Programming work culture, here and there.

Question

For a while now i have been working in a Japanese software development company and one of the things that was really mind-blowing was the difference in the work culture here and in companies in north America. Even though all tools and development is the same, it is the attitude to work, dedication and sheer unity with which people work is what really made me love working here.

I was wondering if other people who worked in other countries as developers share the same thoughts. How is working in a non north American company (and hence environment) impacted your work style and what changes to your current work culture you think could be made based on what you have observed in others?

Answer 1

OTOH, Japanese companies tend to be a lot stricter about everything as well (punctuality, clothing etc) plus overtime is not exactly uncommon in this country. What's that like in your company?

I myself work for a tiny company in Tokyo under Korean/Japanese-American management, so it's pretty relaxed and I'm very independent, but I also need to perform well without instructions.

Answer 2

I think you probably underestimate the level of variety in working cultures in your own country. Just moving from one American corporation to another (both times in UK offices), I've had a huge culture shock.

The previous corporation was IBM. At IBM you could get culture shock moving from one business unit to another.

I've only been lucky enough to spend time at one Japanese office, and yes it was different - in ways different to what you describe. So I bet there's a lot of variety in Japan too.

Answer 3

I am American who has worked in the UK for ~3 years and Switzerland for ~7 years, and I have to say culture was less of a problem than communication, although that is arguably related.

A common saying goes "Britain and America: Two nations divided by a common language". Language, obviously, here is Switzerland is an issue with non-native speakers of English (or my weak German) but similar issues were surprisingly prevalent in the UK for me. The real problems come from more the subtle aspects of communication--how questions are phrased, orders given, ciritsism handed out, etc.

@slim - I'm with ya on domestic differences! In both the UK and CH I've seen wild differences in work place culture, as the OP describes it.