In addition to the sinister “Everything better red” banners, there are a few other significant differences in office life I’ve noticed since I started working in China.
- Going to lunch at 11.30am. On the dot. En masse.
- Taking naps after said lunch. Fully splayed along couches and kitchen chairs.
- Humidifiers on every desk. Pink ones. With cartoons and flowers.
- People using cellphones in the restroom. The public, 6 stall, noisy flushing restroom.
- Snacks in Germany: candy, pretzels, and more candy. Snacks in China: sesame peanut cookies, Chinese rice krispy treats, and dried beef chunks.
- Coworker lectures for not dressing warmly enough.
And don’t get me started on the additional differences of working in an office of 100 engineers. Sometimes I think I’m working for an entirely different company. But previous comments aside, it’s interesting how the office environment insulates you from the outside world. With English-only emails and colleagues around the world, it is shockingly easy to spend the entire day working exactly as you would in any other office in the world. I’m not sure if this speaks to the wonders of a global company, or the depressingly Office Space-esque nature of corporate life.
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