Imagine you’re embarking on your first foreign assignment. With confidence, you accept that exotic assignment abroad. Destination: the United States of America.
But you soon discover that the Land of Opportunity is really the Land of “What’s Your Social Security Number?” It’s ironic that this would be the case in a country with one of the world’s most-traveled populations. Still, being sent to the United States on foreign assignment is not just a stressful business-it’s a lonely one. From New Delhi to Cape Town to Minas Gerais, the observation is the same: Americans are friendly but hard to make friends with. We gregarious Americans don’t truly bring international assignees into our lives, because we don’t bring them into our homes after work.
Following are the personal accounts of several expats assigned to the United States-what works for them and what does not; what they leave at home in the morning and what they worry about all day.
Author: Martha Finney
Source: Across the Board (ATB)
Subjects: Human Resources, International
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quotes from the article:
“In most cultures in the world, you work to live, but, generally speaking, Americans live to work.”
“Americans typically talk about three things: movies, sports, and work.”
“Throughout the United States there seems to be a drive to create new things and change the world in short periods of time. Work is tied to self-respect, recognition, and power.”
“Here the emphasis seems to be on always saying the ‘right’ thing, even if it’s not necessarily the ‘real’ thing-which breeds some insecurity if you’re used to taking things at face value.”
“Americans also talk way too fast. There are so many accents here. It’s hard for us to learn them and understand quickly. I also find that Americans don’t have the patience to repeat things or explain what certain phrases mean.”
“What we haven’t experienced here is a real welcome beyond the superficial level. It’s tough getting into social circles. Time is such a huge issue, and Americans try to fit so much into their days.”
Interesting, but top-heavy with too many examples and not enough practical suggestions of how to implement and evaluate. Also no discussion of the fundamental willingness to implement that needs to exist before embarking on such a program.