Context: worked in a high-tech company, no longer a start-up, but still growing very well. In the US, almost everybody had left at 6.30, most people at 6.00 pm.

Context: worked in a high-tech company, no longer a start-up, but still growing very well. In the US, almost everybody had left at 6.30, most people at 6.00 pm. In France, as a white collar, you are expected to work until 7.30 pm minimum, often 8.00 pm, and I was. Still today, my friends in France say that when they try to leave at 6.00 pm for whatever reason, they get jokes like "you're taking half a day off today?" Start time was about 9.00 am on both sides. Lunch break was outside the office in France, at usually 45 minutes long. Usually a bit longer on Fridays, maybe 1:15/1:30 when no pressure. Shorter in the US, at my desk. Maybe just a company thing. The longer lunch with colleagues in France was much more efficient at fixing issues than the 20 minutes at my desk, since we talked shop a lot even though we relaxed. Bullshit work, unnecessary meetings was about the same both sides.