I am about to move to Switzerland and I will join a big Swiss multinational. I am coming from another big American company... I wonder if you guys can share your experiences when moving from the american (not necessary working in US) company culture to the swiss one.
Also, any tip or comment or do's/don't to integrate with the Swiss company philosophy would be most welcome!
Or the combination thereof. All the Swiss locals say my employer, which is Swiss, is very unusual for Switzerland, especially since most of us are "du" and not "Sie".
My experience under a Swiss boss was excellent - you're a responsible adult and we're going to treat you like one. If you're sick, don't come in, we believe you when you tell us you're sick and won't make you feel guilty for taking a day or two for illness. Do your job and you'll be treated with respect.
Working for an American boss in a Swiss company was like going back to America. If you're sick, come in and be unproductive, but warming your seat. Games. Backstabbing. All the fun American politics in the workplace kind of stuff.
My experience was that people that I sat next too didn't even say hello, good morning, or good night, even when I initiated the conversation. And I was placed away from the rest of the team. Guess it's a hit or miss
Don't think this is exclusively American, I saw same kind of politics in London and also in Zurich. And I've only worked for Swiss companies here and abroad
Well, if your attitude is reflected by your current avatar, then I can see how the Swiss might prefer to not mix with you too much, to be honest. A lot of the Swiss I know have a love or hate relationship towards the US and its citizens...
They were not Swiss, just rude and arrogant. and I don't have the avatar stitched to my shirt. Guess the swiss love the US money but hate having to hand the names over
Also the experience of one of my friends. Mine was different, I had a fantastic Swiss boss, who left and was replaced by an East German who'd been smuggled to the West many years before the fall of the Berlin Wall. I suspect he was a Stasi spy. Certainly, he had the social graces (and people skills) of a flatulent cockroach.
Cris - I work for an American company who I relocated here with, and I do find differences with the work ethic. Back home it was a bit more stressful with managers giving ridiculous demands for when they need some task they've just decided needs done on top of your busy day to day work. Good banter though.
Here, it's a lot more relaxed in terms of the work and I have to say the banter is also good. Unfortunately I'm the kind of person who concentrates better when stressed out her brain, so I've not decided yet whether I like it.
HOWEVER, the Swiss people in my team are fantastic! Actually, in my team of five I'm the only non Swiss so I suppose it would be easy for them to exclude me, but they all helped with the flat hunt, invite me to lunches/ nights out and when I have a question about something or have a letter that needs translated they couldn't be more willing to help.
I do agree with what was said about the manager's being more respectful - I had a death in my family a couple of weeks ago and was given as much time as I wanted off. Once at home I was told one morning that I might not be able to go to a funeral in the afternoon because it was too busy!
the biggest difference according to my experience is that the American bosses will tell you about every 5 minutes that you are sooooo amazing and doing such a great job and whatever you just did was excellent work!! (especially confusing if they have not even presented the said work to them).
So don't get scared if your Swiss bosses will do no such thing. It does not necessarily mean that they are not happy with your performance - you will see from your yearly review paper how things are going.
I am more interested to know your opinion on the differences in culture, values or philosophy of the company itself and not about the managers/colleagues... in fact my new manager is Asiatic :-)
For instance, if I think about my (ex-soon to be) American company, there is a huge focus on performance, meritocracy, etc.
The OP will probably have a range if nationalities for bosses, could be American, Swiss,British ,etc. I'd rather hear a true evaluation of my performance a bit more regularly then once a year, that way there are no surprises. I also found Swiss tend to be more specialized, so if they have left a team recently , then it's over and done with, they will offer no assistance. And for projects they tend not to get down and dirty when it's crunch time. British and Americans don't seem to have an issue with this.
I'm not sure my experience is relevant to your question, as I worked with an American company before and still work with them now, however, that means that the company's culture, values and philosophies are the same here as they were at home but I don't see them as being viewed in the same way here. I don't think it is taken as seriously.
At home there is more focus on getting noticed by "high up" people in your office and other locations and bigging yourself up when you've done something well. Things like controls are top of the list with importance and constantly under review, team meetings happened weekly and one to ones were monthly. Here, I feel more like I go to work, do the same thing as the day before, and go home again - but it's still early days.
I haven't decided yet which way is better - something in between would probably be ideal!
Is there any body give me a tip where to find an american company in ZUG or LUZERN.I just move from America and looking for a job for american company so please help me.