An American woman has revealed the biggest – but welcome – surprise she has encountered since moving to Australia.
Kerrene Taylorfrom Washington, moved to Perth for work almost a decade ago.
She recently got sick and had to call in sick for the next day, and to her surprise, so did her boss friendly, accommodating and wished her a speedy recovery.
“The biggest culture shock in Australia is work-life balance,” she said in a video.
She talked about her experiences on her popular TikTok account.
“I needed sick leave today, it was a non-issue, which is the opposite of my experience working in the US,” she said.
‘In Australia I apologized for applying for annual leave and was laughed at by an employer. More often than not, if I need time off, that’s okay and allowed.”
Kerrene revealed that some former employers in the US had made it clear that any request for a day off was an ‘inconvenience’ and a ‘burden’ on the company.
“I’m sure there are great employers in the US, but it’s just one of those things where I’m very grateful to be here because I can be sick and take time off and that’s okay, it’s just something that happens because I’m human,” she said.
An American woman has revealed the biggest culture shock she experienced after packing her bags and moving to Australia
Many Australians responded to her video and agreed that time off was becoming more accepted Down Under.
“In Australia we first apply for annual leave and if it is refused, we call in sick for those days,” one person joked.
“I’ve been asked to take annual leave so many times,” said another.
‘Three days ago I called in sick because I had a bad dream and didn’t feel like it. All my colleagues wished me a speedy recovery,” said one woman.
But not everyone had the best experiences with employers in Australia.
‘Not all Australian companies are so accommodating. I worked for a toxic place where we felt guilty for being sick,” one man said.
“It certainly depends on the sector,” said another. ‘Hospitality and retail can be very detrimental to taking time off.’
“I work in retail and someone applied for annual leave for a wedding over a year in advance and was turned down,” one woman revealed.
“I’m Australian and just moved to admin after ten years in the hospitality industry,” one person said.
‘This is the first job where I feel like I can take time off.’