When I was employed in a training company, I worked for a French director. We were 2 Americans, 3 English and an Australian under his management. Let’s say that the expectations of the Anglo-Saxon team in terms of management didn’t really correspond to the reality of the situation. The cultural differences and misunderstandings finally created a very difficult situation. This company no longer exists today.
Of course, we can’t generalize this experience to all managers in France. Since then, I have also worked with many French professionals who are real professional partners, wonderful people and open minded (like you).
But if you work with Americans, knowing their culture will help you avoid misunderstandings, work better together and make your collaboration easier.
And that’s the subject of today’s video: Why it’s hard to work with Americans (… apart from the fact that they speak as if they had a potato in their mouth …)
Of course, it is not to tell you that you have to adapt to OUR way of working! It’s just to help you understand why your American colleague seems to be doing a bit like he’s craving for your projects.
AND YOU:
What is the most difficult aspect of working with Americans for you?
Share your story in the comments below. Or ask your questions about working with Americans. It’s a great opportunity to practice your English!
I promise you, you won’t offend me. It’s just a question of cultural difference 🙂
If you like my videos, the best way to support me is to share them with your colleagues!
Thanks a lot!
Have a great week in English,
Christina
The most difficult thing I find with working for Americans is that they state how they feel no matter how offensive it is. They say things to your face that are very rude and hurtful at times. They never seem to have a filter to what they say and they don’t say thank you and feel entitled to everything. They think their opinion is number one and don’t want to listen to others and respect other cultures. Its my way or the highway with them and if you do something that is logical they will disagree and claim nothing needs to be logical. I find they are really pushy and never ask whether you would like something but rather force it on you no matter how you feel about it. For instance you can be not into something but when they push the concept you have to agree with it and if you don’t they will claim you are terrible. They also don’t like kindness I noticed because they think that is evil and mean.
Hi Nora, I’m very sorry that this has been your experience working with Americans! There are definitely some people who fit the description you shared (I know several people like that…) but I hope that not ALL Americans have acted this way to you!
If they have, I would say that they are just not kind, mindful people in general. It’s probably not you, it’s probably that they have no empathy for others, which is a flaw in their character. That’s interesting that you say that Americans see kindness as evil and mean. I’m curious to understand more what you mean by this. I ask because I value kindness as an important character trait, and see its opposite–meanness–as more “evil.”
I recently had an unforunate experience working with Americans again. I was working with a peer who was a bulldozer she would not let me express my opinion and was very forceful. Very stuck in her ways did not want to hear other people from other culture’s opinion. My boss who was American was making fun of the fact that I was not emotional eating and that infruriated her and one time she lost it and asked me why i was not emotional eating on the job. She said she grabs candy all the time infront of people and that got her angry I wasn’t like Americans where I can eat on the job and infront of people even on the job.
Another thing that really was hard for me to work with Americans is that they are very territorial. They want to follow you to the bathrom, private places, and not give you space to breathe and they think by constantly speaking they are doing you are a favor rather than stressing you out.
I also had a hard time with Americans on the job because they try to force you to eat and ask you why you are not eating 24/7 like them.
I also could not express my opinion and they do not like it when you talk to men and women equally, women are supposedly more superior to men and need to be catered to all the time and taken care of when you are a woman like them. Americans like to gossip on the job and if you don’t gossip they ostracize you and think you are boring. They didn’t like it when I was doing my job and working they wanted me to waste tiem talking instead of working, brainstorming and planning which Amy did a lot everytime I was focused she interrupted me. She never had any legitimate question to ask and someimes it seemed a bit too loud and she would drink a lot of soda and the more she drank soda the louder she got and the more aggressive and that really scared me a lot on the job.
Wow, that is definitely an interesting experience in your office!
How are things going now? Did they get any better?
As for your bulldozer coworker, I can totally imagine this type of person. I’d say that, unfortunately, it is her personality. And I imagine that other coworkers have the same feeling as you about this person. The unfortunate truth is that we don’t always choose our coworkers, and we have to learn to adapt and do our best. This is why soft skills are so important!
As for your coworkers eating all the time, this is indeed a part of American lifestyle habits for many people. We are always eating, snacking, grazing, etc. It’s probably one reason why obesity is such a problem in the USA.
But please feel free to decline eating if you do not want to. You can simply say “No thanks, I’m not hungry.” or “No thanks, I just had something to eat.” Or “Thanks, maybe a bit later.” You definitely do not have to eat if you do not want to! And they may find it odd at first, but pretty soon, they’ll get used to your habits, I’m sure.
As for small talk, gossip, etc. it is true that small talk is a very important part of American culture. It’s how we make connections with people, reinforce relationships, etc. That being said, there are many Americans who hate small talk, try to avoid office gossip, and just want to come to work and do the job and go home. But these people may be perceived as cold, distant, snobby, etc. by the other members of the team, and this could have a negative impact on promotions and projects they are chosen for.
For better or for worse, socializing is a big part of many offices in the US. Not all offices, of course, as each company may have their own practices & culture. But it sounds like this is something that plays an important role in your company.
My suggestion for this would be to lightly participate in the small talk (but you can skip the gossip if you don’t enjoy talking about others!) so that they see that you are part of the team and you “play the game.”
That being said, you do not have to spend hours talking instead of working! Feel free to politely exit the conversation by saying something like “Well, it’s nice chatting, but I have something I need to finish.” or “I’d love to chat, but I have to get to work on some emails.” (or whatever you’re working on).
Please try some of these expressions and techniques, and let me know how it works for you!