Reply to European Expansion: Eye-Opening, Frustrating, and Possibly Not Worth It

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Working with our Europe branch has been quite an intense endeavor. As part of a large tech company expanding aggressively across the region, I’ve been leading hiring efforts for multiple new office locations — and I’ve hit a wall of cultural and structural friction.

Simply put: they don’t want to work long hours. They don’t want to commit. And they have a lot of demands — mandatory holidays, strict work-hour rules, protected leave policies, the list goes on.

Yes, salaries may be half the cost of U.S.-based employees, but in many cases, it feels like you’re getting half the output. And no, that’s not an exaggeration.

Here are some of the realities we’ve faced:

One employee took a full year of maternity leave, then extended it into a second year for a new baby — with no firm return date.
A male employee took one year of paternity leave, returned just in time for “mandatory” summer PTO — a month off, like clockwork.
In Spain, we’re required to offer additional vacation banks separate from standard PTO, and summer laws restrict work to no more than 5 hours a day.
New hires often start with 20+ hours of vacation built in. Day one.

The structure seems designed to protect mediocrity — not reward performance.

Ironically, our best hires in Europe have been Americans who’ve relocated, or folks from post-Soviet countries who still bring hunger, accountability, and a willingness to go above and beyond.

I get that Europe values work-life balance. But when that balance tilts so far toward comfort that productivity suffers, it raises a real question: Is it worth it?

If you’re trying to run a business, grow fast, or compete globally, these restrictions are more than just frustrating — they’re counterproductive.

No wonder the U.S. keeps leading. Say what you will about hustle culture — it gets things done.
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I worked for a European Company for 10 years at their NY location. It was called "two butts one seat" approach to staffing. Between maternity leave, paternity leave, how long to fire someone and even if you hire someone with Gardening Leave rules could be 2-3 months before they start. Hence you had to over hire.

We had a women in our German Office who took max maternity leave of two years actually got pregnant with two more kids while out on leave. She left early and took max after birth of third child. My company had to hold her job for six years. Was funny, she had a desk at work, in phone book on staff list.

The European people were shocked that [b]in NYC we can be fired at anytime, no severance required and with no garden leave requirements workers can also quit on a moments notice. [/b]They were shocked.       [/quote]
It is shocking, no? ...that people can be fired at any moment.  You have illness in the family, kids in college, a mortgage, then you get fired. Then what?  No health insurance, kids have to drop out, you have to sell the house.  Is that a great way to live?  I would find this a stressful way of life.[/quote]

That’s why you have savings and a dual income household.[/quote]

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