A Dutch employee at an American tech company going home at 5 PM after a working day? According to his boss, that reflects a ‘lack of dedication.’ But in the Netherlands, people think very differently about this. The post about the difference between Dutch and American work culture went viral online.
The Dutchman shares his experience with his American manager on Reddit. ‘Last week we had a one-on-one conversation where he expressed concern about my commitment to the team,’ he says on the platform r/WorkReform, where users frequently share stories about the problems with work culture in the United States. “He didn’t like that my Slack status was set to offline at 1 minute past 5:00 PM every day. And that when he emailed me on a Saturday morning, I didn’t respond until after 9:00 AM on Monday.”
The boss was also reportedly irritated by the Dutchman’s refusal to accept appointments that, due to the time difference, fell outside the Dutchman’s working hours. ‘I had to explain to this man that if you don’t finish work by 5:00 PM in the Netherlands, the company is simply inefficient or understaffed. And that my contract states that I work 40 hours a week, not 40 hours plus evenings and weekends.’
Labour law
The American boss demanded that the Dutchman improve his work ethic, but he persisted and emailed the threat to the Dutch HR department. ‘They laughed and told me to ignore him. They also said they would talk to him about Duch labour law.’
The story is receiving a lot of reactions on social media. One Instagram user even recounts being harassed by the CEO of an American company, three months after brain surgery.
Many people also point to the stark difference between American and Dutch work cultures. ‘My work phone turns off the moment I leave the office and doesn’t turn back on until I come back in,’ says an Italian who also works in the US.
Many Americans consider this a textbook example of what’s wrong with the business world in their own country. ‘The Dutch are very good at maintaining a work-life balance,’ is a common comment on social media. ‘We’re expected to work constantly and work like robots for our company. Our labour law is a joke.’
The Dutchman concludes his message on a happy note. His boss reportedly didn’t email him after the meeting with HR after 5 p.m. ‘I feel sorry for you guys in the United States. The fact that you have to apologise for having a life outside of work is unthinkable for us.’
Right to be Unreachable
Several European countries already have the “right to be unreachable” outside of working hours. France introduced this rule in 2017 for companies with more than fifty employees. In Portugal, employers are not allowed to contact their employees outside working hours; in Belgium, this right currently applies only to civil servants.
In Australia, employers can be fined for disturbing their employees during their private time. In the Netherlands, too, the discussion about making this right a law is ongoing. ‘Let’s make it normal that we don’t do more work than we’re paid for.’
The Plan For The Future 