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?

It depends on what type leave works for you.

When my child was young a teaching job in the U.K. was great from a childcare/ holiday point of view ( although I missed his sports days and assemblies)
Now he is self sufficient, the amazing 13 weeks holiday that includes all bank holidays isn’t that great. It’s enforced times meaning everything is peak prices whether you like it or not and super busy. I don’t have the option to have leave for weddings/ funerals or emergencies when I need it without feeling in the wrong for asking and they can say no
Less days off but spending them doing what you want it arguable better.

@SquirrelG

Maybe you need more holidays in the UK because you live on a grey island, and so many of you seem to live for a trip abroad every year? Other countries have better weather and people often tend to holiday at home.

But if a goady post.... Who’s pissed you off today?🙄 I love my holidays in the U.K. ....I’m NW so live midway between the Lake District and North Wales ....both beautiful and I visit them both every year....I also go to London at least 3 times a year....so see a show....or whatever....i never tire of London....I have also visited Yorkshire Dales and Edinburgh this year .....as well as a holiday to Portugal and a long weekend in Jersey.....my last big holiday was actually to Canada in 2019 ( pre Covid) ....I loved it ...Calgary .....Rockies.....Edmonton to visit family then Ontario .....3 marvellous weeks....so yes I’m very glad I get all my 41 days holiday to do all this....I actually had 5 more this year as I had a week carried over from last year. But you sneer away all you like about our little grey Island if that’s how you get your kicks 🦵

Kitkat151 Whilst I admire the sentiment I think you don’t get what it is to live somewhere different.

The fact is that people in massive countries make the most of spending time there. Weekends are more important for doing fun stuff.
In the U.K. we have a smaller pool of places we think are where we need a break ; Cornwall, The Lakes, London, Bath etc which as a result require planning ,are expensive and a bit fraught.

@lightisnotwhite

Kitkat151 Whilst I admire the sentiment I think you don’t get what it is to live somewhere different.

The fact is that people in massive countries make the most of spending time there. Weekends are more important for doing fun stuff.
In the U.K. we have a smaller pool of places we think are where we need a break ; Cornwall, The Lakes, London, Bath etc which as a result require planning ,are expensive and a bit fraught.

And that’s absolutely fine....use whatever leave you have in whatever way you like....I have never said different....just don’t be a goady smart arse like@SquirrelG and make comments like ‘your grey island’. Personally I would hate to never travel to other countries and experience different cultures....but that’s me....Covid permitting I try to get abroad 3 or 4 times a year and every 3 years a big long haul ( I buy 2 weeks extra leave from the NHS to enable me to go for a month) .....but live and let live...so what others do is great if that makes them happy ....I don’t need to ‘get’ what it’s like to live in a big country .....any more than those people need to get me....I have asked genuine questions on these threads And been given respectful answers.....some people just have no manners

@naffusername

Our sick pay doesn't work like yours. As I said we earn 1.5 days a month or 18 days a year. If you don't use them they add up. Once you have banked 990 (or so hours) you can't bank anymore.

If you use up your bank, that's when your disability insurance kicks in. Short term goes for around three months and then long term kicks in. They pay 66.6% of you wages.

Maternity leave is either 12 or 18 months, you pick. The total amount paid is the same, the longer time gets lower biweekly cheques but it's the same total at the end.

Oh, and you're right, I forgot to add in the statutory/bank holidays. Oh, and a floater (which is a day off with with pay when you need it)

The year you are hired you get a % of ten days. After that it's 15 days vacation. Ten years gets you 20 days. Twenty years it goes up to 25 and a one off bonus of an extra five days.

So the longer you stay in a job , the better your benefits....bit like the NHS and public sector here in UK then....even the sick pay sounds like it would average out the same ( ish)

Kitkat151 Fine but appreciate that Americans get endless stick from us Europeans for “never leaving their country” and not gaving passports.
It’s only when we appreciate that their county is so massive ( Texas fits 11 European countries into its border) that they have significant diversity and that other places aren’t reachable in the way Europe is to other Europeans that it’s logistics, not small mindedness.

@lightisnotwhite

Kitkat151 Fine but appreciate that Americans get endless stick from us Europeans for “never leaving their country” and not gaving passports. It’s only when we appreciate that their county is so massive ( Texas fits 11 European countries into its border) that they have significant diversity and that other places aren’t reachable in the way Europe is to other Europeans that it’s logistics, not small mindedness.

What have I said on this thread to piss you off?? I haven’t mentioned anything about the US ...I don’t care what leave they have....I’m really not interested in people from the US or anything about them .....but I would never insult their country like @SquirrelG Thinks it’s acceptable to do...this is a thread about Canada ....I’ve been to Canada....my son worked out in Canada for a while....I have an interest in Canada....and some Posters have respectfully responded to my posts. End of.

