I know a lot of Americans socially, they are fine, they don’t do much that is weird. However working with them seems quite odd at times based on the few encounters I’ve had with American colleagues.

This guy for example has sent me a meeting request, and in the text of it he has referred to both me and himself in the third person. Rather odd thing to do given that no-one else is invited.

Even odder when his name is Kip.

in the text of it he has referred to both me and himself in the third person

Could that not just be auto generated from whatever scheduling/calendar app he’s using?

Thanks for reaching out.

We had an American boss once, he couldn’t get his head around going to the pub and having beer on a school night as being a normal thing – he thought he had a team of people with “issues” that needed some sort of “intervention” because they went for a drink after a long, hard day at work…

You touched base riiiight ?

Good, now go meet his family 😀

Legend thinks this thread is racist

We had an American boss once, he couldn’t get his head around going to the pub and having beer on a school night as being a normal thing – he thought he had a team of people with “issues” that needed some sort of “intervention” because they went for a drink after a long, hard day at work…

Very similar experience – seemed that going for ‘a beer’ meant just that to them, not a sesh

AA cards were not so discreetly handed to several of us later that week 😆

Lots of car break downs in the fleet?

I used to work in work in a hotel in Scotland that was popular with ‘Mercuns; mostly they were fine but didn’t get the humour unless is was really obvious.
What was interesting was their corporate conformity and the culture clash when the European division of a company and the American one were in at the same time. Sceptics all sticking to the agenda and not wanting to stray off, then the Europeans basically dickin around and wondering how early the could hit the bar.
One day I’m talking to this woman who says “I just wanna come see how y’all live” like I was on some kind of reservation living out a traditional Scottish life of tartan, porridge, Haggis and highland dancin…As opposed to T2 Diabetes, heart condition and mild alcoholism, just like the Americans…oh wait.

This guy for example has sent me a meeting request, and in the text of it he has referred to both me and himself in the third person. Rather odd thing to do given that no-one else is invited.

How can you be sure that his nationality was the reason for that?

but didn’t get the humour unless is was really obvious.

When my in-laws were last over from the states we showed them Father Ted and I’ve not seen two people laugh so hard at television!

One experience: a while back, they couldn’t deal with the sweary banter. The company in question was a mid western electronics component manufacturer, and they just really had a problem with “piss-taking” with “robust” language (mostly the girls in the office)

You can imagine the memos, the reaction to memos, the further memos…it was endless.

Very similar experience – seemed that going for ‘a beer’ meant just that to them, not a sesh

This (everything else about the ones I work with is relatively normal, they didn’t vote for Bush and support greater gun control laws).

“we’re going to the pub for a beer, want to come?”

*check calendar, make sure lift home is sorted, alert girlfriend I won’t be home in time for dinner*

“yup”

-an hour and 1 beer later

“right, see you tomorrow”

The ‘merecans I used to work with were like machines. They worked crazy hours, every day, and all seemed fully signed up to their corporate agenda, which was like some kind of cult.

Us lot just behaved as you’d expect. Lots of piss taking and generally dicking about, and out of the door dot on five. a lot of the time straight to the pub.

For all this, they never seemed to get any more than us done. In fact, given the hours they worked, considerably less.

Idiots!!

When i have only one beer with someone its usually becasue I don’t like them much.

I don’t know all 319 million of them of course, but the ones we do are pretty nuts.

We work with another IT outfit in Texas they’re the internal IT for this pretty big global business, the UK arm is pretty small so IT support is outsourced to us.

When they took over they reviewed the equipment in the UK and cried it was suboptimal, or perhaps unperfect or something like that – they’re not allowed it seems to use negative words so everything has to be spun into a positive – they were using [geek speak follows] 8 month old Intel Core i5 based PCs and laptops with 4GB of RAM – of normal office functions like writing e-mails or using spreadsheets this is perfect, over-kill really if you’ve got a eye on costs, but no this was all semi-amazing or some shit so they demanded we upgraded them all – Intel Core i7 based hardware with 16GB of RAM, we suspect they did this in case Beryl from accounts wants to play Call of Duty or edit 4k video or something.

Anyway we quoted to replace it all, but our quote was instupendous or something because stuff was waaay cheaper in the states – we explained import duty (to a multinational) would be due, keyboards wouldn’t be right and a few other little things like power supplies would be wrong – but they didn’t care – they shipped the lot over and got stung for it all.

