EMPLOYMENT USA by Mark Rosenfelder, Australia by Chris O'Regan, Austria by Klaus A. Brunner, Brazil by Emilio Neto, Brittany (France) by Damien Erwan Perrotin, Canada & Ontario by Adam Bishop, British Columbia (Canada) by PJ Perdue, Quebec (Canada) by Valerie Bourdeau, China by the English class at the Suzhou branch of Agile Software Co, Colombia by Carlos Thompson Pinzón, England by Graham John Francis de Sales Wheeler, Finland by Johanna Laakso, France by Nicolas Duvernois, Germany by Irgend Jemand, Greece by Chris TDAQ, India by Apurva Mishra, Israel by Robin Alexander, Italy by Riccardo Distasi, Japan by Hirofumi Nagamura, Urban Mexico by Acoyani Garrido Sandoval, The Netherlands by Bas Suverkropp, New Zealand by Gareth Wilson, Nigeria by Didi, Poland by Pawel Stachura, Scotland by Geoff Eddy, South Africa by T'Mar, Sweden by Anders Janson, Turkey by Cyril Alebard, Long Island by Robert Delaney, Southern Louisiana by Andrew Chaney, Texas by Tom Wier, Yorkshire (UK) by Stephanie Bailey, Southcentral Alaska by Cherie Campbell, and the general characteristics of the First Generation Immigrant by John Smith
C	Are you a farmer?	Can you be fired?	Labor day	Misc conditions	Appointments, punctuality, negotiating
NORTH AMERICA
U S A	You are not a farmer.	A company can fire just about anybody it wants, unless it discriminates by doing so.	Labor Day is in the fall.		If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so. You'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's ten minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable. When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, but it's only good business to "play hardball".
A L A S K A S O U T H C E N T R A L U S A	Unless you live in the Mat-Su Valley, you are certainly not a farmer. Because of the long summer, farmers in the Mat-Su Valley are able to grow some of the largest vegetables in the world. They present them at the Alaska State Fair in the fall (early September for your Lower 48ers) and have broken more than a few world records. Another major industry is fishing, and many people's livelihoods depend on the quality of the fishing season. A poor salmon turnout can mean a difficult winter for them. If you are young and live in a fishing-heavy area, you have probably worked in a cannery. The pay is terrible, but there is endless overtime.	A company can fire just about anybody it wants, unless it discriminates by doing so.	Labor Day is in the fall.	You probably know someone who works for the oil companies, if you don't yourself. You most likely want drilling to be opened up in ANWR for this reason. Even some of the Natives would like it, which provides ammunition for your argument. You might try to ignore the fact that this is a heavily contested issue even in Alaska, and that Native support is still sharply divided along tribal lines. Another major industry is tourism (which is somewhat connected to the fishing industry). You tolerate the tourists (unforgivable though their driving habits may be) but make jokes about them.	If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so. You'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's ten minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable. Like in Canada though, people are much more understanding of lateness in winter. When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, but it's only good business to 'play hardball'.
L O N G I S L A N D U S A	There are still a few farmers and fishers on the east end, but they're really struggling. LI's duck and potato farms used to be world famous, but all that remains of that era is a landmark building shaped like a big duck. There is, however, a growing wine industry on the North Fork.			You probably work in the high-tech or service industries. If you don't yourself, you very likely know people who work more than one job. There sure are a lot of people working with computers.
L O U I S I A N A U S A	There's a good chance you are a farmer of sugar cane, rice, or soybeans.			If you're not a farmer, there's good chance you work in the oil industry. In fact the oil industry is about the only industry in the state (well, there's some shipping around New Orleans).
T E X A S U S A				Oil to you is something you buy at the gas station, not something you get rich off of, or profit from.
C A N A D A	If you live in Eastern Canada, you are not a farmer, but you may be elsewhere, especially in the prairie provinces.	A company can fire just about anybody it wants, unless it discriminates by doing so.	Labour Day is in September, and is usually the last day of summer holidays (especially for schoolchildren).		You make fun of Newfoundland because they are not in a full time-zone, they are only half an hour ahead of Atlantic Canada (and an hour and a half ahead of Ontario, etc). So if you say something is at a certain time, you can say "and a half hour later in Newfoundland."
