The US Labor Laws are complete shit. Period!
this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2025
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"nobody asked me questions during my maternity leave"
Yeah. Because it's the fricking law both in Germany as well as Austria. Her boss would be in hot water. 1800β¬ fine per case (means per question) up to 3600β¬ for repeat offenders. It does not change a thing if the mother offered it or not.
The Austrians are actually quite lenient with that. German law gives fines up to 30.000β¬ and in cases that are seen as endangerment of the child up to one year of prison.
We seriously do not fuck around with that here.
(The same goes for vacations)
Does anyone else find a bit odd to phrase basic labour rights as 'perks'?
Europeans probably. Americans be like π²
US applicant: "How many sick days do I get?"
German HR department: "I'm sorry what do you mean?"
US applicant: "How many days may I call in sick per year?"
German HR department: "Er... that depends on how often you get sick?!"
US applicant: "Wat."
This exact thing happened to my partner. Her rep was like, what is a 'Sick Day'?
As an aside, it's always both a bit funny and bewildering how even the more reputable American media talk about Europe as if it were just one thing, so that, for instance, this article specifies it to Austria only several paragraphs into the text.
us could have this too, if you had strong unions among other things.
You mean communism?
Edit: /s because it seems it wasnt obvious enough
Jesus fucking christ. How is an union communist? Lol do unions advocate that all workers should be equally owners? Do you even know what a union or communism is? What a stupid brainwashing shit have you guys been suffering?
Wow chill I was being sarcastic. Thought it was obvious enough but seems Lemmy isnt so different from reddit after all, the /s is always needed.
Sorry, my US Friends. We're just too left on working issues, mostly.
Fucking communist europe, respecting women a tiny little bit more than not at all.
They don't understand what you said, you should have used the word woke
Imagine if you landed a job in Europe from a European company. You'd definitely not be able to go back
for any fluent English speakers out there, it's a very similar situation if you want to start teaching English abroad.
20-25 teaching hours a week, sign up bonuses, airfare reimbursement, at least a couple months of vacation per year, much lower cost of living in most countries, with maybe the field-specific benefit of thousands of job openings currently available.
Plus you get an adventure the whole time you're in another country, new experiences and new cultures.
Definitely why I never went back to the work culture in the US.
Teaching here is a 20/20h for a fulltime job and you get around 90 days off, but you can't choose when to take em.
Is anything more necessary than being a fluent speaker?
Not OP, but I taught English in Japan. You need a bachelor's degree to get a visa there. It doesn't need to be related to teaching/language, but that will help make you more competitive.
nope.
some countries and schools require a TEFL certificate or prefer candidates with an associate's degree depending on the position, but if you want to teach English, all you need is to be a fluent English speaker.
some English teachers i know aren't even native speakers. they are very good at English and have a minimal accent.
Very interesting. You seem to be quite knowledgeable about this. Could you give me a few pointers before I go searching - if itβs not too much to ask?
Sure. Some general recommendations:
- If you care a lot about where you teach, get a TEFL certificate. this is the one I got. All PDF tests, lifetime certification, internationally accredited, valid for any ESL job globally, plus TEFL certificates automatically give you access to the higher end of the pay scale.
You'll be able to teach in your country and school of choice with this certificate.
That said, you don't need a TEFL certificate to start teaching and if you fly to China on a tourist visa tomorrow and are a fluent English speaker, you will get a job in one of the first schools you inquire at. Someone might even stop you on the street to offer you a job if you look like a foreigner.
-
If a job doesn't feel right, keep looking. There is a large, constant demand for English teachers globally and there is zero reason to take a job you aren't comfortable with or a job that doesn't provide the compensation and benefits you're looking for.
-
DavesESLcafe is one of the original TEFL sites, and will give you an idea of what job postings look like online(that's the China job board page), although typing "English teaching jobs in _______" whatever country you want is going to net plenty of job postings you can apply for.
I could go on, but I don't want to overwhelm you.
If there's anything specific you want addressed or you have followup questions, I'm happy to answer them.
paywall
Labor is usually compensated by money.
www.businessinsider.com Working remotely for a European company as an American: My review Charissa Cheong 8 - 10 minutes I landed a remote job for a European company, and now I'd find it hard to go back to a US-based company β I feel spoiled by the perks
Left: Meghan Gezo in her home office in Michigan; Right: A view of the buildings in Linz, Austria Meghan Gezo said working for a European company has helped expand her HR knowledge. Taylor Shock; Westend61/Getty Images
Jun 7, 2025, 11:32 AM GMT+2
Meghan Gezo works for a European company from her home in Michigan.
