Chinese v. American Work Ethic

April 15, 2011

 

       This week at work has been very busy! Next week is the summit so we are all working very hard to get everything ready. Working hard in school has definitely helped me prepare for work life. Sometimes I wonder, however, what the differences are between Chinese work ethic and American work ethic. I have observed a few things that I think are probably more characteristic of the East than the West.

       My host sister, Jessi, for instance, spends 90% or her waking hours studying. She wakes up around 6:30 in the morning and does not finish school until around 5:00. Then there is choir, English class, piano lessons, and Math Olympiads on different nights of the week. She has more homework than most US high school students have. When I asked her what she does in her free time, her reply was "study." Free time. So, it seems as if their entire concept of free time is very different from that of many kids in the US. Jessi was amazed when I told her that school-aged kids in America start school around 8:40 and get out of class by 3:00. We seem very lazy compared to our Chinese peers. (See this link to get a better comparison of Chinese and American students:http://www.foundationsofphysicalscience.org/Comparison%20of%20Education%20in%20China%20and%20America.pdf)

       Competition is fierce. I have heard of people lining up just to get their young children into academically rigorous pre-schools! Seeing the lines outside some schools, you may think someone in there knows where to get the iPad 2! Many parents do whatever it takes to get their children ahead. High expectations lead to high pressure for the kids. Many Chinese kids never have sleepovers or participate in team sports. These were the highlights of my childhood. But I can tell that this hard-working attitude has carried over into the Chinese workplace.

       Preparing for the conference, I have learned that many of my colleagues have been working crazy hours to get everything ready. As the student intern who receives a $10/day stipend, I leave around 6:00. My co-worker Claire stayed in the office until 4:00 in the morning! My boss did not even go home last night! I came in this morning and she asked me if she looked really bad. I said "of course not, why?" and she replied that she had been working until around 5am and just slept in the office. This is crazy. Now I am not saying that I wouldn't do this on special occasions in my job in America if there was a huge event coming up, but they seem to take it to the next level. Particularly scrupulous attention to detail is made. And this late-night work is very much a collective occurrence. I would say that well over half of my colleagues are working these crazy hours. Coming from an individualistic culture, I very much value my personal time and weigh it equally with my time in the office. I have decided that unless it is absolutely necessary, I don't want to be the kind of person who brings their work home with them. In China, however, this is expected.

       In any case, I still feel as if there is a lot we can learn from each other. I think that the best work environment is a balance between the Chinese and American extreme.

Chinese Word of the Day

Feng hui 峰会："summit", "conference"

Verse of the Day

John 3:11-12 "Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?"