The salon owner I’ve been telling you about says that she observes interesting differences in terms of work ethic among her American and Eastern European workers. Americans are, of course, more hard-working and driven (what else is new?) but she still prefers working with Eastern Europeans.
“Americans find it very hard to work within a hierarchy and accept that this is MY business, MY money, MY risk, and I’m the one who will have the final say,” she explains. “I’m tired of constantly battling them over every tiny little thing. We are a culture of people where everyone feels like a boss, and that’s tiresome.”
Eastern Europeans, on the other hand, don’t have this problem. They inscribe themselves well into hierarchies, which fully compensates for their more laid back approach to work.
I find these observations very interesting because I’m seeing the same thing at work. My American colleagues find it very hard to accept authority. This sometimes turns into a completely insane thing when a request – not even an order but a request – from an administrator about something of a very tiny import leads to a bloodbath with people getting fired, lawsuits being filed, heart attacks occurring.
Hey, Eastern Europeans, this is good news for us. We can still enjoy our relaxed approach to work yet beat the competition.
Clarissa's Blog 
Leave a comment