What could be hard about moving to the United States to work? We have similar setups in the office, so it can’t be all that different. But then the first performance review or networking event arrives and the tone changes completely.
Most of these changes are so subtle that they’re relatively easy to miss. That’s what makes them so hard for many Canadians moving to the United States to get used to.
Here are eight cultural adjustments Canadians have to make when working in the U.S. Which of these would shock you the most about being in America?
Clear goal-setting
You might be surprised to learn about how much many American companies rely on measurable performance targets. They require clear deadlines that affect how companies write their objectives and how employees try to achieve their goals.
Honestly, it has a far greater effect on workplace culture than a lot of people, especially Canadians, actually realize.
Corporate planning tends to involve stretch goals and five-year projections that we’re not always as familiar with. It’s expected that employees will commit specific numbers and timelines in their writing.
Self-promotion
The majority of American offices expect you to say exactly what you accomplished, without feeling awkward about it. This is down to the fact that American workplaces value direct communication and individual achievement language over subtleties.
But as Canadians, we tend to be used to softer phrasing. We’re not as familiar with open discussions of metrics and personal contributions with associated numbers. Trying to understand that you have to promote yourself, instead of trying to make your successes not a big deal, isn’t exactly easy for us.
Aggressive career mobility
It’s completely normal to switch jobs every few years in the United States, especially early on in your career. In fact, the median tenure for workers aged 25–34 is around 2.7 years. That can take some getting used to for some Canadians.
We tend to be used to dealing with longer-tenure norms, meaning that a lot of us have to rethink the idea of loyalty when we move down south. It’s not the same as it is over here.
Stronger corporate hierarchy
Titles are a bit more important in American companies than they are in Canada, and organizational charts are far more explicit over there. Decision authority tends to follow reporting lines relatively closely. It’s something that you can see in cultural briefings in the United States.
Top-down structures are far more common in America than our more consensus-driven style in Canada, meaning that it’s common to see formal titles in email signatures and the like.
More Working Hours
Americans generally work longer hours than Canadians, too, especially since there’s no federal law requiring paid vacation like there is here in Canada. Workers in the private sector receive a mere 10 paid vacation days after they’ve worked for one year at a company.
It’s hard for many Canadians to adjust to that because our federal rules give us at least two weeks after one year. Such a difference completely changes how we schedule our time off.
Intense networking
Networking is one of the most important working skills to learn in the United States because it is seen as a structured skill. Yes, it’s relatively normal to prepare an elevator pitch for many professional settings.
Events move from introductions to concrete follow-up far quicker than many Canadians realize, particularly since we’re used to more gradual rapport-building. That doesn’t exactly fly over there.
Regional micro-cultures
While you might be working in the United States, you have to narrow that down to the specific area because working in America doesn’t feel the same everywhere. Communication pace and decision styles can vary from region to region.
A meeting in New York can be totally unique compared to one in Texas or the Midwest. That surprises some Canadians expecting a single U.S. workplace style because we’re generally not used to such stark differences in the workplace over geography.
Differences in humor
Canadian communication styles are understated. Things are usually more direct in America, and dry sarcasm doesn’t always come across the same way over there that people might expect in Canada. New colleagues in the States really have to get used to that.
It’s unfortunate that some Canadians have to learn the hard way that it’s better to be clearer in high-stakes meetings. You should save the subtle humour for teams you’re more familiar with.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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