Feels like this thread is made for me! I've lived and worked in both Canada and England. I don't think you can really generalise about either place but I definitely have less annual leave here (Canada) than I did there. It's balanced by a stat holiday every month, plus the place I work (a university) closes over Christmas and they give us the time off without having to use vacation days. There's a lot of that sort of thing around.

I do think people spend slightly less time here with their colleagues outside of work but it definitely depends on your workplace.

I'm so glad we moved back here. It's been 5 years and I still love it every day, even today when it is -15 and we are covered in snow The lifestyle is just so great. There is an awful lot I miss about England though.

@Kitkat151 - yes, it probably was a goady post. I live in a part of the world which MN posters are always criticising, just as they do the US and now Canada. I thought I might give them a taste of their own medicine - and guess what, it worked!!!

I am sick and tired of the posters who think that just because something is different in another part of the world they must rush into print and tell everyone how shit it is, leading others to pile on and agree.

You actually sound quite sensible, but you have to admit that there have been numerous posts on MN by people simply "devastated" that they can't' get their two weeks in the sun, and many more from others saying they holidayed in the UK and how shit it was. People in other parts of the world go overseas, of course they do, but many of them also holiday at home, and are quite happy to. @lightisnotwhite has put it very well.

and apologies @Kitkat151 - but from where I am sitting you do live on a "grey island". The UK is hardly known for its wonderful climate!

@SquirrelG

and apologies *@Kitkat151* - but from where I am sitting you do live on a "grey island". The UK is hardly known for its wonderful climate!

Ok apologies accepted....although you only seem to have pissed me off.....and I’m the one who hasn’t disrespected any country🙄.....Have you ever been to the UK? ....genuine question....I was in the Lake District over the new year.....stunning scenery....one day against a sunny back drop....the next against a grey backdrop....equally as stunning....I will be in Scottish Highlands inFebruary....again ....stunning scenery regardless of the weather.....ok when it rains all week it’s a pisser....but there’s no where else in the world I would Want to live.... and when I want the sun....I hop on a plane ... we have a saying where I live....’it doesn’t rain in the pub’ and we have the most amazing pubs😁

@maddening

Also cheese is very expensive in Canada!

That was legit one of the things I moved back for! 400g vintage Canadian cheddar £4 in Waitrose, $20 in Loblaws. That and no bio washing powder.

I'm in Canada. I started on three weeks holiday but get four after five years service. So definitely less holiday than I had in the UK. We do get 11 paid public holidays too. And people seem much better at leaving work on time - rarely anyone in our work after 16.30 (we start at 8 or 8.30 though). People seem to do more long weekend breaks - e.g. camping in the summer. I've found some aspects of work quite American - strange attitude to part-time working (frowned upon in our workplace and it's allowed not to give part timers the same benefits as full-time staff). But we will soon be getting $10/day childcare. And unlike the US we can take up to 18 months parental leave, and get paid sick leave. Federal job benefits are even better - they can buy more holiday and do flexi working. Overall it feels like a better work life balance here to me. Helped by the fact my commute is 5 mins rather than 45.

@Taytotots

I'm in Canada. I started on three weeks holiday but get four after five years service. So definitely less holiday than I had in the UK. We do get 11 paid public holidays too. And people seem much better at leaving work on time - rarely anyone in our work after 16.30 (we start at 8 or 8.30 though). People seem to do more long weekend breaks - e.g. camping in the summer. I've found some aspects of work quite American - strange attitude to part-time working (frowned upon in our workplace and it's allowed not to give part timers the same benefits as full-time staff). But we will soon be getting $10/day childcare. And unlike the US we can take up to 18 months parental leave, and get paid sick leave. Federal job benefits are even better - they can buy more holiday and do flexi working. Overall it feels like a better work life balance here to me. Helped by the fact my commute is 5 mins rather than 45.

Yes...A short commute makes a massive difference wherever you live....do you get free childcare from 3 years like we do in the U.K.? (Working parents get 30 hours).....or the equivalent of our childcare tax credits? What is the 10 dollar childcare scheme? The part time thing seems to be prevalent in a lot of countries..... what is a federal job? Like working for a local authority in thenUK? ....yes it’s a good benefit to be able to buy extra leave ....I do this most years (1 or 2 weeks) . I have found since Covid that people I know and work with are having more long weekends.....there has been a massive uptake in people buying caravans, campers, narrow boats etc.

