US work ethics & atmosphere !!

[christera22 8]

Hi all,

Ok now this may sound silly. But if you think at it deeply this may make sense. I am the USC and self employed and my husband is from india and we are married here and going to file for AOS. Now he searched all over and is not getting the right kind of job for himself , he is also told some horror stories by his friends who has come to usa that the US corporate / office atmosphere is very unfriendly & judgemental & very competitive. He is afraid how wd he manage , may be he wdnt understand the instructions, whther they wd take interest in training him. There in India the office atmosphere is very very friendly and they feel it like 2nd home. The boss , colleagues all mingle amongst each other and are like friends.

Me being selfemployed all over cdnt guide him properly neither does he believe my words. I wd love to hear from all people here who are working in offices in entry level or mid level jobs. Especially from some indians as they wd know what kind of office atmosphere you have there. He is t getalso in the horror of not getting any job and he is not ready to work in krogers / wallmart. He has seen some unfriendly attitude all over which he calls as disrespect & discrimination. May be he is know what tight. I dnt know what to say him. Otherwise he is quite proficient in english .... only that he says stuff in a different way and doesnt use any american terms. The recession and lac of jobs is making him question our future and whereas he shows me the Indian Job market is booming with opportunities.

All help wd be highly appreciated.

[christera22 8]

He is also in the horror of not getting any job and he is not ready to work in krogers / wallmart, as he according to Indian culture is used to work in offices and in certain criteria, that they choose to be. Working for shopping centres & groceries is somewhat against their ego. I dnt complain that as thats the way they have been brought up.

all help and advices wd be great .

[Old Dominion 26]

People from India quite often are very formal to the point of being off-putting. That can immediately turn off a human resource staff member very quickly.

Otherwise, what are his skills? I'm not sure there is a generic "office work" job in this country. There are either clerical people or specialists of some kind.

In this economy, it's going to be discouraging for quite awhile, unfortunately. The first to get the available jobs will be those who have been laid off from similar jobs at other employers. I know nothing of the Indian job market, except that a lot of work for American companies is now being done there.

[christera22 8]

well he is quite approachable and eager to learn. Very friendly and non-egoistic. He is junior graphic designer.

[vanee 13]

he is also told some horror stories by his friends who has come to usa that the US corporate / office atmosphere is very unfriendly & judgemental & very competitive. He is afraid how wd he manage , may be he wdnt understand the instructions, whther they wd take interest in training him. There in India the office atmosphere is very very friendly and they feel it like 2nd home. The boss , colleagues all mingle amongst each other and are like friends.

From my limited experience in the US, it depends on the company. The company that my husband works for has a family atmosphere, and people there are helpful. That's typical of my experience in Canada. IMO smaller companies or at least small offices are more likely to have this atmosphere.

It may also depend on the part of the country you're in. I've been told that in California (or parts of it), it's part of the work climate to be very competitive and driven, to the point that interpersonal work relationships have much lower priority. That's only hearsay, though. It was an explanation given to me about someone from California who didn't fit in very well in the Midwest.

He has seen some unfriendly attitude all over which he calls as disrespect & discrimination. May be he is know what tight. I dnt know what to say him. Otherwise he is quite proficient in english .... only that he says stuff in a different way and doesnt use any american terms. The recession and lac of jobs is making him question our future and whereas he shows me the Indian Job market is booming with opportunities.

People can be unfriendly everywhere. Something to keep in mind, though, are cultural differences in how people express friendliness and warmth. He may be experiencing unfriendliness, a different way of being friendly, or both. Also, if people have difficulty understanding his accent or how he expresses himself, they might withdraw because they aren't willing to make the effort to understand him.

I wish him good luck. Being a graphic designer, he could consider working for himself. There are numerous sites online where he can advertise his services. He wouldn't be limited to working for US clients either.

[TBoneTX 46,379]

USC writing, here... it depends on individual "corporate culture" and then on an individual department's atmosphere. Some workplaces can be formal & stuffy; others, relaxed & more casual. If he's concerned, he can often research such things on the Internet before applying for a position. Preliminary research is a good idea regardless, because you become more knowledgeable about a company's focus & goals, and you can favorably impress interviewers if you know more than do other applicants.

