Work Culture in the US & UK

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Work Culture in the US & UK by Michelle Martinez Lingua e Cultura Inglese (L-1, L-15) Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism University of Macerata Emotions

Americans • In the U.S., it is culturally acceptable — even admirable — to show enthusiasm. When arguing for a point in a meeting, for example, it is quite appropriate to express your opinions enthusiastically. • When speaking with a potential employer at a networking event, it is appropriate to express your interest enthusiastically. In fact, in this particular situation, the employer might interpret your interest as real and genuine because of the enthusiasm you express. ! British • Brits are typically much more understated in their emotional expressiveness. • A great performance, for example, in the UK would typically be characterized as being “not bad.” Or when someone asks how you are doing, the typical answer is “ﬁne” (as opposed to “Great!” or “Good!” as it might be in the U.S.). • In general, people in the UK value moderation and self-control rather than emotional expressiveness. If you strike a really big deal or make a signiﬁcant achievement at work, people will typically celebrate or congratulate, but with a certain level of self-restraint. • They might very well be excited for a short time and celebrate with some light applause and congratulatory gestures; however, the level of outward, visible excitement would typically be far less than in the U.S. and last for a shorter time.

Source: https://hbr.org/2013/04/common-language-doesnt-equal-c Privacy

Americans • Americans love their small-talk and making loud and friendly conversation with absolute strangers. This translates to the business environment as well where minutes will be taken before the serious conversation to just chat and talk about the weather. The Brits view the Americans as overly friendly, which sometimes rubs people the wrong way, especially when they’re complete strangers. • Americans are much more open than Britons. Friends and even acquaintances discuss personal thoughts and opinions that might seem private or intrusive in the UK. Do not feel embarrassed if an American asks you a seemingly private or presumptuous question. He or she is most likely sincerely curious about your thoughts and feelings and is assuming you would like to share them. • You may learn more about your American friends than you wanted to know, or you may hear more childhood stories than you care to listen to. Americans will be interested in your experiences and background as well since your upbringing may differ greatly from theirs. In addition to more frequent discussion about their personal lives, there is often a greater display of photographs, posters and memorabilia in dorm rooms or ofﬁce spaces.

Source: http://xpatnation.com/american-vs-british-business-customs/, http://www.fulbright.org.uk/pre-departure/us-culture/cultural-differences Privacy

British • The people of the UK value their privacy highly. Although they may appear to be very open in public, the implicit message permeating the culture is ‘please do not interfere with my personal space’. Although the UK is multi-cultural, this privacy requirement forces many people to be rather wary of making new friends. • Brits often come off as cold, but this is not to be taken the wrong way and as unfriendly. If a foreigner really wants to adapt to British culture and make some valuable connections, they need to be patient and realise that creating such friendships may take longer than anticipated. The high value put on personal space is also visible in everyday life, as when people will avoid sitting next to someone else on a bus or apologise if they touch someone accidentally. • They would not usually invite new friends to their home. Visitors to the UK may ﬁnd this ‘friendship up to a point’ unusual. However, in time they will learn that in Britain friendship comes through sharing activities like going to the pub, playing golf or going to the gym.

Source: http://businessculture.org/northern-europe/uk-business-culture/, http://xpatnation.com/american-vs-british-business-customs/ Communication Style

Americans • An American executive is on a new work assignment in the U.K. One day, he overhears one of his British employees giving wrong information to a secretary about some proposals that are being sent out. The American goes up to the British worker and corrects him. “You have those contact names completely backwards,” he tells the employee. “The name on the Berlin package is for our contact in Frankfurt and the name on the Frankfurt package is for a ﬁrm in Berlin. If these proposals had gone out like this, it would have been a great embarrassment. You need to be a lot more careful in the future, do you understand?” • The American executive feels a need to let an employee know of his mistake so that it won’t be repeated in the future. The desire to debate issues directly and openly leads Americans to be seen by some cultures as aggressive and even rude. Coded speech and verbosity is often seen as time wasting and in time pressured corporate USA, that is a crime.

