'I can't seem to land a job here that offers any PTO': German man moves to America for his wife, is shocked by American work culture

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Feb 12, 2025 6:00 PM EST

It's no secret that Americans and Europeans have different attitudes about work. The stereotype that Americans hold about Europeans is perfectly encapsulated in the Kroll Show sketch, "Spotted Ox Hostel." Kroll plays an exaggerated European (unclear from which country), who explains he goes to work "for one-half hour, two half-hour…" and then breaks for lunch of "2-3 bottles of red wine and a bowl of heavy cream." This is the American vision of how Europeans structure their lives. But behind this stereotype is a deep jealousy for a life that doesn't revolve around work, but rather revolves around leisure, culture, and pleasure. I'm sure there are Europeans who don't agree that their lives are structured that way, but that's the dream. 

So what's the reverse? How do Europeans find our work culture? We're leaders in many industries, sure, and give higher salaries than most other places on the map, but what's the trade-off?

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    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • One German learned what the trade-off was the hard way when he moved to the States to be with his American wife. What he discovered about our attitudes toward work baffled him, and opened up discussion from Americans and Europeans alike. Read on for the story and see what was uncovered. 

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    Moved from Europe with American wife - work culture shock.

    I met my American Wife (military) in Germany and recently moved to the US about 2 yrs ago. TBH it's an absolute work culture shock, coming from a work environment of mandatory PTO of 5 - 6 weeks being the norm. Mandatory sick pay if you work. 35 hour weeks being the norm...to moving to the US and having absolutely none of those "perks" has been mind blowing.
    via u/AcrobaticArrival9168
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    I can't seem to land a Job here that offers any PTO. Even my friends who work for large companies only get 2 weeks if they are lucky. It just seems unproductive, I see a lot of burn out in people's eyes.
    via u/AcrobaticArrival9168
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    My question is to my fellow workers of America, Why do you think this is so? If it's truly about profits for shareholders and its been proven that rested and contented workers are more productive, then why don't American CEOS adopt the European paid time off model?
    via u/AcrobaticArrival9168
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    My only thoughts are if they know it's unproductive and do it anyway, it must be out of malice. Apologies for my English writing. Not my 1st language!
    via u/AcrobaticArrival9168
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    American workers chimed in to give their thoughts on why this is the case.

    Wekko306 • 19h ago . It's not about productivity, it's about power and control.
    via u/Wekko306
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    • Edymnion 18h ago Because over here there's a saying, "Penny Wise, Dollar Dumb". It basically means many companies take short term cost cutting plans that hurt them in the long run.
    via u/Edymnion
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    Usually because the corporate culture means that by the time the larger price needs to be paid, the guy that instituted the policy has already gotten their huge bonus for saving money in the short term and moved on to another job. The new guy comes in, blames all the world's woes on the last guy, and the cycle repeats.
    via u/Edymnion
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    So they hire someone on, make them work as much as humanly possible with as few benefits as possible, then when they burn out they just throw them away and get somebody new. The fact that they are developing ZERO long term experience in their field which hurts them competitively doesn't matter. They'd rather save a penny today than make a dollar tomorrow.
    via u/Edymnion
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    PUNCH TODAY IN THE ACE.
    via Johnson Wang
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    thisaccountiz • 19h ago Because 3 of our citizens have more money than the bottom 200 million citizens combined.
    via u/thisaccountiz
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    RJRoyal Rules 19h ago • In the US a lot of work culture relies on inculcating a feeling of moral righteousness regarding "hard work" and so people are successfully turned against their own best interests by feeling guilty about wanting any improvement in their lives.
    via u/RJRoyalRules
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    You see this in almost any attempt towards improving the lives of workers: remote work, shorter work weeks, more PTO, and of course the dreaded socialism where workers could share in the profits of the places where they are employed. This is why people will simp hard for bosses and billionaires instead of for their colleagues.
    via u/RJRoyalRules
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    AcrobaticArriva... OP · 19h ago • It's not just about PTO or Sick pay also. I've worked for 3 companies since I came to the US and the retention is very bad. People are leaving and after a short time, the Firms are constantly hiring. and training, the cost of re- training all seems pointless.
    via u/AcrobaticArrival9168
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    that1LPdood · 17h ago Companies don't give a f about workers' health. They view us as equipment, and they don't care about maintaining their equipment.
    via u/that1LPdood
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    There is basically always replacement labor to be found, so there's no need to worry about burnout. Just fire & hire someone else. As long as their work feeds the bottom line, it's good enough.
    via u/that1LPdood
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    It's the culture of the Almighty Dollar. The Dollar is king. The Dollar is god. I wish I were exaggerating.
    via u/that1LPdood
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    Menoth22 . 15h ago Because American capitalism was started on the backs of slaves and has never let go of that mentality.
    via u/Menoth22
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    Electrical-Dig8570 • 17h ago The cruelty is the point, certainly. But another important factor to consider is that if Americans aren't constantly exhausted and broke, then who knows what other things-like universal healthcare-we might be tempted to ask for?
    via u/Electrical-Dig8570
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    Dontledgeme • 16h ago Wait till you find out people. are working 50-70 hours a week mandatory all year round.
    via u/Dontledgeme
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    . Forymanarysanar • 18h ago Moving from Germany to the US, ugh man, I don't know why would you do such a thing
    via u/Forymanarysanar
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    TMNTiff • 16h ago I think in the USA workers are not seen as human so much as a resource to get maximum $ out of for this quarter. There is very little long-term thinking in any corporate situation I've been involved in, and they don't care if we burn
    via u/TMNTiff
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    out because they've always had plenty more workers to draw from. I think that's why they're freaking out about the declining birth rate also. We are a resource, not an investment.
    via u/TMNTiff
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    Th... • . 17h ago Edited 11h ago Bro/Sis, the employers don't see you as a person. They see you as a tool for the creation of wealth. In theory, one would also care for the tool they use to do a job, and have backups, but these employers would rather run you ragged until you break, and then just buy a new tool. I theorize that this mentality partially stems from the USA being built with slavery.
    via u/ Themodssmelloffarts
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    ShermanBurnsAtla... • 17h ago My go to is puritan work ethic. The idea that leisure is sinful and allows the devil to inhabit you is hard baked into our DNA. You can even see in our communists "A real revolutionary would work 9- 9-6 to build the worker's utopia! Only the bourgeois desie idleness!"
    via u/ShermanBurnsAtlanta
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    JetoCalihan • 16h ago It's exactly the sort of things your most infamous economic philosopher wrote about. Capitalism breeds contempt for the worker. The capitalist would rather burn through people than offer them any sort of costly benefit. That money belongs to the shareholders.
    via u/JetoCalihan

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europe boss antiwork workplace-stories toxic-workplace job bosses work coworkers working reddit story toxic-boss european history europe vs america workplace reddit thread bad bosses Reddit toxic-work-environment
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