[trinket 30]

Hi all,

Ok now this may sound silly. But if you think at it deeply this may make sense. I am the USC and self employed and my husband is from india and we are married here and going to file for AOS. Now he searched all over and is not getting the right kind of job for himself , he is also told some horror stories by his friends who has come to usa that the US corporate / office atmosphere is very unfriendly & judgemental & very competitive. He is afraid how wd he manage , may be he wdnt understand the instructions, whther they wd take interest in training him. There in India the office atmosphere is very very friendly and they feel it like 2nd home. The boss , colleagues all mingle amongst each other and are like friends.

Me being selfemployed all over cdnt guide him properly neither does he believe my words. I wd love to hear from all people here who are working in offices in entry level or mid level jobs. Especially from some indians as they wd know what kind of office atmosphere you have there. He is t getalso in the horror of not getting any job and he is not ready to work in krogers / wallmart. He has seen some unfriendly attitude all over which he calls as disrespect & discrimination. May be he is know what tight. I dnt know what to say him. Otherwise he is quite proficient in english .... only that he says stuff in a different way and doesnt use any american terms. The recession and lac of jobs is making him question our future and whereas he shows me the Indian Job market is booming with opportunities.

All help wd be highly appreciated.

I disagree with the bold statement. The whole family friendly scenario depends upon which office you are working for.

With my first job in India it was cut throat competition, there was no friendliness within colleagues and all you cared about was who is bringing in the most sales, it was a telecoms company. My second job again a telecoms company was way easy, I would attend a maximum of 8 calls a day and people were friendly, you could have dozed off in the office.....it was that laid back.

I don't yet have any experience of American office culture, but hopefully I will have soon in a couple of months time. I can understand with your husband's concerns about not working for walmart or be a cashier, but for me it doesn't matter (OK I guess I don't want to work for McDonald's ) but I won't say no to any work if it comes my way. My goal for now is to start somewhere and then get up the ladder.

[christera22 8]

do they give value and take indian work experience into consideration ... ?? Thanks

[MrsAmera 41]

I think if he comes in thinking that there are numerous jobs "below" him he's going to be in for a rude awakening. Honestly he'll be lucky to just get a job with the unemployment numbers. Sorry to sound discouraging I just hope that you really discuss each other expectations. He may end up spending months on end looking for his perfect job, turning down or not even looking at other possibilities while your resentment grows because he's not bringing in any financial contributions to the family. Just something to think about...

ETA: about your last post - I work in HR for a large government contracting company and no work experience in other countries is rarely taken into consideration except in very technical positions. You need US work experience and US references. Sucks but it's true..

Edited January 30, 2009 by MrsAmera

[christera22 8]

Thanks MrsAmera foryour helpful imput. He is not trying to believe that "there are numerous jobs "below" him" . BUt is it really true that no foreign qualifications & experience is taken into consideration ? He has 5 yrs exp as Corporate comn. mngr & liaisoning .. so none of that wd be considered ??

[tom&tata 2]

I have Indian co-workers at work. Some of them are on work visa. Their positions are in procurement & accounting - not the entry level position but not dept head position either. I don't see them having problems at work. It depends on the company you work for I guess.

When it comes to value of experience - 1 company actually send out email to the people I mentioned in the reference & they actually checked with them, just like they do with applicant with US experience. I work in finance/accounting and I had around 9 years of experience when I applied for the position.

But in this economy, it is really hard to be so picky about jobs. If you don't have to rely on the 2nd income, then he might be able to wait around until he got the perfect job.

[jerseygirl01 0]

I think if he comes in thinking that there are numerous jobs "below" him he's going to be in for a rude awakening. Honestly he'll be lucky to just get a job with the unemployment numbers. Sorry to sound discouraging I just hope that you really discuss each other expectations. He may end up spending months on end looking for his perfect job, turning down or not even looking at other possibilities while your resentment grows because he's not bringing in any financial contributions to the family. Just something to think about...

ETA: about your last post - I work in HR for a large government contracting company and no work experience in other countries is rarely taken into consideration except in very technical positions. You need US work experience and US references. Sucks but it's true..

This is a harsh reality. When I first got here I told myself that I am not going to take any retail job but after submitting hundreds of applications and not get calls for interview I decided that I will just take whatever job that will come and start from there. I used to work for a multinational company in the Phils and they have various offices across US but that won't help I think since companies here really need local experience.

