There are vast differences between working life in UK and China that relate to many aspects of employment. At the same time there are still some similarities between the workplaces in above two countries as well. The main points relating to the differences can be summarised into the following three points:
Firstly, there are different perception of working hours in UK and China. In UK usually the working hours are fixed, and the cases of employees working beyond their working hours are rare, and even in these occasions they get paid for overtime. In China, on the other hand, although there are specific contracted hours for employees, nevertheless, the cases of employees staying beyond their contracted hours without additional payment are common.
Secondly, there are differences in motivation between UK and Chinese workers. Financial rewards are considered to be one of the most effective motivational tools in UK workplaces. On the other hand, “while additional money may motivate Chinese employees, they will not generally demand rises directly. As members of collectivist society, the Chinese are more likely to see success or failure as a group effort, leading to group recognition and raises rather than individual rewards.
Thirdly, there are vast differences in duration of employment between UK and China. In UK it is popular among employees to change companies every several years caused by changes in circumstances, as well as because of the willingness of employees to be engaged in different types of experiences. In China, on the contrary, there is a different situation, in a way that people tend to work in the same company for the duration of many years, and the cases of lifelong employment in the same company are not rare.
The main similarities between the working life in UK and China include increasing pressure on the workforce due to intensifying level of competition. Specifically, both, in China, as well as in UK the demand and pressure for each individual workforce has intensified because of the search for competitive edge management of the companies are engaged in.Another point of similarities between the working life in China and UK relates to workforce becoming multicultural in both countries, as it has been stated that “both domestically, and globally multicultural workforce has become a reality