Outside of Technical Skills, what's Valued in the Workplace?

When I compare the values that were viewed as important in my work experience in the United States versus those valued in Brussels, there is not a stark difference but definitely a few subtleties. My experience working in the United States seemed to have a much more community driven focus and the majority of my coworkers in the office seemed to share the characteristic. My internship in Brussels seemed to value those that valued Europe and the betterment of society on a macro scale as my coworkers were from a wide range of countries and were not permanently located within Brussels. I believe both of these values are important but think that each organization could embrace the other’s tendencies to a certain degree.

Being conscious of personal impact upon the environment was certainly a value that was sought after and encouraged at Bruegel. My coworkers truly cared about the impact they had on the environment and I was even tasked with a project to help the organization become carbon neutral. Although I was not working on this long enough before the pandemic struck to see the process begin, my organization was fully prepared to hire a consultancy to aid us in evaluating our emissions, reducing them and then to provide us with avenues to purchase carbon offsets to make up for activities that are essential to operations such as travel.

I feel that workplaces in Brussels value emotional honesty and people are much more transparent about their current state. I would often observe people being completely open about things troubling them in life. Having coworkers that are receptive and genuinely care about you is very advantageous as it made me feel more motivated to complete my work with a group of people that I could trust. This degree of openness is not found commonly in the United States and I feel that transparency is substituted for presenting a constant façade of always being “fine”.

Another personal characteristic that I felt was highly coveted in my office was curiosity. While this is certainly true in the United States, my office was full of economists that wondered about the world and uncovering why it is the way it is. Having an active and curious mind and being up to date on general affairs and world events was always appreciated and encouraged and made for stimulating discussions over lunch. In the United States I would often find myself talking to my coworkers about repetitive things such sports that have little impact on the outcome of the public in the grand scheme of things. This was also likely due to my younger age at the time and the because I was talking to interns of similar age.

A big similarity that I saw between work life in Brussels and in the United States was valuing being a self-starter. Having a manager or supervisor that constantly needs to instruct his or her employees can be extremely time consuming and can waste potential. In Brussels I would often receive open-ended assignments and then be left to complete them without distinct instruction being provided. Trusting a colleague’s ability to delve into work without crippling supervision is vastly valued and is something I will remember going forward.