British Work Colleagues

Has anyone noticed a difference between the way British and American people work? I work in an office. I never really noticed it before, but now I'm finding that the British seem to make things so difficult for themselves. Things are sometimes done a bit backwards and it's really annoying me lately. I can't be specific without going into detail about my job, but it seems that the norm is to touch on a piece of work, then if it can't be finished right away, it gets put away and a reminder is set for someone to look at it again next week. As for me, I would normally hold onto it until I can get it done, I was always taught that you take ownership for your work and complete it yourself. Today I was told that was wrong and I had to learn to work another way. What difference does it make HOW I work, as long as it gets done before any deadlines??

I don't know, maybe it's just me. Does anyone else have problems like this at work?

I don't think this is a British thing.  If I am working on something here in the US, and something comes up which is more urgent, I put the first thing aside. So it's possible that I might start working on something and not finish it till a week later, because it's not due for a week, but other things that came up afterwards are due earlier. And if I am very busy, and there is someone else who can do something that I was supposed to do, I would delegate that work to the other person.

If I were to stay at one project from start to finish, ignoring all the other projects or requests that come  up till Project #1 was done,  and not delegating any work to anyone else, I would be criticized for not being able to prioritize my work. Perhaps that is why you are being criticized, for performing tasks in the order that they are given to you, when you should be performing them in order of urgency. It's possible that even though you are meeting deadlines now, they are concerned that as things get more busy, you won't be able to meet all the deadlines unless you change your method.  I know that at my job, it would be impossible to meet all the deadlines without multitasking and delegating. Or perhaps they would like to shorten the deadlines, so that more work can be accomplished in less time.

Also, you complained about the fact that if a project can't be finished right away, it gets put aside and something else gets worked on.  Well, if it can't be finished right away, shouldn't you be doing something else? For example, suppose you needed someone to email you a piece of information in order to fill out a form.  You wouldn't just sit at your desk waiting for the email to come through, would you?  You'd work on another project and at the same time check your email at regular intervals, right? 

Taking ownership of your work does not mean you have to actually perform every little detail of that work.  I am responsible for making sure that certain tasks get done.  I delegate the details to people that I trust will do a good job handling them. If you create a situation where nobody but you can do your work, then you can never be promoted because there is no one to replace you.

It's not that the British are doing it 'wrong'.
Every company has their own policies and their own way of doing things.

Now that you mention it Regina, I think I've experienced something similar, but didn't really notice it at the time. Someone starts on something, and as sweetpeach said, sets it aside to do something more urgent. I would naturally want to go back to the thing I set aside as soon as I can,  but some people just forget about it (because they don't want to do it and hope someone else will? Because they feel other tasks are more of a priority? who knows) and move on to other things. 

Perhaps you're working with people who are set in their ways, and who think that if it's not done "their way" it's not going to be done properly.

It's not that the British are doing it 'wrong'.

Oddly, I've read Regina's post twice and can't find where she claims the British are doing it wrong... 

Now that you mention it Regina, I think I've experienced something similar, but didn't really notice it at the time. Someone starts on something, and as sweetpeach said, sets it aside to do something more urgent. I would naturally want to go back to the thing I set aside as soon as I can, but some people just forget about it (because they don't want to do it and hope someone else will? Because they feel other tasks are more of a priority? who knows) and move on to other things.

Perhaps you're working with people who are set in their ways, and who think that if it's not done "their way" it's not going to be done properly.

And neither of you ever experienced anything like this in the US?  Because I sure did.

People are people - really, they are.

The British education system for a long time was a "shame based" system.  Corporal punishment, ending schooling at a young age if you don't pass a certain test, etc....  Sure enough, just like in the U.S. the education system reflects on the workforce.

This means that having things finished correctly is much more important than the american point of view of "getting it done".  Please note that I'm not saying one way of doing things is better than the other.  Frequently, this means that people check and re-check their work, and consult with others A LOT to make sure that the task is completed the "Proper" way.  In contrast, people from the U.S. rely much more on themselves to get things done.

It shows up in other business practices here as well.  In the UK, if you open a business and fail at it...that's it.  Few people would be willing to give you any more funding.  In the U.S. if you fail at a business, it's seen as a learning experience, and you might be MORE likely to get funding etc.

In summary, you're right.  There are differences in the British way of conducting business.  Probably the best way of handling it is acknowledging that the difference exists, and doing your best to incorporate the strengths of their way of conducting business with you're own strengths.

Oddly, I've read Regina's post twice and can't find where she claims the British are doing it wrong... 

Erm, the first two sentences of her post:

Has anyone noticed a difference between the way British and American people work? I work in an office. I never really noticed it before, but now I'm finding that the British seem to make things so difficult for themselves

Erm, the first two sentences of her post:

Oh sorry, I didn't realise that "different" was a synonym for "wrong"! 

This means that having things finished correctly is much more important than the american point of view of "getting it done".  Please note that I'm not saying one way of doing things is better than the other.  Frequently, this means that people check and re-check their work, and consult with others A LOT to make sure that the task is completed the "Proper" way.  In contrast, people from the U.S. rely much more on themselves to get things done.

