Cultural observations on working in New York as a European
Friday, 4th December 2009
New York has always been my dream. I came here for a three-week vacation in August 2008 and completely fell in love with the city.
At that time I promised myself that I would come back for longer. And here I am, in New York City for 11 months, not as a tourist but as an intern for a language training company.
Working in a company is fantastic way to expand your vocabulary and to discover another culture.
The work culture in France and in the United States is completely different. I would say that the relations between people are less formal and more personal. I can give some examples that show the differences.:
Being called by your first name
This is actually something that I like a lot. Being called by my first name makes me feel more comfortable with the person I’m dealing with. In France I always felt that being called ‘Mrs’ at 22 years old is not really appropriate.
The lunch break
French people attach a lot of importance to the lunch break - it is usually 2 hours from 12.00pm to 2.00pm and most people go home to have a real meal – in the USA there is not a fixed time to take the lunch break and most people decide to order food and eat at work while continuing working.
Listening to music at work
The atmosphere in an office here is more relaxed than in France. I was really surprised that the music is on all day. The only job I had where we had the music on was a surf shop on the Atlantic coast on the beach. I feel that it creates a great atmosphere in the office and less pressure for the employees.
Getting paid twice a month
I was really surprised when I receive my first paycheck because it happened only 2 weeks after I started working here. I had no idea that in the USA you get paid every two weeks and not once a month.
In general doing an internship in a foreign country is a very interesting experience, but doing it in New York is not only good for the work experience but also for the cultural and the social aspects. I would definitely recommend it!
Tags: business, new york, language, tailor-made, united states, culture, french, english
Posted by Mathilde Brouillet 2009-12 under Experience Cultures,
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