[Sandrila 1]

I certainly can understand his uncertainty with working relations and prejudices but there are far too many indians here already who are doing just fine.

Also, look into the area where you live and find any small indian communities where he could meet up with others from his own culture and i am sure that they would hook him up with any jobs or resources to find jobs.

any time someone starts a new job it can be intimidating and sometimes it talks a long time to fit in

we all feel like work is our second home, for crying out loud, we spend more time with our employers and co workers than we do with our own families

the point is go to work, do your best and come home

even people from USA have jobs they cant stand, even great paying ones

a job is just that, a job and if you are doing something you love you are lucky to get paid doing it

there is a fine between feeling uncomfortable at a new job i.e..nervousness, inadequacy and being treated unethically.

My husband had to take what he could get....it's a paycheck..i thought for sure there would be problems for people not treating him with respect but he had to learn how to handle himself....at times I found myself wanting to step in for him but he is not a child...you can guide but you can not hold their hand through everything

india is completely different from here. there is no comparison..their way of life, their pace of life....different

it will take time and even though the economy is bad....there are jobs to be had.....even entry level,minimum wage jobs that are not degrading and you know what...bottom line....he will make more money here than there and not have to bust his balls 12 hours a day 7 days a week doing it..

good luck to you guys

[alienlovechild 75]

For what it's worth my boss is Indian and I've been to India.

he is also told some horror stories by his friends who has come to usa that the US corporate / office atmosphere is very unfriendly & judgemental & very competitive.

I live in Georgia and despite all of the charges of racism in the South, my boss says neither he nor his wife has faced discrimination in the workplace or off work in the last two years. My boss studies how things work here and is good at working with other people from all kinds of backgrounds.

There's the stereotype that Indians are good in the IT field and many work in that field but that's not the only area. All of my mother's doctors in Indiana were Indians. My nearest gas station is Indian run and I've been in a lot of Indian owned motels. The point is there's not a anti-Indian attitudes out there but that's just what I've seen as a non-Indian.

He has seen some unfriendly attitude all over which he calls as disrespect & discrimination.

I felt pissed off after looking for work for a long time and little slights seem bigger after you get turned down again and again after many interviews. I don't know what he saw or heard but he's got keep moving forward rather than keeping a running total of every slight.

[christera22 8]

Thanks all and great response Sandrilla. I think thats the best response i got here......My wife(the USC) started the post and I am so glad to recieve all your participation. Well i understand its not good to be picky at this stage and in a bad economy. Well then I wanted to understand the office atmosphere here. I still didnt get any fair reply on that except that it varies from office to office. Of course there are lots & lots of pros but I will give u some cons that I found about US work culture, while googling . These irritates me and conflicts in my mind in respect to what i get in India :

1) Less patience in understanding foreigners.

2) Personal friendship may develop between colleagues is common but personal relationship between people of different levels is not common. People dnt give out phone numbers easily. My best friend for always in India is my subordinate coworker. Me & my boss has been great friends, even spent night at his house and I got phone numbers of almost all my colleagues on the 2nd day of the office. So i dnt understand the unfriendlyness in corporate & social life here. Even neighbors dnt talk to each other & dnt mingle.

3) International experience are not taken into consideration even if someone has experience in a american company in a foreign land. This is true unless its highly technical job. That means my 5 yrs exp with companies like Dell, IBM, Van Heusen, will be lost.

4) You may find it difficult to discuss everything with an American friend, at least, when you are getting to know each other.

5) Don't walk/sit with arms around the shoulders, or too close of anybody ..... STRANGE !! why too close shd always mean gay or lesbo ??

6) Generally, Americans are very polite, friendly and helpful, but have no patience with interference in their private lives. - HMMMM !! what is interference ??

7) NO use of internet or chat engine during work hrs ........... I agree to that to a limit but i also agree Indian corporates are good in allowing that as it makes employees free & not in a prison , so long their daily target is met.

so right now i am trying to adjust but really freaked out as I dnt know how good i can take these in my heart and how good a job wd i get , sometimes do feel bad about leaving my good job and coming here, but thats immaterial. Didnt want to hurt anyone thru my words here, just an open discussion......... anted to share some feelings to see if anyone else feels like me or am i misunderstanding.

Anyways thanks guys.... however i wd like to hear from some Indians who are working here in some big cities, about their experience. Thanks a lot ...

Edited February 2, 2009 by christera22