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I personally hope there won't be a change in attitude. The work culture in America is toxic for the workers, requiring job hopping, long hours, and relatively l
by TheAdamAndChe 10y ago
I personally hope there won't be a change in attitude. The work culture in America is toxic for the workers, requiring job hopping, long hours, and relatively little gain. There's very little long-term stability, and no assurance that their jobs won't eventually be outsourced. Why would Germans want to adopt that culture? Why should they praise failure? Why should they change bureaucracy to favor the capital owners over the workers?
- chmln 10y ago> The work culture in America is toxic for the workers, requiring job hopping, long hours, and relatively little gain These are quite the sweeping claims you're making for all ~125 million american workers. There are so many factors to consider, yet you make such broad assumptions without a trace of evidence or logic to backup your narrow-minded claims.
- TheAdamAndChe 10y agoThe same could be said about the post above mine that summarized Germany's work culture. My post was a summation of the culture of an entire country. Of course there will be variation within an entire country. Also, please don't call my claims narrow-minded without giving me an opportunity to counter your arguments. I googled "america work culture." These are some of the links it sent me to: http://www.businessinsider.com/difference-swedish-american-work-culture-2017-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/difference-swedish-american-w... http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-usa-business-culture http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-usa-business-culture https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/03/americas-workers-stressed-out-overwhelmed-totally-exhausted/284615/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/03/america... All of the links above describe a culture where the employees feel underappreciated and overworked. This is during a time when inequality is growing to obscene levels, tons of good middle class jobs have been shipped overseas, and most new jobs are forming in only a handful of urban centers across the country. If you have any evidence to counter my broad interpretation of the US work culture, I would appreciate it.
- chmln 10y ago>http://www.businessinsider.com/difference-swedish-american-work-culture-2017-1 http://www.businessinsider.com/difference-swedish-american-w... >1. Practically everyone takes a summer vacation in Sweden >2. In Sweden, it's somewhat easier to be a working parent >3. Coffee breaks are serious business in Sweden 1,2 are consequences of semi-socialist policies. Also, coffee breaks? On the other hand, most Swedes will pay between 49 and 60 per cent through a combination of local government and state income tax. No thanks. Get back to me when software devs across industry start making six digits in europe. > http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-usa-business-culture http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-usa-business-culture > Discrimination in the Workplace What else should the federal govt do, apart from outlawing it? Force employers to hire based on gender, racial quotas? >There are fewer holidays and in some cases, American companies only allow two weeks a year for holidays. Christmas holidays are fewer with only December 25th being an official day and people do return to work on December 26th. Depends where you work. If you wash dishes for minimum wage, I wouldn't expect multi-week paid vacations. > https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/03/americas-workers-stressed-out-overwhelmed-totally-exhausted/284615/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/03/america... tldr > Why do so many people—particularly women—seem to have so much on their plates? That's what they wanted --- > All of the links above describe a culture where the employees feel underappreciated and overworked. If they're underappreciated, they can switch jobs. If they're overworked, its by choice or a consequence of bad decision making. Ultimately, there's much more personal freedom. And if some people fail to take advantage of that, its not the system's fault.
- TheAdamAndChe 10y agoNot everyone can just switch jobs, not everyone is in a career in demand like that. Also, the fact that you suggest that dish washers shouldn't get vacation is telling. The lower and middle classes need stability too, yet in America, you've either made it or you haven't. It's way too binary in my opinion. You act like there's no personal freedom in Germany, but with their paid vacation for _everyone_ and socialized healthcare, it seems to me like they have much more freedom than your typical American.
- kintamanimatt 10y agoThey're not suggesting Germans adopt an American-style work culture, but an American-style tolerance for risk and failure. I'm not sure failure should be praised, but it should be accepted without judgment, and entrepreneurs that haven't succeeded should be lauded for trying. Failure is a necessary part of success. It's cliché, but people really do fail their way to success. So why stigmatize it if it'll discourage entrepreneurs from trying a sufficient number of times in order to be successful?
- quanticle 10y agoThey're not suggesting Germans adopt an American-style work culture, but an American-style tolerance for risk and failure. I'm increasingly convinced that having the one automatically brings in the other. The hallmark of the American attitude is that you, and only you are responsible for your own success. This means that if you're not succeeding, it's because you're not working hard enough. It leads to a "rat race" culture, where everyone works harder to be labeled as a "go-getter", but all it ends up actually doing is raising the baseline expectation for how much work you're supposed to do.
- kintamanimatt 10y agoI'm not sure how tolerance for risk and failure breeds either a Calvinistic work ethic or rugged individualism. These things likely developed in tandem because of America's history, but I'd assert that one can exist without the other. I'd love to be shown why I'm wrong though, if that's the case.