I hope you are having a good week so far. I just finished my 5th day of work (woot woot), hopefully the first week of many :-)
I thought I'd take an opportunity to point out some key differences I've noticed in being a worker in the UK. Obviously some are specific to my company, but still a comparison to what I'm used to!
- Colleagues offer you tea and coffee constantly. Literally, I get offered a cuppa about 5 or 6 times a day.
- The tax forms are call P46 or P45 instead of the W-2. Still the same necessary evil, though.
- Background checks are called CRBs and I will be happy if I never have to fill another CRB form out again
- I get an hour for lunch. Literally 60 minutes. Not 20 minutes to inhale a sandwich at my desk whilst I continue to work. Not 30 minutes "in theory" but getting disapproving looks from colleagues when I try to use it.
In fact, co-workers will remind me when it's time to take lunch and won't let me skip! 60 minutes! Once this week I even walked home and did dishes on my lunch break. Brilliant! Okay I am seriously too excited about my lunch break, moving on...
- No health insurance issues with picking plans that will inevitably lead to headaches and financial doom
- Home care visits are called "calls" and work schedules are called "rotas." Cute
- You sign emails with "kind regards" Still sounds too formal to me
Anything else you expat workers have noticed?
I freaked out the first time a colleague signed an email to me with an x!
ReplyDeleteMy colleagues seem quite attached to "Best Regards" which I also find very formal. I'll use that or, "with thanks."
ReplyDeleteI also agree that people take their lunch time - lots of my colleagues go our for lunch, take a sandwich to the park, etc. They might eat at their desk, but only because they did errands at lunch or went to a yoga class. I go home 3-4 days a week which allows me to do some minor housework, sort the mail, watch E! News (!!) and relax. I seriously don't know how I could ever adjust to the US work day ever again!