Work ethics in Poland vs US

23 May 2009 / #61

a degree or skills don't guarantee a job here either. it helps but that's it.

True, luck and/or entrepreneurialship (among other things) can be at least as equally important. But i'm talking about the poles described by the 1st two posters of this thread. They clearly don't have these 2 traits nor do they have any skills/education and are forced to work in packaging/assembly (and complain).

kitty_the_kat - | 30

14 Jul 2009 / #62

Is it true, that in USA employee has only 10 days of paid leave ? If so, how do you cope with that?

10 days if you're lucky. The US is one of the only developed countries that doesn't mandate paid vacations or holidays. And according to a study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that a full 25% of Americans don't get any paid vacations or holidays whatsoever. I know I certainly don't get any paid days-off. =P And quite frankly, I find your 26 unimaginable. ;)

cepr.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1184&Itemid=8

OP krysia 23 | 3058

14 Jul 2009 / #63

My first few years at a federal job I got a whole week off in a year! Woohoo.
Few years later I got 2 weeks.
It depends who you work for, I also had sick leave but some jobs don't offer that. And when a baby is born you can get up to 6 weeks off, where in Poland you can have a year of maternity leave.

beckski 12 | 1609

14 Jul 2009 / #64

It depends who you work for

I also work for the government. Yearly I get 13 paid holidays, plus sick & vacation pay, along with overtime pay up the yang yang!

mbiernat 3 | 107

14 Jul 2009 / #65

You can not get rich working that hard in the States as people are. Its stupid to work that hard I think unless your family is starving.

Poles are very hard working its just that they generally live a more balanced life.

Seanus 15 | 19666

14 Jul 2009 / #66

Sometimes you are only as hard working as your company contracts you to be. Hard working, under a more modernistic interpretation, often involves working 2 or 3 jobs. It depends on the nature and the needs of the company. In Japan, it tends to be that you will climb the ladder in a more progressive fashion and not jump around as Westerners tend to. We switch careers much more than they do. So, the cultural dimension counts in a huge way.

If I could make a salient point, it's that Poles (in the main) have to work harder as they have Western prices but generally lower salaries. Americans can afford nest eggs but many here can't.