The work is arguably one of the most important aspects of the lives of human beings. Yet, it may differ, person to person, and more importantly, it may vary across various cultures. The culture may determine, one's work etiquette, behavior norms and even schedule of the work.
In this essay, I argue, that American culture is distinctly more focused on working around the clock while European culture is known for its relatively relaxed attitude towards the work. By using broad terms such as American and European culture, I intend to use these two terms in a very wide context. By doing so, I will use the general data supported by different sources and my own experience.
In fact, American work etiquette is somewhat different from, roughly European. The celebration of the Labor Day in the first place rather than of May 1st is well symbolizing its importance. Also, the reason behind of honoring Labor day over May 1st lies in the fact, that the former is linked with the honoring the work as such, while the latter is associated with less work and more pay. This aspect itself is interesting when one discusses the particularity of work culture in the US (Rayman).
Moreover, a significant amount of Americans does not take vacations that could be a sign of a particular attitude towards work. In 2011, out of 323 million of Americans, only 30% held the passport. This data tells us that Americans don’t want to go overseas and/or they are satisfied with the surrounding countries, where the passport is not required for them. The latter assumption is quite a correct one, since 50% of the trips of Americans accounted to Mexico and Canada (Avon).
Natalie Avon named several reasons explaining Americans’ infrequent vacations overseas. Firstly, cultural and geographical diversity. Indeed, there is no doubt, that the US has everything in its soil, including mountains, deserts, oceans and lakes. Secondly, skepticism and ignorance- by having all kinds of facilities and activities, together with a variety of urban and rural destinations, Americans tend to have some sort of ignorance when it comes to travel and discovery of different cultures. As, they assume that by going to China town in New York or in any other cities’ of the US, they may have some understanding and perhaps, the impression of experiencing the Chinese culture. Besides, the negative coverage of the news of different countries’ outside of the US often distorts the reality behind the news and discourages Americans to take a long trip overseas. Thirdly, work culture, which hinders Americans to take a year off after graduation of the university. This tendency can be explained by the student loans of young Americans, which burdens them, once they graduate the University (Avon). Whereas in Europe, based on my experience, students tend to take time off for leisure, since the studying process is often linked with a certain level of stress. Moreover, it is even encouraged by the society to take a long vacation when one starts a new stage in her/his life. Traveler is a new value, something that is being increasingly praised by millennials and that in my opinion is slowly replacing consumerist/materialistic values so characteristic of American culture and even one of the strongholds of Americanism, I would add.
Conclusion
Overall, I think that the work is part of the American values, since an individual without a work, sadly is deemed to be deeply unsuccessful in the US. Certainly, work is important in Europe too, yet, Europeans value leisure more than Americans do. This aspect could be partly explained by more paid vacations in Europe than in the US and due to higher social pressure in the US (Weinberg). In addition, the problem of students’ loans youngsters is facing once they step an independent life in America, is less an issue in Europe.
Works cited
Rayman, Noah. “Here’s Why We Celebrate Labor Day”. U.S. Civil Rights. 2014. Web. Accessed 18 June 2016 at <http://time.com/3222093/labor-day-school-white-history-monday-september/>
Avon, Natalie. “Why Americans don’t Travel Abroad”. 2011. Web. Accessed 18 June 2016 at <http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/02/04/americans.travel.domestically/>
Weinberg, Jonathan. “How Europeans Travel more than Americans?” 2014. Web. Accessed 18 June 2016 at <https://www.quora.com/How-do-Europeans-travel-more-than-Americans>