B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A	Prairie Canadians probably farm. Eastern Canadians are fishermen. If you’re not a farmer, a fisherman or a logger, you personally know someone who is.	A company can fire just about anybody it wants, unless it discriminates by doing so.	Labour Day is in the fall, and is spelled with a "u". You get more paid holidays in a year than Americans.		If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so. You'll mutter an excuse if you're ten minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's twenty minutes. An hour late is inexcusable. When you negotiate, you are polite, yet firm. You can't understand American rudeness.
O N T A R I O C A N	If you live in the south, and you live in a city, you are not a farmer. If you live in the south and you don't live in a city, you probably are a farmer, or you know (or are related to) someone who is. If you live in the north you know loggers and miners, and are possibly involved in those occupations yourself. If you live anywhere near Ottawa chances are you work for the federal government.			Toronto, as an economic region, includes much of the shore of Lake Ontario, from Hamilton to Oshawa (the "Golden Horseshoe"), as well as the cities and towns to the north towards Lake Simcoe. If you live in this area you might work in Toronto, even if it takes hours to drive there because of traffic. In the northern part of the province the economy is heavily dependent on logging and mining. ("The north" begins where the province starts to widen out, north of the narrow part between Lake Huron and the Ottawa River)
Q U E B E C C A N					If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so. You'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's fifteen minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable. You get more leeway in the winter, however. When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, but it's only good business to 'play hardball'. You tend to be more familiar and friendly in business than Anglos (English Canadians).
LATIN AMERICA
B R A Z I L	You are not a farmer (70% live in cities).	A private company can fire just about anybody it wants. The Government and public companies seldom fire anybody.	Labor day is in the fall, that is, on 1st May (Southern Hemisphere fall).
C O L O M B I A	You are probably not a farmer.	A company can fire just about anybody it wants, but usually compensations are high.	Labor Day is called First May. There are usually some parade, but it is just another holiday.		If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than half a day or so. You'll mutter an excuse if you're ten minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's forty minutes. An hour late is usually tolerable, and no delay is inexcusable. When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, and you make negotiation a social event. To 'play hardball' is a little rude.
M E X I C O U R B A N	You're probably not a farmer.	Companies can fire anybody as long as they have a good reason, such as to reduce expenses.	Labor Day is in May 1st.		Appointments have often a 5-minute tolerance. You mutter an excuse if you come 10 minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's 25 minutes. 1-hour delays are almost inexcusable. When you negotiate, you are, of course, polite.
EUROPE
A U S T R I A	You are probably not a farmer, but you may know one.	A company can't always fire people easily, as there is strong union influence (and legal protection) in many areas.	Labor Day is the first of May		If you have an appointment, you'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's ten minutes. An hour late is inexcusable, as you own a mobile phone and could have called to say you'll be late. If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so.
F I N L A N D	You're not a farmer. But you have relatives who are, or were.	Firing somebody is not always possible. It has to be justified. If it can't be justified, the company may be condemned to pay damages. This could be one of the reasons why young people often only find temporary jobs.	Labor Day is on the 1st of May. (It's also the day of university students and approaching spring, and a kind of carnival for all people.)	You are either unemployed or over-worked. If you have a permanent job, you cling to it. Otherwise, your work consists of periods of whatever you can find between periods of unemployment. In any case, you are either working or looking for work -- unless you are a female with both very young children and a husband who can afford to keep you at home or a job which is really poorly paid and not worth returning to. (Most mothers put their children in daycare homes and return to work after a maternity leave of a little less than a year. It's also possible, although not very usual, that the father stays home to take care of the kids.) There sure are a lot of people working with computers.
F R A N C E	You're not a farmer.	Firing somebody is not always possible (e.g. the délégué du personnel is pretty much immune). It has to be justified. If it can't be justified, the company may be condemned to pay damages.	Labor Day is on the 1st of May.
B R I T T A N Y F R	You may be a farmer, or even a fisher.	A company can't fire everybody it wants to, albeit the restriction are less than they used to be.	Labor Day is the first of May and it is a holiday	You shall soon work 35 hours a week. If you are a man, you give you whole salary to your wife the day you get it. If she is kind, she'll give you a bit back to buy cigarettes. If you are an old rural farmer, it is possible you don't know how to sign a check (that's your wife's business)
G E R M A N Y	You are not a farmer.	If a company wants to fire an individual employee, it has to give reasons for it and convince the workers' represantative. If it wants to fire masses of people as part of a management strategy there will probably be public protests, but it will probably ignore them.	Labor Day is on the first of May. It's a day when the unions organize demonstrations; in some areas radical left-wingers provoke riots as a kind of sport.
