Differences between life and work in the UK vs. U.S

By:

Van Neih Lian

Published:

Countries

Demographics

, ,

Majors

Regions

Van Neih Lian

<i>Home Institution</i>: Hope College <i>Expected Graduation Year</i>: 2024 <i>Academic Major / Minor</i>: Political Science <i>Destination</i>: London, UK <i>"Hello" in your host country's language</i>: Hello <i>Program Provider</i>: IES <i>Demographics</i>: Asian/Asian American, U.S. Immigrant, First-Generation American, First-Generation College Student <i>Future Career Goals</i>: My future career goal is to become an ambassador for the United States. <i>Top Three Study Abroad Goals</i>: My top three goals while studying abroad will be to experience the culture of London, learn about the government institutions, and conclude my internship in the parliament if given the opportunity.

I will be talking about three main differences between the work and life balance in the United States and the United Kingdom. However, there are similarities in work and life because of globalization and the ability for cultures to interact with one another. The three main differences between the United States and the United Kingdom regarding work and life balance are annual leave, office culture, and individualism and approaches.

Annual, paternity, and maternity leave are largely different in the United States and the United Kingdom. If my knowledge is correct, those who work in the United Kingdom have more than a month of paid vacation (leave), and it is not frowned upon, but employers encourage the employee to take paid leave. Additionally, paternity and maternity leave give employees around fourteen months to look after their children. However, in the United States, paid vacation/leave is scheduled throughout the year to put their work a priority. An employer would ask an employee not to take a paid holiday when the company is in a busy month or session. Paternity and Maternity are nonexistent because I believe maternity leave is around eight weeks, and paternity does not exist in company culture.

In a typical work environment, the company sets individuals’ goals and agendas individually because the company prefers a work environment that is unique to each individual. Salary and bonuses are given to the high-performance individual and valued by giving them promotions, while those who performed low and medium are only sometimes granted promotions. The office culture is all about getting work done, even if that requires one to stay late after office hours to produce a result. For example, an associate lawyer in a corporation will spend around sixteen hours a day producing desirable results from the company; however, in the U.K., employers value their employee time and energy and typically reward the department instead of one individual.

The mindset approach to work in the United States and the United Kingdom is vastly different. Individuals in the United States love competition within the workplace, where it is survival of the fittest or survival (promotion) of who outperforms other co-workers. Time is money is not just a slogan or slang but a way of life one lives to reach the peak of their career. However, in the United Kingdom, from my internship, people are not worried about outperforming their coworkers but value relationship and friendship. Time is not money but friendship and relationship in my internship.