Is UK work ethic different from US work ethic?

RabbidKuriboh

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saw a couple guys mention it so i'll just say a tip is earned not assumed, if you do a good job you will get one if you don't you won't, simple as
 

Crazy Zaul

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Generally we don't really do work. Most people are on benefits.

And Tipping anyone other than a waiter is just plain wrong.
 

xorinite

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The numbers seem to speak for themselves.
The US mean work week is 42.X hours
the UK mean work week is 36.X hours.

Interesting aside when you then use the median wage for both nations, it turns out the US average worker gets paid less and works longer than the average UK worker. Of course I haven't scoured say world bank dev data for reliable figures on this, since ironically I can't be bothered to do the work. So take that with an blood pressure raising dose of salt.

(oh and before someone says GDP per capita, that isn't the same as wages, because GDP includes all forms of domestic product which don't all go into wages. Oh and furthermore even median wage/median hours wont give you the full picture since you would then have to calculate spending power as well)
 

Wadders

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Crazy Zaul said:
Generally we don't really do work. Most people are on benefits.
Bullshit.

Moving on, we (the UK) seem to have people who have a "live for the weekend type attitude" and don't really see their job as anything other than a means to get money for spending on stuff they need, like bills, and want, like beer.

Then there are others, who seem to live to work, and will take every second of overtime offered to them, god knows what drives them on.

Those are just 2 types of people I've come across, I think we have a mix of work ethics but overall most people work pretty hard to bring home the bacon. I'm not sure how all that compares to a US work ethic though. I'd just say less people live for their work perhaps, preferring to leave it at work and not bring it home.
 

Comando96

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It depends on what job people do.

If people are doing a job they do not like then our work ethic can be dreadful, but most of the time in many careers people want to, or prefer to be in, the work ethic is a lot better and probably on a comparable level to that of the US. Unless the US is like this in the same regard... because I can't imagine people giving a damn about some jobs which are just for the money unless tipping is involved.
 

Esotera

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My personal work ethic is that working very hard for a short period of time is going to be far more productive than the number of hours you put in. Quantity definitely isn't everything, especially if you're at risk of burnout. Then again, it doesn't always pan out this way for my work productivity...
 

Flames66

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MelasZepheos said:
I hold myself to my father's work ethic as well. Unfortunately, being only just starting on the laddr of work I don't have enough to keep me at work this long, but on the days when I do I'm in by 8 and leaving gone 7. Everyone that I see at my office is prepared to and does work simliar hours. I've worked in three offices and two labour intensive factories so far, and aside from one or two bad eggs I haven't seen anyone who isn't prepared to work like that.
I find it interesting that you call them "bad eggs". I would just call them people who don't want to work themselves to death all hours of the day. I expect there are reasons other than working hours.
 

Broady Brio

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I don't have a job. I'm from the UK. Perhaps this will sway your opinion for the better or worse.
 

TehCookie

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Wadders said:
Crazy Zaul said:
Generally we don't really do work. Most people are on benefits.
Bullshit.

Moving on, we (the UK) seem to have people who have a "live for the weekend type attitude" and don't really see their job as anything other than a means to get money for spending on stuff they need, like bills, and want, like beer.

Then there are others, who seem to live to work, and will take every second of overtime offered to them, god knows what drives them on.

Those are just 2 types of people I've come across, I think we have a mix of work ethics but overall most people work pretty hard to bring home the bacon. I'm not sure how all that compares to a US work ethic though. I'd just say less people live for their work perhaps, preferring to leave it at work and not bring it home.
It's the same in the us, but in order to buy the things we want but we have to work longer since I think we're paid less.
 

oddball250

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Aug 2, 2011
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Thats a thing i dont understand. if i go on holiday to a contry im never going to beable to return to why the hell should i tip
 

Kinguendo

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AnarchistFish said:
Matthew94 said:
Yeah, just look at their tipping culture.