G R E E C E	You are not a farmer, but chances are high that some of your ancestors were.	A company can fire just about anybody it wants. But it will also hire anybody.	Labor Day is May 1st. Of course it's a holiday.	You live in a country that has the greatest percentage of public servants/officials in Europe. You've got a 40% chance to be a public servant yourself, and you definitely have a relative or close friend that is.	If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you may expect them to show up 5 minutes early OR half an hour late. The business may take much longer than you imagined, and may be frequently interrupted by another person, a phone call etc. If you are late for an appointment, you'll mutter an excuse if you're 10-30 minutes late. 45 minutes late is still tolerable in some quarters (you don't do that if it is your first date with the girl of your dreams-- at least, not until you have sex with her).
I T A L Y	You are not a farmer.	State-owned companies and the public administration can't fire just anybody they want. Privately owned companies can't, either, but things are changing.	Labor Day is the First of May.		If you have an appointment, you'll mutter an excuse if you're fifteen minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's more.
N E T H E R L A N D S	You are not a farmer.	A company can't fire just anybody it wants. For this reason, many companies hire temporary workers through an employment agency.	Labor Day is the first of May, but it is not a holiday.
P O L A N D	You are not a farmer. If you were born in the country, and you are under twenty, you do everything not to be one.	A company can fire just about anybody it wants at a few weeks notice. Many people will not have a work-contract, but a service-sale contract, which can be cancelled at will.	Labor Day is May 1st. Demonstrations (marches) used to be compulsory for schoolchildren, university students, and people who worked in state-owned companies (which effectively meant for everybody), but few people attend them now.		If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so. But you will usually have to make another appointment. You'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's anything more than fifteen minutes. An hour late is positively inexcusable; no one will wait for you. When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, but it's only good business to 'play hardball'. You don't say what you mean, you pretend not to know many things, but you surely never lie. You know the other side does the same thing, and they know you know. Many people are tired of it, so they start talking normally. You say "let's talk like people" then.
S W E D E N	You are probably not a farmer but not so long ago everybody was one.	A company cannot fire anybody it wants. Instead, many companies hire temps through an agency: permanent employment is being superceded by this rent-a-person procedure in many cases. This could be one of the reasons why young people often only find temporary jobs.	Labour Day is called 1st of May. Not many march in demonstrations anymore.		If you have an appointment, you will mutter an excuse if you are five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it is ten minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable. When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, but it is only good business to 'play hardball'. You imagine this to be the dynamic American way of doing business. Swedes may overdo this, since they are really very shy. If you have a business appointment or an interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business should not take more than an hour or so.
E N G L A N D U K	You are not a farmer. Farmers are grumpy old curmudgeons who grow rich and fat on subsidies (unless they've been ruined by BSE and committed suicide).	A company can mostly fire who it wants, but there is a reasonable amount of employment legislation and unions do exist and often take their role seriously.	Labour Day is (technically) the first Monday in May, but everyone's always called it 'May Day Bank Holiday'.
Y O R K S H I R E U K	If you live in the Dales or the Peak District you may be a farmer. If not, farmers are grumpy old curmudgeons who grow rich and fat on subsidies (unless they've been ruined by BSE and committed suicide).	A company can mostly fire who it wants, but there is a reasonable amount of employment legislation, and unions are active and often take their role seriously.	Labour Day is (technically) the first Monday in May, but everyone's always called it 'May Day Bank Holiday'.
S C O T L A N D U K		A company can fire just about anybody it wants. You'd prefer if it were otherwise, since you probably know several people who've been made redundant my large multinationals who take advantage of the fact that Britain's employment laws are laxer than those in Europe.	Labour Day, spelt correctly with the "u", is on the first of May.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
A U S T R A L I A	You are not a farmer.		Labour Day is the first Monday in May-- that's in autumn.	Multiculturalism is a wonderful thing-- at least, when it comes to restaurants. You may be less comfortable with the idea if you live in regional areas like Ipswich-- why are all those foreigners getting the jobs while you're still unemployed?	If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so. You'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's ten minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable. When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, but it's only good business to "play hardball".
N E W Z E A L A N D	You are not a farmer. Farming is a very prominent industry, though. There are advertisements for sheep drenches on prime time TV, and politicians blame recessions on the weather. You probably know someone with either a full-scale farm or a small "lifestyle block".	A company can mostly fire who it wants.	Labour Day is a holiday, and is always called Labour Day, not a "Bank Holiday".		You'll apologise if you're a few minutes late for an appointment, and being an hour late is inexcusable. If you have an appointment with someone, you expect to have that person all too yourself and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so. When negotiating, you generally say what you think and get straight to the point, but you also try not to appear too arrogant.