She loves the benefits of European working culture, from the hours to the vacation time norms.
Having experienced these perks, Gezo said she'd find it hard to work for a US-based company again.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 34-year-old Meghan Gezo, from Michigan. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2022, I left my job working remotely in people operations for a US company. Juggling my job and raising my one-year-old wasn't working.
I wanted to take a break while I looked for another opportunity that would allow me to have better work-life boundaries.
Companies use Trump's executive order as a loophole to fast-track commercial seafloor mining
After a few months of job hunting, I started as a people experience manager at Storyblok, a fully remote content management company based in Austria.
I'd never worked for a company based in Europe before. Living in the US, most jobs that pop up are US-based.
People have come to expect more work-life balance in Europe, as the employment laws differ from the US. For me, there have been perks related to my life as a parent, my working hours, and my professional growth. I was immediately drawn to the benefits of working for a European company
I've been working in remote jobs for tech companies since 2016.
I'd previously worked in an office, but thought a remote job meant I could focus on higher-impact work than the office administration that usually fell to HR, as well as branch out beyond the manufacturing and automotive industry jobs in my area.
It was easier to find a remote job in 2022 than in 2016. I found the listing for Storyblok on a job board. The people I spoke with were genuine and direct. In the first interview, they talked about time off norms and said the standard workweek is 38.5 hours. They seemed to emphasize work-life balance and gave me concrete examples of how it worked at the company.
I was optimistic I could be successful in the role while staying involved in my daughter's life.
In the US, the norm on paper is a 40-hour workweek, but in practice, people often work until they finish their tasks, especially in tech. I used to work, feed my daughter, put her to bed, and then work some more. It felt normal.
At my current company, you focus on work when you're at work and then log off until the next day. There have definitely been times when I've had to work extra hours, but overall, I'd say that my work-life balance is better.
In the US, it can often feel that your work is your identity. My European colleagues take pride in their work and are extremely hard workers, but their job is one facet of their identity. Working for a European company has pushed me in new ways
I've gained experience working with people from other cultures. Learning about Austrian law has also pushed me to expand my HR knowledge beyond US employment law.
One thing I've noticed about the company culture is that when people are on vacation, they're on vacation. Meanwhile, it's more the norm in the US to answer messages on vacation. I've not completely broken this habit, but it has felt more attainable for me to delete work communication apps from my phone when I'm away. I've felt very supported in my role as a parent at my European company
The Austrian norm of "care leave," which isn't a norm in the US, is a great part of working for a European company. Because I have kids under a certain age, I get to use two paid weeks off a year for days when my kids are sick and I need to take them to a doctor or take care of them. Having this bucket to pull from is a huge weight off my shoulders as a parent.
My previous employers had generous parental leave policies. However, at Storyblok, I got slightly more time β 16 weeks.
I went on maternity leave at a previous company with my firstborn and again at my current job in 2023. During my most recent maternity leave, people in the company treated it very seriously. I got a lot of support from my manager and team to help plan for my leave and assign my tasks to others.
During my first maternity leave for a previous company, I didn't mind answering a few questions as needed to support my team, but at Storyblok, no one asked me work-related questions while I was away. There are some downsides
While my working hours suit my season of life, there are days when I wish I could start later at 9 a.m. However, I don't think I'd be as effective without overlap with my European colleagues. Right now, I work 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET.
Sometimes, if I have a question I want to ask colleagues in Europe during my afternoons, I'll know that I won't be getting an answer until the next day because of the time zone difference. I've learned to work these expectations into my regular workflow.
It does make me sad that I don't live near my colleagues. I've built strong relationships with these people, but they're an ocean away. I'd find it hard to go back to a US-based company
Working for a European company didn't occur to me as an option before I interviewed for this job. Having worked here for over two years, I feel spoiled by the benefits and perks of European working culture, and it would be hard for me to go back to working for a US-based company.
Do you have a story to share about remote work? Contact this reporter at ccheong@businessinsider.com
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Thank you very much.