To be shocked by Canadian work culture?

[wantedrueu]

My best friend moved to Canada three years ago. I asked her when she was next coming back, as she sometimes does. She said she will not be coming back anytime soon as she only gets three weeks holiday. This is in a senior role.

When asked, she said Canada is much more work focused- Very little holiday time, holiday very hard to take or ask for, longer days, no socialising after work and stricter standards.

AIBU to be shocked at this?

I frequently hear Canada has an amazing quality of life! So it is shocking to me that it the work-culture is very US reminiscent.

I work basic minimum wage and get five weeks, in the UK. Add in the fact I can add in my two regular days off, ie, if I want 7 days off schedule, I only have to book 5.

It's made me appreciate the UK a bit more, if a bit more grey.

I've always thought about moving abroad, but with my terrible capacity for learning a language, I always considered Canada; but i don't think I'd be cut out for their working culture!

Is anyone else here Canadian or lives there who can verify this?

Lots of places start at 3 weeks and increase it after a couple of years. We also have a couple more bank holidays.
Family and holiday time is v important to people here.
I work less hours than I did in the City, that’s for sure

Your friend’s not wrong. 10 days (excluding stats) is the legal minimum number of paid holidays per year (one of the lowest in the world), so half of the minimum UK & EU standard. A legal requirement for 5 days sick leave has literally only gone into effect today (in British Columbia at least).

I think Canada suffers from being next door to the US, which doesn’t mandate any paid vacation at all.

The average Canadian works 1,702 hours per year, compared to 1,625 for the UK.

Based on an 8 hour working days, that’d mean Canadians work about 10 more days per year.

That said, both are below the OECD average.

* "holiday very hard to take or ask for, longer days, no socialising after work and stricter standards.*"

I don't agree with this. I used to take 3 or 4 vacation days next to bank holidays in order to stretch the number of weeks. Days are NOT longer, paid breaks, proper overtime pay, people don't eat at their desks like they do here. Socialising is common. Stricter standards?  Honestly I think maybe where she works is the problem, not the whole country. Parental leave is better, nobody bats an eye at dads that take the time off, Employment Insurance if you lose your job is excellent as well. Less vacation time yes: the rest is swings and roundabouts.

I’m not in Canada, I’m in the US and I get 5 weeks plus paid federal holidays (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, July 4, Labor Day, we got a 4-day weekend for thanksgiving and we get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off). That’s 9 bank holidays.

Not every job or every company in the US has little or no annual leave.

I have heard similar things, also many other health and safety complaints from Canadians in an industry I used to work in (oil and gas).

That said, the UK has a very long working hours culture in certain industries (IT and finance).

On the whole, it is hardly surprising "the great resignation" is a think in many countries.

Not every job or every company in the US has little or no annual leave.
No, but it’s far worse on average.

Average working hours p/a:

UK - 1,625
Canada - 1,706
US - 1,798

So, again based on an 8 hour working day, the average US worker works 21.5 days more per year than one in the UK.

It is correct about not having as much paid holiday time but I think the rest is dependent on where they are in Canada and the company they work for.

Also the majority of your friends last 3 years will have been dictated by Covid and Canada has been far more cautious than the UK.

I live on the west coast and the quality of life for my family is better but that comes down to accessibility to the outdoors which is what people take advantage of on the weekends. We are 40 minutes from ski slopes and 10 minutes from the beach. There’s generally a slower pace of life with earlier starts and earlier finishes - so afternoons/evenings have more space with activities etc. we had friends who had ski passes for the local hill and were able to go up in their evenings.

All that to say quality of life isn’t all about the amount of time off work. People we have met are friendly and the physical environment we are in break-taking. For me personally the wideness of the streets and the lower level of population gives me a sense of space I never had on the Uk.

Canada is a very big place for your friend to be able to speak on behalf of the whole country. No socializing after work? Utter bollocks.

@BritWifeInUSA

I’m not in Canada, I’m in the US and I get 5 weeks plus paid federal holidays (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, July 4, Labor Day, we got a 4-day weekend for thanksgiving and we get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off). That’s 9 bank holidays.

Not every job or every company in the US has little or no annual leave.

Erm... Canada is a completely different country.

12-13 PAID statutory holidays per year. Plus your vacation time. UK gives more vacation time, I enjoyed the Canadian workplaces more.

@ElCaMum, reckon we live very close to each other! Completely agree about sense of space.

Teacher here, as much as the job is super stressful in term time... omg i love my holidays! (Yes i do work a few days but im nit a dick.. i appreciate how it works! And im not going to say "but i technically only get paid fir 5 weeks holiday.. " i get a canny salary and my job is so stressful in term time..if i didnt get the hols i would quit teaching.

I don’t know about Canada but I worked in the US for a number of years and we got 4 weeks plus I was paid over $110,000 as an ICU nurse.

I currently work 60 hour weeks for the NHS, in a senior grade that pays just over a third of what I was paid in the US. I worked over Christmas and with the current critical staff shortages it’s virtually impossible to take a holiday.

