Flexibility remains the biggest nuance I have experienced while working in a business abroad. I do feel my managers have given me more flexibility as an intern compared to the full-time staff as sympathy for working unpaid and because my time here doubles as a tourist. However, everyone on our staff is treated with a high degree of understanding and flexibility. They are trusted by management to do their job without constant supervision. Accommodations for illness, injury, etc. are consistently taken into consideration by the managers when making work schedules, and they don?t leave the responsibility of covering shifts on the shoulders of the employees. Additionally, daily operations, shifts, inventory, etc., get done one way or another, but they do not follow from what I?ve seen, strict processes. The jobs that I?ve had in the United States and most businesses that I know of do not operate that way. Management will establish clear expectations and impose consequences if those expectations are not met. When making schedules, it has been my responsibility to make sure my shift is covered even if I am sick. The daily operations of jobs back home follow stricter guidelines and consistently have some kind of quality check or evaluation of performance. The comparison I think comes down to different lifestyles and feelings about time. Here, lifestyles follow a free-flowing nature and hold personal time at a high priority. Back home, a lot of priority goes to the success of businesses and the dedication of employees. Job time and personal time is much more compartmentalized. I see that as, getting work at your job done first, then once you?re off you can worry about your personal life. Without this international experience, I don?t think I would have known that not all businesses operate with that rigidity.
