Seeing as a a fair few of my readers are Brits or have lived there, I'd better be make sure I get this post very right!
Work ethic
Brits tend to work long hours compared to many other nationalities. Long commutes are also very common, which means that during the week you will not find them home much. With globalisation into play it means they have to be available to overlap with office hours in Asia as well as the US in many cases. Most Brits won't complain if asked to put in extra hours for conference calls etc. With the current job market, people feel even less in a position to turn own a long commute or working hours. You also see this ethic reflected in shop opening hours, supermarkets are open 24/7 and in the bigger towns and cities all shops are open on Sundays.
Language skills
Most Brits have had some German or French in school, but in general their language skills are restricted to English and English. It is not their fault as they are never exposed to other languages in the media. It is a great opportunity for foreign workers to work for British companies in positions where language skills are required. If you are a Brit who is fluent in another language - well done!
Stiff upper lip / politeness
The biggest thing I probably have struggled with is a combination of stiff upper lip and politeness. Call it what you will, this means that very few tense situations at work (or home) are really dealt with early on and worked out completely. "The office" and many other programmes are a great example of how that can lead to dissatisfaction and office gossip, let alone burnout. A great example was a former manager of mine who behind his back would do an outstanding impersonation of his manager. Needless to say it wasn't a very nice one...Perhaps a solution like the Japanese would be in order? They tend get drunk with their boss after work and tell them exactly what they think. By the next morning everything is forgotten again.
To be fair, there are many plus sides as well to being polite in business. Most people like working with Brits for this reason. If you want to make certain that they really agree with what you are suggesting, ask very open questions and ask them what they suggest you should do. They are also good at being politically savvy, which in larger organisations is a skill worth having.
Class society?
This is a tricky one, it is not as obvious as apparently it once was (being in my late thirties I think I missed the hay day of the class society). However, there definitely still is a divide. Being from a very egalitarian society myself, the idea of private health care and private schools abhors me. At the same time, if you are faced with having to wait for three months for treatment of a medical condition, or for instance having to send your child to a very poor school, this all of a sudden becomes a matter of practicality.
This is a country where you really can build up a nice career based on your skills, education, willingness to work and political savvy.
A very famous Brit is Alan Sugar. Very proud of his working class roots and still using a London accent, he has been a Sir and is now a Lord. Perhaps being working, middle and upper class is not mutually exclusive, but I still have not come to grips with the whole thing.
What industries are Brits good at?
Undoubtedly it is all about services nowadays, not manufacturing. Even though there are still a few good manufacturers around, most of the economy revolves around IT, finance, telecoms etc. This is especially the case in the South East, where I live. Retail also has its place, with many on-line and high street labels that are big abroad too. If the government can stimulate kids to study the right type of courses, hopefully we can have a future that involves people educated to the right level, with a broad general knowledge base as well as specialist knowledge in the sectors that grow the most.
Bad work ethic???
Last week there was an upheaval in the news that employers now prefer to hire foreign workers as opposed to Brits. Apparently they have a better work ethic. I think that is not entirely fair and is a funny reversal as in the past immigrants were often described as lazy and workshy.
I think it is fair to say that many people who move country, leaving behind family and loved ones, to get work will be highly motivated and do a good job for you. At the same time, many Brits are great workers too. What is amazing is that there seem to be plenty of people - especially youngsters - who have not grown up in an environment that encourages a good work ethic. I personally know someone who has just been fired (again) for consistently being late at work. He is in his early twenties and has been largely unemployed for the last few years. A very nice young man, he has not had much education, no idea of what employers want or what he wants himself in the long run. There are some people who think that they can make as much on benefits now as they would in work. That probably is true in the short term, in the long term it is not.
Anyway, I think it is important to note that a. this problem is entirely fixable, b. not a cultural thing to do with being British but just caused by circumstance and c. only applied to a small group.
The vast majority of Brits are good workers, good employers and good business people.
Work ethic
Brits tend to work long hours compared to many other nationalities. Long commutes are also very common, which means that during the week you will not find them home much. With globalisation into play it means they have to be available to overlap with office hours in Asia as well as the US in many cases. Most Brits won't complain if asked to put in extra hours for conference calls etc. With the current job market, people feel even less in a position to turn own a long commute or working hours. You also see this ethic reflected in shop opening hours, supermarkets are open 24/7 and in the bigger towns and cities all shops are open on Sundays.
Language skills
Most Brits have had some German or French in school, but in general their language skills are restricted to English and English. It is not their fault as they are never exposed to other languages in the media. It is a great opportunity for foreign workers to work for British companies in positions where language skills are required. If you are a Brit who is fluent in another language - well done!
Stiff upper lip / politeness
The biggest thing I probably have struggled with is a combination of stiff upper lip and politeness. Call it what you will, this means that very few tense situations at work (or home) are really dealt with early on and worked out completely. "The office" and many other programmes are a great example of how that can lead to dissatisfaction and office gossip, let alone burnout. A great example was a former manager of mine who behind his back would do an outstanding impersonation of his manager. Needless to say it wasn't a very nice one...Perhaps a solution like the Japanese would be in order? They tend get drunk with their boss after work and tell them exactly what they think. By the next morning everything is forgotten again.
To be fair, there are many plus sides as well to being polite in business. Most people like working with Brits for this reason. If you want to make certain that they really agree with what you are suggesting, ask very open questions and ask them what they suggest you should do. They are also good at being politically savvy, which in larger organisations is a skill worth having.
Class society?
This is a tricky one, it is not as obvious as apparently it once was (being in my late thirties I think I missed the hay day of the class society). However, there definitely still is a divide. Being from a very egalitarian society myself, the idea of private health care and private schools abhors me. At the same time, if you are faced with having to wait for three months for treatment of a medical condition, or for instance having to send your child to a very poor school, this all of a sudden becomes a matter of practicality.
This is a country where you really can build up a nice career based on your skills, education, willingness to work and political savvy.
A very famous Brit is Alan Sugar. Very proud of his working class roots and still using a London accent, he has been a Sir and is now a Lord. Perhaps being working, middle and upper class is not mutually exclusive, but I still have not come to grips with the whole thing.
What industries are Brits good at?
Undoubtedly it is all about services nowadays, not manufacturing. Even though there are still a few good manufacturers around, most of the economy revolves around IT, finance, telecoms etc. This is especially the case in the South East, where I live. Retail also has its place, with many on-line and high street labels that are big abroad too. If the government can stimulate kids to study the right type of courses, hopefully we can have a future that involves people educated to the right level, with a broad general knowledge base as well as specialist knowledge in the sectors that grow the most.
Bad work ethic???
Last week there was an upheaval in the news that employers now prefer to hire foreign workers as opposed to Brits. Apparently they have a better work ethic. I think that is not entirely fair and is a funny reversal as in the past immigrants were often described as lazy and workshy.
I think it is fair to say that many people who move country, leaving behind family and loved ones, to get work will be highly motivated and do a good job for you. At the same time, many Brits are great workers too. What is amazing is that there seem to be plenty of people - especially youngsters - who have not grown up in an environment that encourages a good work ethic. I personally know someone who has just been fired (again) for consistently being late at work. He is in his early twenties and has been largely unemployed for the last few years. A very nice young man, he has not had much education, no idea of what employers want or what he wants himself in the long run. There are some people who think that they can make as much on benefits now as they would in work. That probably is true in the short term, in the long term it is not.
Anyway, I think it is important to note that a. this problem is entirely fixable, b. not a cultural thing to do with being British but just caused by circumstance and c. only applied to a small group.
The vast majority of Brits are good workers, good employers and good business people.
