Workplace Values: Where's the Difference?

It can be hard to avoid being stereotypical when talking about differences between the United States and Europe when it comes to workplace values. Most people would think that Europeans tend to be a bit more relaxed and find more time for their personal lives, while some Americans only focus on work. I know that this can look bad on behalf of the United States, since people may be overly stressed about their work instead of looking more at the bigger picture.

On the other hand, my parents know a doctor from Amsterdam who moved to Boston for work. While the medical system in Boston is known to be exceptional, he moved here because he thought that people were not focusing enough on work in Europe. In 2011, the Netherlands was ranked the third best country for work-life balance in a report from the OECD. When I read this statistic, I thought it would be the perfect place to live and work, but the story of my family’s doctor friend says otherwise.

Based upon my work experience in both Belgium and the United States, I do not think that the goal of work is different between the two countries. I do believe that workplace values are different in each profession, which are the same in both countries.

For example, I am studying to be a high school history teacher. Because of this, I have been fortunate enough to work in many different education systems in Brussels, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. While there are crummy teachers in every school system, most educators care deeply about each of their students. Due to this immense want for their students to be successful, I think that educators find it difficult to have a healthy work-life balance. I have had this same issue myself when working in Title IV schools in the United States. While I am beyond grateful for the life that I have been given, it can be hard to focus on your own personal life when you have no idea whether or not your students will be able to eat dinner that night.

I came across the same problem when working for my internship in Brussels. How can I be okay with spending my money on food and drinks with my friends while some students in poor countries in Europe do not even have access to clean drinking water? While the NGO I worked for was mainly involved in promoting lifelong learning, there were some instances where I would come across stories that made it hard to continue on with my personal life that day.

I would assume that the same thing is true with some other professions, especially those who work with the disadvantaged in society. I am not sure the same thing could be said for those who do not work with these different members of society. For example, I think that maybe someone who works in business could find their work-life balance a bit less difficult. I am still not saying that this balance would be easy, but I do not think it would be as hard.

Overall, I do not think that there is much of a difference between workplace values in Brussels and the United States. As the political center of the European Union, people come to Brussels prepared to work. The same thing could be said with those in the United States who are busy chasing The American Dream. Based upon my own work experience across the United States and within Brussels, I would say that workplace values depend on the individual person and the profession that they are pursuing.