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When I was in Europe people I spoke to thought it was strange that Americans even ask each other what they do for work. Work to live, not live to work.

thatguy0900 2y ago
That's weird to me. I have no personal emotional attachment or ego around my work, but I do it for 8 hours 5 days a week. It's the single thing I do the most besides sleep. Seems a very relevant question to ask to get to know someone.
- musicale 2y ago
  > It's the single thing I do the most besides sleep Best description of work I've heard recently. "Well, besides sleeping, I sometimes spend time in an office. The two activities are not necessarily mutually exclusive."
- josephg 2y ago
  It’s seen as rude here in Australia too. It’s not rude because of ego. It’s rude because of status. If you know someone’s job, you can make a good guess of how much money they make. If that’s the first question you ask someone when you meet them, the assumption is you might only be interested in talking to someone if they’re sufficiently rich or something. So here it’s polite to leave that question alone until you know them well enough. Obviously we put all of that aside at conferences and work events. But if you meet people outside of work, it’s uncomfortable to immediately ask about your job.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - bigfatkitten 2y ago
    > If you know someone’s job, you can make a good guess of how much money they make. Only in Canberra, where you'll probably meet public servants who will tell you they are an APS6 at the tax office. A "lawyer" for example could be a junior solicitor (or government lawyer) earning $60k a year, or they could be a top barrister billing $10k a day.
commiepatrol 2y ago
What's weird to me also is that some people ask you directly "how much you make?".
- Xelbair 2y ago
  seems weird, but i have no issues disclosing that. frankly it makes your position as employee more fair - if you are underpaid and there's a culture of sharing the salary - you can renegotiate.
ido 2y ago
I've lived in Austria and Germany for almost 20 years now and this is a pretty common question here.
ilynd 2y ago
Complete bullshit lol

thatguy0900 2y ago

That's weird to me. I have no personal emotional attachment or ego around my work, but I do it for 8 hours 5 days a week. It's the single thing I do the most besides sleep. Seems a very relevant question to ask to get to know someone.

musicale 2y ago
> It's the single thing I do the most besides sleep Best description of work I've heard recently. "Well, besides sleeping, I sometimes spend time in an office. The two activities are not necessarily mutually exclusive."
josephg 2y ago
It’s seen as rude here in Australia too. It’s not rude because of ego. It’s rude because of status. If you know someone’s job, you can make a good guess of how much money they make. If that’s the first question you ask someone when you meet them, the assumption is you might only be interested in talking to someone if they’re sufficiently rich or something. So here it’s polite to leave that question alone until you know them well enough. Obviously we put all of that aside at conferences and work events. But if you meet people outside of work, it’s uncomfortable to immediately ask about your job.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- bigfatkitten 2y ago
  > If you know someone’s job, you can make a good guess of how much money they make. Only in Canberra, where you'll probably meet public servants who will tell you they are an APS6 at the tax office. A "lawyer" for example could be a junior solicitor (or government lawyer) earning $60k a year, or they could be a top barrister billing $10k a day.

commiepatrol 2y ago

What's weird to me also is that some people ask you directly "how much you make?".

Xelbair 2y ago
seems weird, but i have no issues disclosing that. frankly it makes your position as employee more fair - if you are underpaid and there's a culture of sharing the salary - you can renegotiate.

ido 2y ago

I've lived in Austria and Germany for almost 20 years now and this is a pretty common question here.

ilynd 2y ago

Complete bullshit lol