They also scrapped a perfectly good Server because they insisted all data be held on their server in Texas, which didn’t really work so they bought another one, again sourced in the US and shipped here for us to install, again massive over-kill spec.

We estimate they spent about £20k-£30k refitting their new UK office with equipment for a negligible benefit, caused days and days of downtime and drama for their staff, but the real kicker was the server rack.

The old, perfectly good, pretty high-end server was a tower server – the one they shipped over was rack-mounted – we told them this, but as ever they muttered something about it being unmagnificent or something, shouted YeeeeHaw and sent a rack mounted server which spent a couple of weeks mounted on a couple of pallets working before they went a bit nutty with themselves for doing it.

So finally my Boss and I found ourselves copied into 2 months worth of round-robin e-mail about this rack – we tried to read it, but it was a lot of internal back-stabbing and company speak so we politely asked what they wanted from us and got no direct reply just e-mail after e-mail from the 20 or so internal guys on this e-mail so assumed it was all ‘FYI’ and ignored it.

Finally, 3 MONTHS later this e-mail circle-tug concluded and having finally learned their lesson about our funny 3 pin plugs and whatnot asked us to source a rack – which we did and quoted it –

“no way, that’s waaaaay to much”

The then spend 2 weeks e-mail various second-hand racks available on eBay, if only we wouldn’t mind driving 300 round miles to dismantle it, rebuild it and set everything up to save them £50 or so.

Anyway, they’re pretty much the dictionary definition of reasoned thinking compared the Japanese firm we work for.

seemed fully signed up to their corporate agenda, which was like some kind of cult.

+1 this. Never seen people so excited about a company video presentation.

The company I work for has a bunch of guys who are a bit more like the UK in the week night drinking but, as binners said, they manage to do a lot less work a day and complain about how busy they are. I think it’s more important to seem as though you’re working than it is to actually get things done quickly.

10 – Member

The company I work for has a bunch of guys who are a bit more like the UK in the week night drinking but, as binners said, they manage to do a lot less work a day and complain about how busy they are. I think it’s more important to seem as though you’re working than it is to actually get things done quickly.

In fairness British Corporates can be the same way – the dept in RBS I worked in people would routinely work 7am to 7pm, and even “pop in at the weekend” and all that nonsense – but they worked at a snails pace and/or did SFA all day, it was all about being seen to be committed to the cause.

The worst thing was I saw person after person promoted for “showing the right competencies” as they called it.

I think it’s more important to seem as though you’re working than it is to actually get things done quickly.

Having spent a good whle working with them, thats exactly the conclusion I came too.

They definitely all fell into to the ‘lets have a meeting to discuss it’ camp, rather than us lot, who just got on with it, rather than talk about it. Then we could get to the pub 😀

Their work lives are insane. Properly insane- little holiday, long hours, many aren’t totally signed up to the concept of a weekend. It’s why we live here, not there.

aracer thinks that is a really weird thing to do. molgrips should be very wary of people like that.

The ‘merecans I used to work with were like machines. They worked crazy hours, every day, and all seemed fully signed up to their corporate agenda, which was like some kind of cult.

I’ve asked gherkins about their annual leave entitlements, which tend to be very slim by European standards (e.g. around 10 days a year!).

Some of the answers I got were astonishing. Many of them seemed to regard taking holidays as some kind of betrayal of the company.

Never seen people so excited about a company video presentation.

I worked (as a contractor) in a large Scottish office of an American-owned company.

They used to broadcast speeches from the executives over the PA system. Apparently the American offices stood in deferential silence then whooped and cheered at the end. In the Scottish office everyone pretty much just turned up their headphones and got on with work.

How can you be sure that his nationality was the reason for that?

I’m not, of course, but that seems to fit into the working culture I’ve observed. And the working cultures are generally quite different, as they are in most countries. Not really racist to observe that.

I’ve asked gherkins about their annual leave entitlements

I’ve had to work at my company for two years to gain more than 5 days annual leave. I’m fortunate though that I work from home a week or two a month, so I can get everything done and then cover email from out on my bike.

I worked with a team of Americans for a while. Whilst there’s always cultural differences, it’s difficult to generalise. We had a couple of guys who were mates from way back, enjoyed the same sort of ‘banter’ between each other that would be normal here; a Texan guy who was mad as a box of frogs; and a young lad who didn’t drink, smoke, swear or anything that could remotely be considered a vice, a situation we put paid to quite rapidly. (-:

They settled into UK pub culture quite easily, though I remember their initial reaction to our suggestion to go to a bar was “what, to get laid?” which if nothing else was optimistic of them.