Source: http://www.workforce.com/2000/03/01/british-vs-american-communication-styles/ Communication Style

British • The British communication style is a curious mixture of direct communication when it comes to data, numbers and policy for example, yet on the other hand, any feedback, delegation to colleagues and general interaction is littered with indirect ‘suggestions’ and subtleties which often confuse others. Take for example the comment from a manager: “If you have time you may want to look into that…” Most people from countries like Germany, France the Netherlands or Scandinavian countries which practice direct communication styles, would not recognise this as an instruction for action. It takes time to learn to read between the lines and understand that the British manager really meant: “Please research that topic, as soon as you are able.” • Foreign business partners may ﬁnd that their UK counterparts may even be too polite. People in the UK do not normally criticise or openly complain in public; or even provide negative feedback, when asked for their honest opinion, irrespective of whether or not such comments are warranted. It is therefore essential to read between the lines and seek out the honest opinions of relevant parties.

Source: http://www.expatica.com/uk/employment/The-surprising-UK-business-culture_103526.html, http://www.jobsite.co.uk/worklife/british-working-culture-outsider- perspectives-17270/ Communication Style

• The British also value politeness and courtesy and, as a matter of course, will express a significant amount of respect when interacting in a business situation, either out of sincerity or simply because they are adhering to cultural norms. • “One of the biggest surprises for me was how much British people love to chat in the business environment. It takes a good deal of patience and at least five minutes before a Brit gets to the point in a business meeting and for some people, especially if you come from a nation that’s more ‘straight to the point’, it can feel like a waste of time. I personally took quite a liking to it – I think it helps to break down the barriers and ease into the conversation, especially if it’s a difficult one.” Olga is a PR executive with Harvard PR, London • The difference between the American and British styles is that an executive in the U.K. is unlikely to scold an individual so publicly. It is more common in Great Britain to speak to people privately if their work needs to be corrected. To be reprimanded publicly would be quite unusual and may affect workplace relations between the two individuals.

Americans • Americans aren’t shy talking up their accomplishments and selling themselves. They do it all the time — at job fairs, interviews, sales calls, performance evaluations, and when vying for prized internal assignments and positions. • Not everyone feels equally comfortable selling themselves — nor is everyone equally adept at doing it, but the overall point is that self-promotion is clearly a necessary and useful skill for getting ahead in the U.S. professional world. ! British • In the UK, on the other hand, overt self-promotion isn’t only uncommon; it’s essentially taboo. Most Brits are very uncomfortable with being praised in public and are quick to deflect and deflate such compliments with a witty counter. • They don’t promote themselves and their accomplishments to their British colleagues, and if they do, they’ll definitely suffer the consequences, most likely in the form of some serious “piss- taking” (mocking and ridicule). • In the UK, if you want to tell your boss what you have accomplished, describe it in a straightforward, non-exaggerated, fact-based manner. No embellishment and certainly no grandstanding.

Source: https://hbr.org/2013/04/common-language-doesnt-equal-c Hierarchy

Americans • American supervisors do encourage creativity and initiative over deference. In the more egalitarian and individualistic U.S., however, it is common for workers to have more control over their daily work. • A British worker asks his new American manager if he can have permission to leave work two hours early the following day as he has some personal errands to run. “Well, I wanted to make sure and get your permission,” says the Brit. “I am planning to stay later on another day to make up the time.” The American replies that he trusts the worker to get his projects done, so if the employee needs to leave early one day, then that is a decision he can make on his own. “You know what needs to be done,” answers the American. “As long as your work gets done, you can adjust your schedule as you see ﬁt.” • Americans have speciﬁed goals and are often expected to use their own discretion in completing their jobs.

Source: http://www.webberkerr.com/blog/2015/10/13/5-differences-between-us-and-uk-working-culture, http://www.iorworld.com/navigating-british-culture--how-the-british- conduct-business-pages-230.php, http://www.workforce.com/2000/03/01/british-vs-american-communication-styles/ Hierarchy

British • Britons perhaps feel a greater sense of hierarchy than their American counterparts. A 2011 Gallup wellbeing poll found that 57.1 percent of Americans felt that they had a collaborative relationship with their boss, compared to 42.1 percent of Britons. • Despite the strong British tradition of a sense of equality, they still pay attention to authority. For people coming from more "ﬂat" organisational cultures such as the Netherlands or Australia, the subtle differences in role and status might be confusing. Brits defer to seniority, perhaps more than to credentials. Even though communication between supervisors and subordinates tends to be informal, this shouldn't lead anyone to believe that there's no hierarchical differentiation. But the concept of "fairness" is instilled in British society, and supervisors will try to reach consensus rather than order staff around. • It is normal in the more hierarchical U.K. for workers to receive clear directions and approval from their superiors. The British take more direction from their superiors and are a bit more concerned with conforming to expectations on the job.