In the UK: People give good service and a tip is a nice bonus
In the US: You have to give a tip and not doing so is used as an insult and you will probably get your food spit in if you return.
Errr, it's considered douchey not to give a tip.
Is it? I am british, I dont think its "douchey". If they provide a particularly fantastic service then yes, maybe. But being compulsary, thats ridiculous. It becomes meaningless and just another thing for companies to exploit, like companies who include the tip in your bill without telling you and then you tip ontop of that tip or companies that use tipping as a reason to pay their employees less. Do I want to be the reason for uncertainty between paycheques because you might not have enough tips this month? No, I want you to be paid a livable wage for doing the work that the company that employs you gets much more money out of and being paid the occassional tip on top of that if you work hard thus promoting hard work.
 

TehCookie

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oddball250 said:
Thats a thing i dont understand. if i go on holiday to a contry im never going to beable to return to why the hell should i tip
Because that's how people make their living over here. They're paid like $2 an hour and expect to make it up through tips. Yes it's shit, but don't take it out on the servers.
 

Flames66

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Kinguendo said:
AnarchistFish said:
Matthew94 said:
Yeah, just look at their tipping culture.

In the UK: People give good service and a tip is a nice bonus
In the US: You have to give a tip and not doing so is used as an insult and you will probably get your food spit in if you return.
Errr, it's considered douchey not to give a tip.
Is it? I am british, I dont think its "douchey". If they provide a particularly fantastic service then yes, maybe. But being compulsary, thats ridiculous. It becomes meaningless and just another thing for companies to exploit, like companies who include the tip in your bill without telling you and then you tip ontop of that tip or companies that use tipping as a reason to pay their employees less. Do I want to be the reason for uncertainty between paycheques because you might not have enough tips this month? No, I want you to be paid a livable wage for doing the work that the company that employs you gets much more money out of and being paid the occassional tip on top of that if you work hard thus promoting hard work.
I agree with this chap on the subject. I will only tip someone if they go above and beyond what they are already paid to do.
 

Wadderz

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A couple of years back I was working as a team leader in a big UK corporation, and my line manager was from the US so we spent quite a bit of time discussing the differences between how he found work in the US compared to how he found work in the UK. I got the impression that the major differences were political rather than personally motivated.

The UK has been predominantly a socialist country for some time, and has some moderately powerful trade unions within the large public funded sector. However, workers in the private sector are often unable to get the same level of union support, and really have no choice but to work hard and for long hours in order to keep themselves financially afloat. That's not to say all public sector workers don't have a good work ethic, only that - if they don't have a good work ethic - they're not as likely to get sacked for it. Thus there is usually a dichotomy in the work ethic of UK citizens.

It seems likely that there would be a much greater emphasis on the work ethic in the US, as the two big safety nets (either a large public sector or trade union influence) are comparatively small.
 

Lethos

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Wadderz said:
The UK has been predominantly a socialist country for some time
Que?

Playing a bit fast and lose with the term socialist there. We certainly have elements of socialism, but we're far from predominantly socialist. Especially compared to the rest of Europe.
 

LordFish

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May 29, 2012
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Flames66 said:
Kinguendo said:
AnarchistFish said:
Matthew94 said:
Yeah, just look at their tipping culture.

In the UK: People give good service and a tip is a nice bonus
In the US: You have to give a tip and not doing so is used as an insult and you will probably get your food spit in if you return.
Errr, it's considered douchey not to give a tip.
Is it? I am british, I dont think its "douchey". If they provide a particularly fantastic service then yes, maybe. But being compulsary, thats ridiculous. It becomes meaningless and just another thing for companies to exploit, like companies who include the tip in your bill without telling you and then you tip ontop of that tip or companies that use tipping as a reason to pay their employees less. Do I want to be the reason for uncertainty between paycheques because you might not have enough tips this month? No, I want you to be paid a livable wage for doing the work that the company that employs you gets much more money out of and being paid the occassional tip on top of that if you work hard thus promoting hard work.
I agree with this chap on the subject. I will only tip someone if they go above and beyond what they are already paid to do.
I'm just going to quote you all, a thread on tipping is a lot more interesting :D haha

I am of the English persuasion, and if the service isn't bad, I'll leave a small tip, just to say thanks, £1.50, something like that.

My sister was a waitress for a while, and she got paid £7 an hour (that's like what, $12 an hour?) So not at all bad pay, and in the weeks leading up to Christmas she was bringing in about £50 - £100 a night tips! wish I made that kinda money ;)