Working in USA

I always thought America was the most rabid capitalistic country in the world. Barack Obama's “Audacity of Hope” reinforces that impression. What surprised me when I worked there was that it was far more egalitarian than Australia. Let me elaborate. In America when you join a company there is no such thing as probation period. You can be dismissed at any time without any prior notice. By the same token, you can leave the company at any time with little notice. In practice though an employee gives a notice before leaving and most companies when they retrench people for no fault of theirs, normally pay a salary of a month or two and continue with health care insurance for even longer, six months is not rare. But in Australia I was given a job offer which stated that the probation period was three months and during that period the employer can terminate me with two weeks notices but I had to give four weeks notice to quit. Hardly a worker's paradise...

It must be said that America being such a large country employers don't fire that easily... although I am told that in the Mid-West companies like Walmart are run like serfdoms. That is why Walmart's TV advertisement don't talk about price or product but portray happy satisfied Walmart associates, a euphemism for employees who are hired and fired depending on the mood of the manager. In general, if it is difficult to join a company it is less likely that you will be fired frivolously.

Nevertheless, the way people are usually treated in good American corporations is remarkable. It is as close to socialism as you can possibly get. “Hierarchy is a necessary evil” of business organization, as Mark Templeton the CEO of Citrix emphasizes repeatedly. Most employers treat their employees well, simply because the opportunities within the country are so huge that a good employee can find work elsewhere. Notice that while unemployment is close to 10% in the US, the unemployment rate for graduates is less than 5%.