends retire between 55 and 60. None of our American friends are considering this because of healthcare. I think of all the jobs that could be freed up. What is really tough is that my DH works a very physical job. He is a big, strong guy, but there is no way he will be able to do his job at 65 years old. He might not be able at 60. I will have to continue to work (even though the vast majority of retirement earnings are due to my work) to provide health insurance for us. ETA: I expect he will pick up a job to bring some income in. But I assume it won't be near what he makes now. Mine does too. He's a flooring installer, and he's 50 and already having issues with backs and things. Its really hard on the back and especially knees and feet cause you are sitting on them a lot, lifting heavy boxes of tile, and rolls of carpet. Tradesmans jobs like this also don't seem to be as respected or well paid in this state, although he makes good money (for where we live). But I know he'd be making MUCH better money if he was working in Sydney, and would be able to retire or scale back much earlier too. Good tradesmen are worth their weight in gold there. Not so much here. |
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scrappinghappy
Pearl Clutcher
“I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say “Hello.” Goodbye. I’m late...."
Posts: 4,306
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Post by scrappinghappy on Mar 20, 2019 3:20:56 GMT
I agree totally with her. There is absolutely no work life balance here in the USA and the competition is intense. When we moved here my husband came from an internship with 6 weeks vacation a year ( and if you were sick you stayed home - no days were counted against you) to a full fledged job with 21 days and 3 sick days!! and heaven help you if you were ever sick. As he progressed up the ladder, he was required to be available on evenings and weekends. He is an actuary. What work does an actuary do that can't wait till the next day or Monday?!?! Well, if a client needs you, you need to be available. Unfortunately the culture here will never change even with companies like FB and Google who do strive for a more balanced life. And then there is Amazon - the exact opposite from what I understand. Hahaha Google and FB may *say* the right things about work/life balance but the reality is pretty different. They just get paid a lot and have lots of perks so they can have other people do the daily life stuff for them. My son works for Google and my soon to be SIL works for FB. They do get paid a lot but both of them started with more days off then dh has accumulated after 25 yrs working for the same company. There are lots of perks from doing your laundry, barbers, dentists, massage therapists and fabulous restaurants all on site but that said, it is frowned upon to work more that 8 hours a day, your SO is encouraged to come for lunch on occasion and unless you are on an active urgent project, you do not work weekends. FB has good maternity leave policies and is one of the few US companies that also gives paternity leave. |
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Post by busy on Mar 20, 2019 3:40:43 GMT
Hahaha Google and FB may *say* the right things about work/life balance but the reality is pretty different. They just get paid a lot and have lots of perks so they can have other people do the daily life stuff for them. My son works for Google and my soon to be SIL works for FB. They do get paid a lot but both of them started with more days off then dh has accumulated after 25 yrs working for the same company. There are lots of perks from doing your laundry, barbers, dentists, massage therapists and fabulous restaurants all on site but that said, it is frowned upon to work more that 8 hours a day, your SO is encouraged to come for lunch on occasion and unless you are on an active urgent project, you do not work weekends. FB has good maternity leave policies and is one of the few US companies that also gives paternity leave. And the people I know at FB make a ton, have a ton of leave, and a ton of perks... and they never take vacation. They are constantly on the job, and though they have leave, they can't really take it. Maybe it's different in various departments or at different levels, but my one of my closest friends there has been there over seven years, and just a couple months ago took his first vacation since working there. And he worked at least some every day he was away. He's still never taken his "refresh" because it's just not practical. That's the norm in his department. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The people I know at Google past or present don't talk about the same difficulties using leave, but they all work way more than 40 hrs/week. |
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scrappinghappy
Pearl Clutcher
“I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say “Hello.” Goodbye. I’m late...."
Posts: 4,306
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Post by scrappinghappy on Mar 20, 2019 3:54:14 GMT
My son works for Google and my soon to be SIL works for FB. They do get paid a lot but both of them started with more days off then dh has accumulated after 25 yrs working for the same company. There are lots of perks from doing your laundry, barbers, dentists, massage therapists and fabulous restaurants all on site but that said, it is frowned upon to work more that 8 hours a day, your SO is encouraged to come for lunch on occasion and unless you are on an active urgent project, you do not work weekends. FB has good maternity leave policies and is one of the few US companies that also gives paternity leave. And the people I know at FB make a ton, have a ton of leave, and a ton of perks... and they never take vacation. They are constantly on the job, and though they have leave, they can't really take it. Maybe it's different in various departments or at different levels, but my one of my closest friends there has been there over seven years, and just a couple months ago took his first vacation since working there. And he worked at least some every day he was away. He's still never taken his "refresh" because it's just not practical. That's the norm in his department. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The people I know at Google past or present don't talk about the same difficulties using leave, but they all work way more than 40 hrs/week. Wow, neither of them has that experience at all. SIL and DD just spent 3 weeks in Japan and go away for a long weekend almost every month, we just met them in FL and SIL didn't even bring a computer with. DS has definitely used his leave and does work more than 40 hrs some weeks but the last time he did, his manager asked him why, lol? |
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Post by katlaw on Mar 20, 2019 5:11:25 GMT
We are watching all of our Canadian friends retire between 55 and 60. None of our American friends are considering this because of healthcare. I think of all the jobs that could be freed up. I will retire at 57, DH will be 60. It is sad that some Americans do not want better benefits like earlier retirement, healthcare, maternity leave, paternity leave and better vacation leave. I really do not believe I pay that much more in taxes for all of the benefits. |
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Post by Really Red on Mar 20, 2019 11:29:23 GMT
Learning more about other countries is ruining America for me. This just made me snort! |
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pyccku
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,817
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Post by pyccku on Mar 20, 2019 12:16:25 GMT
This is the downside of American exceptionalism. We have this idea that we are the best, and anyone who says otherwise is unAmerican.
There are other countries out there who do things differently - and some of them do things better than we do. If we were smart, rather than attacking anyone who dares to say this, we would look into what they are doing and see if we can adopt some of those things here.
Instead, we attack the messenger and attack the other country, or we say "oh, well we can't do that because we're too big/too freedomy...it only works in tiny countries without so many people!" Or even better, we say "oh, we couldn't possibly learn anything from that successful European country's socialist-leaning policy, because VENEZUELA!"
I've traveled in many countries and in each one I've seen something worth admiring. And I've also seen something that makes me think "hmmm, I wonder why they don't...." Work/life balance in many other countries is better than in the US. Healthcare in many other countries is better than in the US. The educational system in many other countries is better than in the US. So why not find out what makes it better and see which of those things can be adopted by our system to make ours better?
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Deleted
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Apr 26, 2024 18:56:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 13:34:38 GMT
Our French friends did everything they could to stay here. In France they couldn’t afford a home, nor the same quality schooling.
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Deleted
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Apr 26, 2024 18:56:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2019 18:58:40 GMT
We are watching all of our Canadian friends retire between 55 and 60. None of our American friends are considering this because of healthcare. I think of all the jobs that could be freed up. I will retire at 57, DH will be 60. It is sad that some Americans do not want better benefits like earlier retirement, healthcare, maternity leave, paternity leave and better vacation leave. I really do not believe I pay that much more in taxes for all of the benefits. Everyone wants those things. Of course they do. Who in their right mind wouldn't? The actual disagreement is in how to achieve that. Disagreeing with how that's acheived doesn't mean they don't want it. |
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