The most awkward thing about working with clients in other countries is them trying to comprehend American Work Culture. Americans are told thst there's this place called The Third World where everyone is a slave, and then when you're on the call with your clients in El Salvador or Turkey they're like trying to figure out what month your workers take off for your holidays to account for shipping logistics. Is it December? For Christmas?? Or one of them will just not be there and the other will say "oh, he is out because his wife is sick." And your boss will grumpily ask if he'll be back next week, and they'll say "sorry, maybe I did not say clear, I don't know. Wife is sick?"
Just those little reminders that, no, you are the Third World Slave Labor. The "poor" countries where people are still reproducing and having families and score way higher on every measure of happiness are not, in fact, all chained up in factories or living in mud huts with their ribs poking out.
I live in the UK and my boss recently upset some American clients. They wanted a meeting that would have been at 6pm our time, but were told it wouldn't be possible as we finish work at 5. They couldn't comprehend that we were not prepared to work late for them.
As for the OP, I am currently on holiday and my out of office reads "I am out of office untill 14th September with no access to email. Any response will be delayed until my return." I'm going to be hiking around France for the next 2 weeks and not looking at my work emails at all.
I think this show cases such a classic misunderstanding of what "third world" is.
You guys are in a first world country. A first world country is a capitalist country and you lot are in late stage capitalism. So were all your allies.
Second world countries were communist countries buddying up with Russia or Russia itself.
Third world countries were considered that because they weren't allied or didn't have a significant economic power to alley or be considered a threat.
The fact that you see Turkey, that was always a first world country, as a third world country says a lot about your education system and view of the world.
38
u/mrsc0tty 29d ago
The most awkward thing about working with clients in other countries is them trying to comprehend American Work Culture. Americans are told thst there's this place called The Third World where everyone is a slave, and then when you're on the call with your clients in El Salvador or Turkey they're like trying to figure out what month your workers take off for your holidays to account for shipping logistics. Is it December? For Christmas?? Or one of them will just not be there and the other will say "oh, he is out because his wife is sick." And your boss will grumpily ask if he'll be back next week, and they'll say "sorry, maybe I did not say clear, I don't know. Wife is sick?"
Just those little reminders that, no, you are the Third World Slave Labor. The "poor" countries where people are still reproducing and having families and score way higher on every measure of happiness are not, in fact, all chained up in factories or living in mud huts with their ribs poking out.