ASIA
I N D I A	You are probably a farmer (or farmhand).	A private sector company can fire just about anybody. For the goverment or for a goverment enterprise it is quite impossible to fire anybody.	There is no Labor Day.	Infrastructure is totally inadequate and it is often an economic necessity for children to assist parents with earning money.	If you have an appointment, you'll mutter an excuse if you're an hour late. If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, but the business may take any amount of time depending on context. When you negotiate, you may play convoluted games to get what you want.
C H I N A	You may be a farmer. But if you are, you're probably not reading this.	A company can mostly fire whom it wants. In most cases a month salary will be offered as compensation.	Labor Day is on the first of May, but the holiday lasts for seven days.	You would probably prefer to work for a foreign company, because you can get a higher salary and more valuable work experience.	If you are male and your girlfriend is late for a meeting, you must wait there and be patient, and when she arrives, you should still smile. If you are female and your boyfriend arrives late, you will be very angry, and you will accuse him of not loving you. But after you are married, the above will be reversed.
J A P A N	You are not a farmer.	It used to be that a company would almost never fire an employee. With the recent wave of risutora (corporate restructuring), though, things are changing...			If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so. You'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's ten minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable. When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, and you have to be careful about whether to 'play hardball' or not-- some folks think it's rude. These people seem to think that negotiating is all about getting the other party to understand their intentions without stating them explicitly themselves.
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
N I G E R I A	You are a farmer; no matter your profession or social standing, you have a farm behind your house, and all your food comes from there.	A company can fire the most dedicated employee to hire a relative or friend who is a complete idiot.			If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect that person to be on the phone with four or more people at the same time, and the business might take years to complete. You expect them to know you'll be an hour late and are shocked if they make such a big deal out of it. It's only good business to 'play hardball'.
S O U T H A F R I C A	The likelihood of your being a farmer is not very high, but you do know some.	It's very difficult to get rid of employees, which you are grateful for if you're low man on the totem pole, and annoyed about if you're in a management position.	Workers' Day is on the 1st of May.		If you have an appointment, you'd better not be more than fifteen minutes late, or people will start without you. When people are late you comment that they are running on "African time", but that's just because you're jealous and would also like to live at a less hectic pace.
I S R A E L	You are probably not a farmer.	A company can fire just about anybody it wants, unless they have tenure. In any case, the company may have to pay severence pay.			If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so. You'll mutter an excuse if you're ten minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's twenty-five minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable. When you negotiate, you make sure not to show disrespect to the businessman or his goods.
T U R K E Y	You are not a farmer, but chances are high that some of your ancestors were.	A company can fire just about anybody it wants. But it will also hire anybody.	Labor Day is May 1st.		If you are late for an appointment, you'll mutter an excuse if you're 30 minutes late. An hour late is still tolerable. If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you may expect them to show up half an hour late. The business may take much longer than you imagined, and may be frequently interrupted by another person, a phone call etc. When you negotiate, you may play convoluted games to get what you want.
SUBCULTURES
1 S T G E N I M M I G R A N T	You were probably a farmer (or worse still a farm labourer) and are an f-g migrant for that very reason. Now you do those jobs that the locals look down on (unless you're a physics graduate in which case you'll find that working in a MacDonalds or KFC pays better.)			You are not ashamed to do menial / dirty / relatively low paid jobs that the natives would not consider, since you have no social position to uphold and you are not part of the class ladder. You will not have former schoolfriend-swats who you used to sneer at, but who have since made good, looking down at you. You realize, finally, that your laziness at school can be rectified by going to evening / vocational classes (called 'lifetime employability'). It used to be that companies hired immigrants by the bus load to do those jobs that the natives would not do, due to incredibly generous levels of unemployment / welfare payments. However, the old economy is now being delocalized to your country of origin where they pay starvation wages and you've got used to the good life, so you have to learn new skills to remain employable in the developed world. Furthermore, you can't go home (not to that home!), because now home is just 2 bus stops away and no longer on the other side of the world. Anyway, you can always moonlight to get cash in hand. You are most definitely not scared of hard work so are a welcome addition to the payrolls of many small businesses.

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