The World @ Work

When my wife and I embarked on our move from KC to London in late 2020, the Queen was still on the throne, Brexit had yet to be sorted and the pandemic was just getting started.?A lot has changed. As I prepare to repatriate, I thought I would share a few observations about how the world of work is different in the UK / EMEA region … and how it is the same.?

One of the first lessons I learned is that people are not that different.?We have fun pointing out our disparities, but the reality is that the majority of the West wants the same thing.?I ended up enrolling in a post graduate certificate program at the University of Sussex on the Psychology of Kindness and Wellbeing at Work. I learned there are universal elements that are expected at work, including the desire for meaning, the need to feel valued and the importance of relationships.?Thankfully, the post pandemic world seems to have embraced the ethos of workforce wellbeing, regardless of which side of?the pond you are on. And the way work is accomplished has become asynchronous and non-linear, with ubiquitous technologies creating standardization regardless of location.?In other words, work over here isn’t that different than work in the US.?I would say the biggest difference I noticed is how people in this region perceive the notion of work-life balance versus work-life integration.?

I vividly remember when my wife and I went to a small restaurant in South Kensington during the summer – it was a place we had been to previously and really enjoyed.??We were surprised to find a handwritten note taped to the window that read “closed for August – see you in September”.?I immediately thought “you can’t do that!” – but obviously they could.?While people in the UK and EMEA take their work seriously, they also take their holiday (vacation) time seriously.?In comparison, it feels like the American work ethic is more associated with consolidating our personal and professional lives, as we take less time off and are more apt to work non-standard hours.?While one is not better than the other, I am admittedly more familiar with the notion of incorporating household errands into the work day, while allowing for the evening to include an email or two.?

One particular aspect of life in this region that has the potential to give them an appreciable advantage over the US, is the way healthcare operates.?Unlike most Americans who get their medical benefits from their employer, most Europeans get theirs from the government. ?The reason this is problematic for US workers is that this model makes it difficult to embrace the new world of gig work and side hustles (as most US employers require at lease 30 hours a week before offering benefits).?Having experienced both NHS and private care here in the UK, I am certainly not advocating for the US to move to socialized medicine… I am simply pointing out the complexity of the US model if the next generation decides that constantly juggling multiple jobs is the new way to?work.??

At the end of the day, I have loved my experience working in the UK, and collaborating with colleagues across EMEA.?I will never forget the first time I took the tube to our office in Victoria, or the pleasure of a pint at the pub at the end of a busy day.?If the opportunity to work abroad presents itself, I highly recommend it.?I think you will find that your work can be enjoyable wherever you are. Cheers!?

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