Many people think that office life is the same across the world. But the way they operate in Canada & America couldn’t be more different from each other, whether due to laws or merely office norms.
Here are twelve workplace habits that Canadians follow more often than Americans. Which ones have you noticed before?
Union contracts
Canadians are much more likely to have a union helping with the basics of their job. It could be in terms of pay grids or seniority rules. Statistics show that Canada’s union coverage rate is over 20%.
But it’s closer to 10% in the United States. It changes people’s day-to-day expectations in the office, north of the border.
Annual working hours
General work hours are different as well. Research indicates that Canadians work around 1,680 to 1,690 hours every year, while American workers usually work well over 1,790.
There are naturally going to be people on both sides who work more & less than these figures show. But it seems that Canadians, overall, seem to work fewer hours over the year.
Vacation days
There’s also the fact that Canadians tend to take more vacation time than Americans do. Data shows that the average Canadian receives around 19 paid days & uses around 17 of these.
But American workers receive around 12.5 days. They only take about 11, meaning that Canadians deliberately take off more time from work than Americans do.
Remote work
The majority of Canadians also seem to be more willing to work from home than Americans are. Approximately 26% of core-age workers do so in Canada. But only 13% of workers do remote work in the United States.
These figures came from after the pandemic, too, so it seems that remote work continued to be popular in Canada. Most Americans went back to the office.
Public transit and commuting
How Canadian workers actually get to their jobs is different as well. They’re more likely to rely on public transit & walking, as well as biking, at around 18% of all Canadian commutes.
The figures for Americans doing the same kinds of commute are much lower. They’re under 10% because the majority of Americans go by car instead.
Working on days off
Canadian workers often treat their vacation time as actual time off, unlike many Americans. Around 66% of Canadians don’t plan to work at all during their vacations. Only 37% of American workers said the same.
A large number of people from America expect that they’ll put in around 30 minutes of work time a day during their vacations. They’re not as willing to relax, apparently.
Breaks during the day
Quite a few Canadians make quick breaks part of their work routine. They’re willing to step away & recharge for a few minutes at a higher rate than most Americans do.
People south of the border prefer to grind non-stop. They push through the day more often than Canadians do, and that means taking regular breaks feels slightly more Canadian.
Lunch break
What each country’s workers do during their breaks is different, too. Canadians usually sit down for a real break in the middle of the day, where they’ll scroll through social media or just relax with co-workers.
But Americans choose to keep working through their breaks. They’re unlikely to take a few minutes to breathe & reset.
Communication style
Studies on workplace culture show that most meetings in Canada tend to be slower & steadier than those in America. Canadians usually wait and then share their thoughts, rather than reacting instantly.
They’re more likely to listen patiently and prioritize a respectful sense of back-and-forth over “winning” the discussion.
Polite language
Plenty of Canadians will send friendly messages at work, regardless of the topic. Work-culture research shows that they’ll use phrases like “please” or “thanks,” sometimes overuse them, because it’s a regular part of communication here.
Yet Americans seem to be more willing to be direct. They often value such directness over trying to be polite or making things comfortable for everyone.
Response to work conflicts
The same can be said for how Canadians respond to conflict. Canadians tend to wait before responding to tension, and they’ll consider what they want to say.
That’s not to say that they don’t argue at all. But research seems to suggest that Canadians are more likely to slow down & eventually respond to conflict in the workplace than Americans are.
Work hours
The scheduled end time is more of a suggestion to Americans than to Canadians. Data indicates that Canadians will finish their work at the assigned scheduled time, even in places with flexible hours.
Yet Americans tend to work beyond their scheduled time. Canadians have a clear ending to their work time, but Americans will stretch things late into the evening before finishing.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.