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?

Quality of life isn’t all about the amount of time off work.

This! It's ridiculous to say working conditions are rubbish in Canada simply because they don't get as much annual leave. Also, Canada is a rather large country, your friend's experience isn't going to apply to everyone.

[quote everythingbackbutyou]@ElCaMum, reckon we live very close to each other! Completely agree about sense of space.[/quote]
I can probably wave to both of you! I'm a little closer to the ski hills but I'm guessing same city/area.

DH would probably agree with a lot in OP's post, certainly in his current role. It varies depending on company size and location though and he's had different experiences at other companies. Our quality of life is miles better than UK for a lot of reasons, but it's a very different experience overall so direct better/ worse comparisons maybe aren't all that accurate.

@Nandocushion
I'm a bit further east than you but not as far as AB 😉

I'm in Canada and self employed but my DH is in a salaried IT position and he gets 5 weeks of annual leave, plus all the Statutory Holidays.

With Christmas Day and Boxing Day falling on the weekend, he got 27th and 28th off (he only works Mon-Fri) and he's off again on the 3rd (for New Year's Day) without needing to use any annual leave.

He can also carry over unused days and is carrying over 18 to add onto his 2022 leave allocation.

I know this is far better than many Canadians get, but it isn't that unusual, in our experience/circles.

[quote Ophanim]@Nandocushion
I'm a bit further east than you but not as far as AB 😉[/quote]
@Ophanim Waving to you and hoping you weren't hit too hard by the floods!

@VinylCafe can I ask generally whereabouts east coast? I know ON is bad for bugs but I was hoping that, say, NL coastal was okay?

@Nandocushion, I'm super close to the ski hills!

It really depends on your employer. I work way fewer hours and earn about 30% more money in the US than I did in the UK. I get 3 fewer days of vacation now but will get more after 3 years and 36 days after 5 years. I weekly finish early to ski/hike/bike/swim as do most folks I work with. DH gets more vacation now than he did and earns almost twice as much. Both working in the same fields as we did in UK. Most of my friends have more holiday benefit than you get in UK and salaries in professional jobs in my experience are much higher here, even after I take into account my excellent private health insurance.

Also the reported work hours - if those are based on contracts versus actual hours work… I am full time which theoretically means I work 40 hours a week, in actual fact my lady job took maybe 25, my current job, maybe 32. Work done, off to the ski hill I go with no commute to speak of…

[quote everythingbackbutyou]@Nandocushion, I'm super close to the ski hills![/quote]
I'm less than 10 from the gondola...

Most people do start out with a maximum of 15 days paid leave.

Socializing after work depends on your field: I’ve never worked anywhere (in BC) where it’s the norm.

Employment insurance is not excellent, it’s the shits. The Tories kept slashing it, so now it’s only about 55-60% of your wages. So if you were scraping by when employed you’re really screwed now.

Housing in coastal BC is unaffordable, so everyone is stressed and grumpy.

Workplace bullying gets lip service condemnation but very seldom is anything done about it. There’s a lot of it about, it’s a big problem (at least in the south coast, from people in a variety of fields who I’ve talked to).

If I didn’t live here, knowing what I know, I certainly wouldn’t move here.

@Nandocushion

No, we weren’t, we’re further east than that. It’s been bloody cold though!

Bit of a sweeping statement on ‘Canada’. I can only assume she’s in Toronto. I live in Vancouver and socialize a lot more with my colleagues here than I ever did in the UK.
Quality of life here is a lot better and in honesty the quiet pace of the working culture isn’t really for everyone. It’s basically a back country and in the winter we generate finish early to ski and the summer early to go to the beach. I get 25 days leave plus the many extra bank holidays we have here (there’s pretty much one a month).
You pay for it in the cost of living being much higher than anywhere in the UK, but don’t let anyone say all of Canada doesn’t have a relaxed culture.

Erm...
Canada is a completely different country

What?! Are you sure? 🙄

The OP clearly stated that her friend's work situation reminded her of the US. The poster you replied to was clearly pointing out that different companies in the US offer different levels of vacation, holiday leave, etc.

Where I work you start out with two weeks of vacation per year, with all federal holidays off, four personal days, and 40 hours of sick time. I currently get seven weeks of vacation time per year, because you accrue more the longer you're employed. We're all different.

I'm Canadian. The comments on having fewer vacation days are true. I love that we get so much leave in the UK. But as for work culture around chatting in the office etc, I think that depends on what city you're in and the company. When I was working for an international company, in the Canada office (Calgary - smaller city) we chit chatted all the time in the office, took coffee breaks etc. In the London office, everyone had such a long commute that they wanted to get their work done as quickly as possible and get back on the tube home, so no chit chat, just work work work. Single folks did a bit more after work drinks, but people with kids were outta there.

I could imagine in a place like Vancouver or Toronto there might be a similar issue around long commutes and desire to get work done quickly, though.

I'd rather slice off my arms than live/work in North America. Utter cesspool.

Here we go, right on cue!

I used to work in Canada and this was one of the main reasons I returned to the uk! I worked in a very social environment but there was an expectation that you were happy to socialise in work-related ways some weekends too (eg for visiting clients).

However I’ve since learned the work culture is different, and things like salary and conditions can be negotiated more than in the uk. Myself and colleagues on a similar level had different terms depending who was boldest!

10 days holiday was a killer for me - especially as family would visit so none of it went on actual holiday. My employer did allow unpaid leave though.

@VinylCafe love, love, love your username, I listened to Dave Cooks the Turkey again over Christmas.

In response to the thread, I find the work culture in IT much worse in the UK than Canada. Competitive hours worked, intrusion of work into home life, little accommodation for working parents are all worse in the UK.

My cousin moved there in 2006 to do a slightly niche role in health work so I presume her salary is pretty decent (especially based on where she lives). I've never asked her specifically about annual leave but the overall quality of life seems fantastic.

Also cheese is very expensive in Canada!

Yes. I lived in Canada and this is a reason I returned to the UK. Not enough leave, especially if family are abroad

@echt

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.

That sounds marvellous - I'd give anything to have that in the UK. I've worked full-time for the last 25 years with no break longer than 2 weeks - it would be wonderful to have an extended break.

@BoudecaBains

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.

60 hour weeks for £28,000 in a senior grade ? What am I missing there ?

If you want good holidays and good pay, i recommend Denmark and Sweden. English not a problem in day to day but you do need the local language for ‘some’ jobs and of course now not in EU it is not as simple as just ‘fancying a change’

I worked in Canada on and off for some time. Yes, the holidays are much less, as is generally the case in North America, though I note that there are a few more statutory or bank holidays. I loved the people in Canada (Ontario), but I would never live there. Whilst I like winter sports, the winters are cold and the nights very long. Often in Canadian cities, there are underground walkways which are heated, so no-one enjoys walking on the surface, so it can feel quite strange through the winter.