Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes I got that from the second link you quoted. I commented that was an overgeneralization and then you disagreed.
Because it's not an overgeneralization it's being honest. Americans are much more willing to work more and get paid more vs getting paid less and having more time off. I'm taking it you never had a blue collar job and got paid hourly other then jobs you might have worked in high school or in college from your responses here because it's quite common for people to sign up on boards to want to work overtime at there job in the United States. It's time and a half pay and unless they are older or they have kids at home and got to leave work on time and rush home because of that Americans will general put another hour or two in to get the extra pay. I've worked more then one job where the managers had to come out and yell at everyone "go home no overtime".
And it's not because they're destitute either - it's often because they're saving for something or whatever. We have to clarify that or we'll have people saying that Americans only want overtime because otherwise they'd be starving or living out of their car.
Agreed. People on here will being think "Oh my God there really is slavery still in the US". If this clarification isn't made.
This is a legitimate cultural difference between the United States and Europe.
Ok. It's just something I don't understand, and not all cultural aspects are healthy. Obviously it's none of my business what Americans do and I don't make a habit of telling people how to live their lives. The idea of working silly long hours in exchange for money and very limited time off doesn't seem right to me. But again, if that's what Americans really prefer doing then that's okay. I'd probably burn myself out. I value my personal time a lot more.
Like I said though, I'm not here to bash Americans or the US (I haven't done that and typically refrain from doing so), just curious.
Ok. It's just something I don't understand, and not all cultural aspects are healthy. Obviously it's none of my business what Americans do and I don't make a habit of telling people how to live their lives. The idea of working silly long hours in exchange for money and very limited time off doesn't seem right to me. But again, if that's what Americans really prefer doing then that's okay. I'd probably burn myself out. I value my personal time a lot more.
Like I said though, I'm not here to bash Americans or the US (I haven't done that and typically refrain from doing so), just curious.
Your use of the term "silly long hours" is still derogatory and dismisses the idea of working a few more hours a week in exchange for (fill in the blank American style) as "silly" when the reality is that your goals and ideals differ - that's it. It isn't what you personally want - we get that. But like I said, your goals may be different.
We're not "working silly long hours in exchange for very limited time off." We're working longer hours in exchange for things that are important to us - we consider the extra pay to be worth the extra effort. Of course there are exceptions to every rule but generally speaking that's how the traditionally longer American work week developed and often continues to this day.
I shared the example of my daughter's husband. He and my daughter are in their early thirties. They want to buy a house this year - actually they want to buy a house with several acres. The more money they can save up for a down payment, the lower their payments will be. My SIL specifically looked for a job that offers overtime. He WANTS the overtime. He is disappointed if he doesn't get any overtime in a week, even though his compensation package is good. In fact, the guys on the team are competitive about who gets to work the overtime!
He works six days straight and is off three days in a row every rotation. Three days off in a row is nice - it feels like a long weekend several times a month.
Like I said, my husband works two weeks on and two weeks off but gets paid a good monthly salary. And actually he COULD work three weeks on and two weeks off but he doesn't want to - he enjoys having half the year off. But when he's working, he's working long hours.
As you can see, there are many variations of work schedules in the US. It's not like everyone is going into the office or the coal mines, punching a clock, and slaving away for 10 hours a day just to get a week of vacation a year. In fact, that would be a very unusual and undesirable work schedule in the US.
Working 6 days straight and overtime sounds like death warn out.
Well, you left out the most important part - three days off, every time, at the end of the six days.
Nope - he's doing great. Loves it. He loves the work and finds it very interesting - never a dull moment he says. I'm very proud of him. He's about to be promoted for the second time in about six months in fact. Mo money mo money mo money and that house and acreage is just out there waiting for he and his family. They're all excited about it.
My husband worked variations of that sort of schedule for years. Now he's working two weeks on and two weeks off. He MUCH prefers that over going to an office and working five days a week, which he tried and nearly went crazy. THAT was like a slow and painful death to him - and he wouldn't like it even if it was only 5 hours a day. I can promise you that. He'd much rather work hard for two weeks and be off for two weeks - every month.
Working 6 days straight and overtime sounds like death warmed up.
Very few people in the US work six days a week even working a lot overtime. People will put in 12 hour work days five days a week to work 20 hours overtime vs working 10 hours six days a week.
Ok. It's just something I don't understand, and not all cultural aspects are healthy.
Look if all your are going to do that night when you get off work is just chill at home why not just work another hour or two and get paid a lot extra to do so? If you have a bunch of plans okay but in reality if your just going to go home and do nothing why not stay and work to get paid more? Hardly anyone goes out every single night of the week or even most nights during the work week in the United States after your early twenties. So working some OT is not seen as something bad in the US at all it seems smart to most Americans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dunno
Obviously it's none of my business what Americans do and I don't make a habit of telling people how to live their lives. The idea of working silly long hours in exchange for money and very limited time off doesn't seem right to me.
Well you are telling us how to live our lives by stating things like "working silly long hours and very limited time off doesn't seem right to you".
Quote:
Originally Posted by dunno
But again, if that's what Americans really prefer doing then that's okay. I'd probably burn myself out. I value my personal time a lot more.
Cultural difference. Personally an 8 hour day seems really short to me unless I worked a job I didn't enjoy at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dunno
Like I said though, I'm not here to bash Americans or the US (I haven't done that and typically refrain from doing so), just curious.
Let's put it another way if you make $30 an hour and you work 70 hours a week getting time and half you will make $1,200 for your 40 hours and for the overtime you'll make $1,350 in overtime pay for $2,550 a week which if you did that throughout the year comes to $132,600 a year. You work a lot of overtime for a few years you can pay off your home, you can pay off your cars, you can save a lot of money and invest how you see fit, and at the end of the day you will be far ahead of your peers who work similar jobs and don't work any overtime. So there are perks to but it also has the obvious drawback of having less personal time.
American suburbia look segregated, they are too far from the city, you have to drive to get to everything, they also make socialization almost impossible, they are one of those places where i'd never live. It's an environement devoid of amenities, local shops and meeting places.
It's paradise, but for the most part only for close-minded republicans and conservatives
You are the second person to randomly bring up politics into this, what is your peoples obsession with politics? (second time i am asking) i find it strange.... Suburbs are usually split down the middle politically.
You are the second person to randomly bring up politics into this, what is your peoples obsession with politics? (second time i am asking) i find it strange.... Suburbs are usually split down the middle politically.
Why is it that Europeans always criticize American suburbia but rarely, if ever, have the same contempt towards suburbia in Canada and Australia; the only two other countries on this planet that have such an extensive suburban lifestyle?
That's a suburb of Melbourne. Looks an awful lot like an American suburb, doesn't it? Seems like to me, if a country is able to support it, people seem to prefer suburban living if it's practical. Even the Brits that move here like living in American suburbia. It's one of those things people love to hate until they try it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