Americans • In America, it’s common to see a business executive at a little league baseball game or school play. Many American businesspeople are also engaged in church activities, volunteerism, and other community responsibilities. It’s not common in the U.S. for business people to have a bevvy after work and chat soccer transfer gossip. • Alcohol is a less integral part of the campus culture in the US than perhaps it is in the UK. The drinking age in the US is 21, so many university events are dry (no alcohol allowed). If a campus is known as a dry campus, this means there are no on-campus bars and that no alcohol is permitted on campus grounds ! British • In the U.K. come 5 o’clock the pubs are full with suits. In fact, its harder to get a drink on a weekday at 5 than a Friday night. Having a pint after work is a Britons favorite pastime and what gets most people through the day. • ‘Going to the pub’ is in fact, a big part of British culture. Often people who are new to the UK may find the – often excessive – British drinking culture surprising. They may well be horrified to hear tales of the drunken behaviour of senior staff members at last year’s office Christmas party for example! • However, UK visitors will not feel pressurised to participate. The British people simply use ‘going to the pub’ as an activity to build relationships and no one will be offended if people from other cultures prefer to abstain.

Source: http://xpatnation.com/american-vs-british-business-customs/, http://www.expatica.com/uk/employment/The-surprising-UK-business-culture_103526.html Work-Life Balance

Americans • Americans tend to believe that individuals control their circumstances by how much they work. This work ethic is reﬂected in American attitudes towards academics. Do not be surprised if you meet students who spend the vast majority of their free time studying in the library. • For many US companies you have to put in the long hours, cancel annual leave and work for no beneﬁts to show your dedication to your job and get ahead. Americans are afraid to take all of their entitled two-weeks of holiday. On average, Americans are allotted 16 days of paid leave, but according to Glassdoor, the average worker only takes half of what they are legally allowed. When asked why they do not take more time off, workers mainly cited a sense of fear that their work and/or professional relationships would suffer as a result. • Career is front and center for many Americans. While Americans are applauded for their work ethic, there is still the troubling fact that employees who exceed 40 hour work weeks do not receive overtime pay.

Source: http://xpatnation.com/american-vs-british-business-customs/, http://www.jobsite.co.uk/worklife/british-working-culture-outsider-perspectives-17270/ Work-Life Balance

• As Nick Hanauer explained in Politico, “In 1975, more than 65 percent of salaried American workers earned time-and-a-half pay for every hour worked over 40 hours a week… By 2013, just 11 percent of salaried workers qualiﬁed for overtime pay, according to a report published by the Economic Policy Institute. And so business owners like me have been able to make the other 89 percent of you work unlimited overtime hours for no additional pay at all.” British • Business culture may be changing in the United States, but there is still much more emphasis on devoting oneself to ones work and employers than in the U.K. • In the UK there is a greater emphasis on maintaining a healthy work-life balance and an understanding that a job is something that you do – not something that deﬁnes you. • Britons like to have a life outside of their work and enjoy other interests like a spot of tennis and a good old holiday in the sun. • In the U.K., full time workers are entitled to 28 days off per year (part time workers are also allowed 28 days off, but it is pro-rated). In the U.S., there is no federal minimum for vacation days. Humor

Americans Americans do not appreciate sarcastic humour, and they may not appreciate self- deprecating humour either. Whether it is about them or their country, Americans can have a hard time laughing at themselves. ! British • The English love their dry wit and repartee. In fact, off-the-cuff jokes are often how one interprets someone’s intelligence. Americans should be aware that loud and brash jokes are not appreciated and Brits lean to the more intellectual side of humor. • The English humour and use of understatement also takes time to understand. An off- hand comment like: “Oh yeah, don’t worry, the report only took me about two hours,” – when in reality it took about ﬁve days – may simply be a light hearted way to suggest the person was happy to complete the report despite the time it took. Only time will allow the listener to develop an ear for the subtleties that lie behind the British language. Business Attire

Americans In general the East coast is more formal, whereas the West coast is known to be casual and informal when it comes to business attire. Casual or dress-down Fridays are common throughout the States and high-end Italian fashion is not appreciated nor noticed. ! British In the U.K. when it comes to business dress codes, classical conservative attire is the norm for both men and women and dark colors such as black, dark blue and charcoal grey are predominant. Senior managers look to spend on quality materials and high-end fashion in the work place to distinguish themselves. So designer labels, bespoke suits, silk ties, and Italian shoes are common in the ofﬁce and a sign of afﬂuence and status.

Source: http://xpatnation.com/american-vs-british-business-customs/