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A new law signed into effect by President Dilma Rouseff says that employers are to pay their employees for work they do after-hours. The law primarily targets time spent on emails and phone calls. Interestingly enough, VW recently prohibited Blackberry service after-hours (see our post on this here), an opposite approach. Different cultural values have driven two responses to the same fundamental complaint: that it is hard to disconnect from our smart phones and the internet after we leave the office. Connectivity has been the hallmark of business in the 21st century, but should we re-think the effects of the 'always open for business' attitude? Ultimately, this comes down to what's more important: business responsive or work-life balance. Click here to watch a report from CNN.
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From Norway comes a confusing case of child protective services deeming an Indian couple's method of child-rearing unacceptable. From the surface, it looks like a major cross-cultural misunderstanding: the parents fed their 2 young children with their hands and they shared one bed. What do you think? Click here to read more...
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The stereotype in Europe is that the North loves to work and the South loves to do other things. Chancellor Merkel once remarked that Southerners like Italians and Greeks should take less holiday and retire at an older age. A new set of statistical norms might suggest the opposite. In a report by a French bank, Greeks worked on average over 2,000 hours per year, while Germans worked only 1,390. What does this data say to you? Click here to read more...
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Have you ever thought about how certain expressions have different meanings, literal versus intended? The British are known for being sardonic, i.e. "That is a very brave proposal" could very well mean "You are insane". Keep that in mind and see if you can see the meaning behind each phrase in this table.
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Read Charlene Solomon’s article in MOBILITY magazine.
How does modern day business culture impede healthy living?
CultureWizard Digest is published by RW3 CultureWizard. Learn more about us at RW-3.com.
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Issue #46
January 31, 2012
Learn more about Brazilian business culture
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