Let's see, I get:

4 weeks paid vacation

Daycare that is subsidised at $8 per day.

Mat. leave for a full year.... Can't remember the exact amounts but it averaged out to around 70% of my salary. I also had preventative leave during my first pregnancy so I was put on full pay for the last 6 months of my pregnancy as I was deemed 'high risk' in the job I was working in. I was at home, on full pay.

2 cesereans in the public health system, no questions asked, it was my choice. Not encouraged to have an unwanted vaginal birth.

Socialising after work, yes.

Pp mentioned access to the outdoors - this to me is crucial and so life changing.

People in Canada are far less aggressive and competitive than in the UK. Better standard of living.

Can’t speak generally, but in my industry (media/TV) the working culture in Canada is more relaxed and better paid than in the Uk - far more people hired to do a piece of work, because job categories more segregated.

Think it varies a lot but the honest truth is that the grass isn't always greener. We often sit in our pokey houses in rainy grey Britain and imagine that other countries have it so much better but actually it's swings and roundabouts often. I've lived in the USA and yes you get paid a lot more BUT medical insurance for a family is a killer (employers usually only find the employee, they deduct the family cost from pay) less holidays often (we were lucky to get 4 weeks) and everything costs so much, grocery's were approximately 1/3 more, telecoms were 3-4x U.K. cost, had to have cable as no terrestrial signal which was 3x U.K. cost and car insurance was horrific but admittedly that might be because we were expats.

I have two sets of friends who returned from emigrating to Australia because they had longer work days, less holidays and too pressured to be at work extra hours meaning they didn't get to enjoy the lifestyle they moved for and couldn't afford it anyway because Sydney is so expensive for everything (according to them).

Do your research folks if you crave relocating. I loved living in the USA, I do recommend an adventure abroad just have your eyes open

Think it varies a lot but the honest truth is that the grass isn't always greener. We often sit in our pokey houses in rainy grey Britain and imagine that other countries have it so much better but actually it's swings and roundabouts often.
For sure.

But Canadians do, on average, work significantly longer hours than Brits, which often seems to surprise people.

I still prefer living in Canada to the UK, but everywhere has pros and cons and the shorter working hours are a pro for living in the UK.

@ElCaMum

It is correct about not having as much paid holiday time but I think the rest is dependent on where they are in Canada and the company they work for.

Also the majority of your friends last 3 years will have been dictated by Covid and Canada has been far more cautious than the UK.

I live on the west coast and the quality of life for my family is better but that comes down to accessibility to the outdoors which is what people take advantage of on the weekends. We are 40 minutes from ski slopes and 10 minutes from the beach. There’s generally a slower pace of life with earlier starts and earlier finishes - so afternoons/evenings have more space with activities etc. we had friends who had ski passes for the local hill and were able to go up in their evenings.

All that to say quality of life isn’t all about the amount of time off work. People we have met are friendly and the physical environment we are in break-taking. For me personally the wideness of the streets and the lower level of population gives me a sense of space I never had on the Uk.

Yep, yep, yep!

I miss the west coast. DH and I lived in Vancouver for over 30 years before we decided to 'have an adventure' and retire to the east coast. It's nice here - so many beaches but also so many mosquitoes!

When I worked in Vancouver, I started with two weeks holiday. After a few years it went to three weeks. I did work for a small firm though and although they weren't as generous with holiday time, I liked working for them. They were nice, decent people.

A sweet deal in Australia is long service leave, though you have to be seven years with the same employer before it kicks in: 13.5 weeks leave, with 1.3 weeks accruing each subsequent year. This is paid at whatever your pay grade is. It is so civilised. When my DH was alive it underpinned holidays on either side of the school breaks, so three weeks instead of two.

I retired at the end of '21, but won't start using up my LSL until next term starts at the end of January '22, and only when it runs out does my pension kick in. Bizarrely, I'm still accruing LSL right now, and if I fall sick while on LSL, I claim sick pay as per, then LSL starts again when I'm no longer sick.

What this means in practical terms is I'm paid on my teacher's salary until about Easter, not drawing on my pension.

Sorry but that’s a load of rubbish. I live in Canada. Both DH and I have senior jobs and each get 27 days paid leave (in my job I earn additional days after 5 years tenure up to a maximum of 30 days) We also have 9 public holidays per year and you can definitely book your vacation around bank holidays etc. My work hours are 8.30-5.30 but this is in Finance. People definitely socialise after work. Our work life balance and quality of life is much better than when we lived in the UK and worked in the City. Been here 9 years and would never move back. Also, you definitely can’t compare Canada with the US.

I forgot to say: Yowza!! :o

My brother works in Calgary in a senior role. His company does 8 hour days but only 9 days in a two week period (every other Friday the office is closed). He also gets 5 weeks holiday but I know he negotiated when he first moved there as he’d want to come to visit family. His wife is a teacher so very long summer holiday from end of June to late August. I think it’s fair to say, no country is perfect and there’s usually a compromise. My brother is happy in Canada but does struggle with the long come winters.

Oh and they definitely socialise after work!