I'm happy to introduce our first guest post, from Ellie Behling. I first came across her blog when Brazen Careerist syndicated her thought-provoking post about combining sexual health and financial education. I then poked around her site and found that she had worked in London, before moving to New York. I hope you find her observations as interesting as I did. ~Leslie
It's already been a year since I returned from working abroad. I've recently been in touch with Leslie Forman, author of a new blog about spending your quarter-life crisis abroad, and it got me thinking about how my first year at a job in the U.S. compares with the six months I spent in England. While it's been nice to be back in a place where the customs make sense, I'm a bit sad to be accustomed to some of them.
For instance, in America we do not value vacation as much as many European countries. I noticed that the English view themselves as workaholics like Americans--and it's certainly true--but they still know how to take a holiday. Sure, Americans take vacation (although not as much right now), but it is not as integral a part of our culture. I spent a lot of time defending Americans for their lack of passports (Europeans like to pick on us a lot for that). However, the truth is, after living in another country and returning here, I did find some Americans to be rather narrow-minded and unexposed to other countries (or other regions of their own country for that matter!). Sometimes it seems to me that Americans could use a vacation not just to get away from work, but to see past their own noses.
Also the work day is so much more airy in England. Pub lunch here, tea break there. In the U.S. I find myself barreling through each day, attached to an IV of coffee. Lunches are spent hunched over the computer. Many Americans do not know how to get a bit of fresh air. Again, this work ethic is something I felt proud of in England, but some days I wonder if it's quite unhealthy.
And on top of that, our workplace benefits are famously lacking compared to other countries. Maternity leave? Ha! Wouldn't it be nice to be in virtually any other country and enjoy months of paid maternity leave? You are lucky to get a few paid weeks in the U.S. and the Family Medical Leave Act only guarantees 12 unpaid weeks.
It's true I spent the whole six months working abroad complaining about the British. But the grass is always greener on the other side of the pond, isn't it?
The photo of Tower Bridge was taken in the fall of 2007.
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