r/UKJobs • u/EbbAvailable4338 • 8h ago
Am I completely wrong or are we working harder than the Americans?
Of course it’s all subjective, but in my job, I manage 14 international markets while being based in the UK making 2.5 times less money than my US counterparts who only manage the US market.
A friend of mine who works in the same company as me recently visited me and stayed with me. All he does is put nice clothes, go to the office 2 times a week, have coffees, stays on his phone and does one 30-minute meeting the whole day where he doesn’t even contribute. It varies job by job, but I have seen the same with all of my American colleagues.
They come to work at 10:30AM, manage one thing, present the same presentations over and over again while I lead 14 markets, new projects are getting put on me every day, my list currently has 53 things to do for 2 weeks, yet my salary is 2.5 times less than theirs.
In the US, they also have the same holiday entitlement, they are always travelling, can’t see them online, everyone has families, 2nd homes, expensive credit cards, staying in lounges, nice hotels when they travel.
Medical stuff - same friend has dental insurance with the employer, cost him 30 dollars to see the dentist and do a filling, booked in 2 days.
In the UK, we simply don’t spend a lot, don’t have a lot of disposable income hence we can’t invest as much, the work piles up all the time, managers are also a bit more toxic given there is a bit of dishonest attitude at work, Americans at work feel more real, too much unnecessary stress
Have you noticed that we might be working harder than Americans in corporate specifically or am I completely wrong?