@Kitkat151 - no, I haven't been to the UK, but have several friends there. One I am in contact with every couple of days and I truly cannot believe how much rain they get (I realise the whole country is not the same), or the number of dull days. I need sunshine!

[quote SquirrelG]@Kitkat151 - no, I haven't been to the UK, but have several friends there. One I am in contact with every couple of days and I truly cannot believe how much rain they get (I realise the whole country is not the same), or the number of dull days. I need sunshine![/quote]
Again genuine question....have you ever been outside your own country? ..... sunshine is overrated IMO.....I was out in Western Australia for a time and it was too feckin hot for me in their Summer....i didn’t find Canada too hot in August though.....and I don’t travel in Southern Europe in July or August for the same reasons, unless I have to.... but yes it’s always nice when the sun comes out to shine sun ☀️

@Kitkat151 sorry, yes Federal = national government body job (provincial government jobs also available). Childcare in our province is free for low income families and then sliding scale. Also get tax refund for some of costs. No universal free 30 hours from 3 but the new scheme will mean that by the end of the next 5 year child care shouldn't cost more than $10 per day for anyone except the very highest earners. The funding will also top up wages of early years staff. We're rural east coast.

You’ll find the holiday weeks don’t include the bank holidays like in the UK. In Germany 20 days are often standard, however you get the bank holidays on top of this and they have about twice as many as the UK! Where in the UK your bank holidays have to come out of your holiday entitlement.

@Iseestupidpeople

You’ll find the holiday weeks don’t include the bank holidays like in the UK. In Germany 20 days are often standard, however you get the bank holidays on top of this and they have about twice as many as the UK! Where in the UK your bank holidays have to come out of your holiday entitlement.

Bank holiday don’t come out of holiday entitlement in many U.K. worplaces ....Including nhs and local authority and public sector....I’m NHS ....this year I will have 33 day leave plus 9 BHs .....so do you get 18 bank holidays in Germany?

@Taytotots

I'm in Canada. I started on three weeks holiday but get four after five years service. So definitely less holiday than I had in the UK. We do get 11 paid public holidays too. And people seem much better at leaving work on time - rarely anyone in our work after 16.30 (we start at 8 or 8.30 though). People seem to do more long weekend breaks - e.g. camping in the summer. I've found some aspects of work quite American - strange attitude to part-time working (frowned upon in our workplace and it's allowed not to give part timers the same benefits as full-time staff). But we will soon be getting $10/day childcare. And unlike the US we can take up to 18 months parental leave, and get paid sick leave. Federal job benefits are even better - they can buy more holiday and do flexi working. Overall it feels like a better work life balance here to me. Helped by the fact my commute is 5 mins rather than 45.

If you have 3 weeks holidays plus 11 paid bank holidays. You have 5 weeks and a days holiday compared to the UK as here bank holidays are taken out of your holiday entitlement. Even so it sounds a decent amount of days it really isn’t once you take bank holidays off particularly when they add a random day for some royal pointlessness but you don’t get an extra holiday instead they steal one as you can’t choose when to take it!

@Iseestupidpeople. Just googled public holidays in Germany....it says 9 a year?

My nephew has emigrated to Canada and what you say about poor holidays is true.

Canada sounds so much better than the US work-wise. We are in the US. My DH has a high salary job, but no vacation time. Last year he got 3 days. He works a minimum of 60 hours a week. The only public holidays he got were 4th July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Years Day. My career doesn’t exist here and I haven’t been able to get started again in anything else.

The cost of living is so much higher here than in the UK. We are both pretty jaded and I think we’ll move back to England at some point in the next few years.

@OffRoadFozzyBear

Canada sounds so much better than the US work-wise. We are in the US. My DH has a high salary job, but no vacation time. Last year he got 3 days. He works a minimum of 60 hours a week. The only public holidays he got were 4th July, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Years Day. My career doesn’t exist here and I haven’t been able to get started again in anything else.

The cost of living is so much higher here than in the UK. We are both pretty jaded and I think we’ll move back to England at some point in the next few years.

Wow, that’s pretty grim ( well it is to me....I guess it’s normal to you) .....on balance do you feel it’s worth it for the savings and pension he has accrued? Will you be able to retire much earlier than if you had been in the U.K.? ....If so I can see how it may be worth it to some People to sacrifice holidays

It’s don’t know anyone that gets 30+ days in the UK. But then I don’t sit in the gravy train with a cushy civil servant job or some ridiculously over paid jobs clearly. And yes missy normal jobs have about 25 days and your bank holidays are taken out of those. Normal jobs normal people. You know the poor buggers you sneer at in the shops and leisure industry and customer services when some of you holiday high rollers demand they be open 24/7 so you don’t have to waste your precious unrealistic holiday amount.