I’ve asked gherkins about their annual leave entitlements, which tend to be very slim by European standards (e.g. around 10 days a year!).

I like to tell them about Scandinavian welfare and work entitlements, just to blow their minds.

In fairness British Corporates can be the same way – the dept in RBS I worked in people would routinely work 7am to 7pm, and even “pop in at the weekend” and all that nonsense – but they worked at a snails pace and/or did SFA all day, it was all about being seen to be committed to the cause.

This.
As a foreigner who’s worked for several large British corps, including the Scottish one mentioned above, some of the cultures exhibit most of the ‘American’ stuff referred to above.
See any of the threads on here regarding acceptable working hours/pay for large numbers of folk offering up long working hours for no extra money.

I think the difference is in attitude Vinny. If you’re doing all those hours, taking no hloidays, working weekends and signing up to a corporate mission statement, the Americans regard that as demonstrating admirable character traits that should be applauded

Over here everyone would just think you were a bit of a dick!

I think our way is healthier

🙂

what’s odd about Kip?
be aware that depending on your response, I may have to hunt you down armed with a set of mole grips.

Worked for an American company for 7 years, in New York for 3 and with Americans most of my career. They certainly have a different work culture and confidence is never in short supply. As for the email that’s just bad English.

Whilst there’s always cultural differences, it’s difficult to generalise

Of course. My father in law loves pointing out these differences and making fun, in both directions.

I’ve asked gherkins about their annual leave entitlements, which tend to be very slim by European standards (e.g. around 10 days a year!).

Yes, but the guys I’ve worked with have far more days – they just call them different things; vacation, family-days etc.

The ‘merecans I used to work with were like machines. They worked crazy hours, every day, and all seemed fully signed up to their corporate agenda, which was like some kind of cult.

Which is something many of us would do if we could be asked to leave this afternoon – with no notice. Also their pensions are often linked to the company they work for and have little/no ‘portability’; plus the (loss of) healthcare issues they could face.

My experience of the working in the US is that unless you are at the top of the pile, it’s 5hite.

loads here. ive still to meet one i like. strange bunch. one thing i noticed very quickly is that they do not feel the need to say thanks when you hold a door open for them, they dont even acknowledge that fact that you are being courteous. .. Yet they get fabulously offended when you let it slam in their face as i do now…!

My experience of the working in the US is that unless you are at the top of the pile, it’s 5hite.

Yeah… company I worked for, all the senior management, and a few privileged key staff were salaried, with an unbelievable salary and package of perks. All us drones (who actually did the work) were precisiely that. Freelance and contract. And left under no illusions that we were second class, if that, and essentially disposable.

Apparently thats pretty standard staffing practice for American corporates

what I found odd was that this was about the time of “breakfast is for wimps” Gordon Gecko…I was expecting ruthless go getting, kill their grannies for a deal, when in reality they were very straight laced god fearing, chino wearing, buttoned down collar shocked by the notion of girls swearing…kinda guys and gals

On a recent conference call a US colleague requested we “aggressively pull on some positive change levers”. ’nuff said.

Yes, but the guys I’ve worked with have far more days – they just call them different things; vacation, family-days etc.

According to the Bureau Of Labor Statistics, at one years service 75% of full-time workers in the US get between 5 and 14 paid vacation days a year, with a mean of 10 days.

After five years service 73% get between 10 and 19 days paid vacation with a mean of 14 days.

But even after five years service 9% of full-time employees get 9 days or less paid vacation a year!

Meanwhile in the UK we top the table of statutory minimum leave with 28 days a year.

There is no statutory minimum leave in the USA. It’s a strange place at times and their corporate culture is nuts. There are a lot of jobs that advertise for specific degrees that pretty much don’t exist in the UK. This means a lot of people have very narrow career fields without the potential to broaden or do other similar but related jobs.
Banter exists – you just have to look for it. I share a healthy stream of insults and sarcasm with a few other chaps and it’s all good.

The rest of them are moon-units with guns and they are to be avoided.

Very similar experience – seemed that going for ‘a beer’ meant just that to them, not a sesh

AA cards were not so discreetly handed to several of us later that week

US culture is based on a gigantic sense of entitlement and materialism, when they don’t attain their dreams they, on the whole, resort to either therapy or guns to solve their problems,

Us Brits just drink our problems under the table.