I can't help feeling that you're making a few sweeping cultural generalisations here. I'm British - I've only had three different jobs - all in the public sector, non- profit making. From talking to friends and family there are huge variations in how things are done in different workplaces- just as  I imagine there'd be huge variations in businesses in the States.

I can't help feeling that you're making a few sweeping cultural generalisations here. I'm British - I've only had three different jobs - all in the public sector, non- profit making. From talking to friends and family there are huge variations in how things are done in different workplaces- just as  I imagine there'd be huge variations in businesses in the States.

I am in agreement with Peedal and HME; you can't generalize conditions at one job and say "This is how British people do it."

On a more general note, it is annoying when someone encounters a situation with which they are not familiar, and then they post about the difference between the "British way" and the "American way." Just because you come from America and are used to doing something one way, that way is not the "American way." It is the way you are used to doing things. If you were to travel from one end of the US to the other, you would not find every American doing things the same way you do them.  By the same token, if someone who happens to be British does something a certain way, it's not the "British way." It's the way that person happens to do things.

If you, an American, do something one way, and you find a British person doing something another way, it's not because you are American and he is British. It's because you are different people.

I don't think of my fiance as British, with a British personality, whatever that is. I think of him as a person, with a unique personality that makes him, him.

Mrs. Green, regina said the British "seem to make things difficult for themselves," which to me is a criticism of the "British way" of doing things. (Sorry, that was the 3rd sentence of her post. My mistake.)

Now getting back to the job situation, speaking from a management perspective, it seems to me that it probably isn't a case of management being set in their ways, but people observing regina and believing that she could be more efficient if she did things a different way.  At a job, your goal should not be to just "meet deadlines." Your goal is be as efficient as possible. If you have a 3PM deadline and you finish the job at 2:55, that does not necessarily mean you are being as efficient as you could be.

This does not mean that regina's supervisor is right; it's possible that regina's method is the most efficient for her. However, it is up to regina to prove that her way is better. She could do that by submitting regular logs of all the projects she is working on, or has completed, having regular meetings with a supervisor to review how much she is accomplishing, etc.

I have noticed differences in the way of working here than in the states, definately!!!  Though, I would admit that I think I had really excellent luck in the US and really bad luck here in the UK, so I am not sure if it is a cultural thing...

I too work in the public sector and always have...the companies I worked for in the states were all very efficient, forward thinking organisations at the cutting edge.  here, I have largely worked for the NHS or local government (in my current job I am employed by both, for my sins). 

I have never, in my life, witnessed so much bureaucracy!  In my current role, I feel at times I am in some bizarre Monty Python sketch where I attend meetings about meetings.  I have one meeting I attend on a quarterly basis that is about filling out risk assessments for staff who work in offices--there are at least 15 per staff member that have to be continually updated--about things like using the kettle and walking up the stairs.  And then when something really important comes up, no one has time to do anything about it because they are so busy with paperwork!  My boss told me today he wouldn't be able  to sign off on a bid worth £10million that is due next week because he is busy filling in next years business plan which is due in April...some definate efficiency problems here!

Now I know not every local authority is like this in the UK, but I can safely cross 3 off the list of places I would be willing to work.

I agree that people need to be careful about sweeping generalities. Yes, they can be wrong. But they can also be right. I can't count the number of times I've heard that British businesses both private and public, do things differently.

But I also worked for some really poorly run organizations in the US.

My personal experience is at Universities in the UK and I've found that they will do almost anything not to take on board new ideas or changes - especially if the ideas come from Americans.

Sorry, but I've seen it happen too many times. 

And I don't care what people say. The UK govt is obsessed with health and safety.

The one thing that I noticed that was different during my stint back in '96, was how every day, somebody would decide it was time for a cup of tea and then ask everybody else if they wanted a cuppa too.  Then, said person would return 10-15 minutes later with a tray filled with drinks for everybody!   There was even a chart that said how each person in the department took their tea or coffee (white w/ one sugar, black w/ two sugars, etc.) 

I really liked that !

I too work in the public sector and always have...the companies I worked for in the states were all very efficient, forward thinking organisations at the cutting edge.  here, I have largely worked for the NHS or local government (in my current job I am employed by both, for my sins). 

I have never, in my life, witnessed so much bureaucracy! 

I have worked in the public sector in the US, as have other people that I know, and the organizations we worked for were neither efficient nor forward thinking. As much useless bureaucracy as you could probably imagine.  That is why I now work in the private sector. Once again, it is not US vs. UK, it is the individual organization.

And there are departments/companies in the US where entirely too much time is spent  thinking about coffee. It has to do with how those departments/companies are managed.

As a matter of fact, my British fiance's British non-profit company is going through a big change in management style right now since his former supervisor left the company. 

Thanks for the comments, and apologies for the generalities. To be honest I was letting off steam, I kind of regret posting that now! Now that I think about it, it was simply the way it was handled - the girl who told me I had to work a different way was recently promoted and ever since then has been really full of herself. It's "her way or no way." And she's not even my manager or supervisor. That didn't help matters any. I guess it's just that after 20 years of working and never having a problem EVER...to have someone tell me I need to do things her way just didn't sit well with me. I've never been told that before. Oh well. Guess I'll just grin and bear it.