London calling

I cannot deny it and although it does not appear so, I lived in Britain for a very long time, so long that the British way of life has become part of me. I am an Anglophile as I genuinely like many things British.

In 2011 I made the conscious decision to come back to Asia.  It has been a good decision as I managed to establish myself better in various aspects of life. 

Over time I slowly adjusted to the Asian way of life. Although I still enjoy the occasional British sit-coms and prefer bbc to all other news channels, I was slowly and surely letting go of British values I had attained.

So much to the extent that when I came back to the UK on a business trip I felt very little affiliation with the country. There was just a tinge of sadness on the realisation that the my time with British had indeed ended but apart from that I just felt I had moved on.  

6 months later, I am back on another business trip. This time round I feel as indifferent as the last trip.  I feel like a foreigner on a travel. 

Last night I went out with the cheerful lot at work for some after work drinks.  On my way back to the hotel on a drizzly Spring night, I heard sounds of the train, I caught sight of the iconic London bus passing by, and squeezed through Londoners having a night out.  Such a familiar experience.

Amidst the chatter and sounds of the city, a sense of nostalgia hit me like a truck. This had been my life for a long time. I spent the best years of my life in this country living like this.  I thought I had moved on but I think I will always find a sense of belonging in Britain.  

Working in Singapore has been so stressful that I have nearly forgotten what a normal life feels like. I shut out my working experience in Britain and never drew comparisons, perhaps it was a self preservation mechanism to prevent me from feeling more depressed.

After 3 days in the London office, the memories all came flooding back.  I can no longer shut them out.  I can no longer deny I was part of this society. I must outline the British working life and highlight the reasons why working in Britain delightful

• The Brits are naturally witty and funny.  The British witticism is an integral part of British culture and most Brits are capable of the charming dry British humour.  In the workplace, banters, insults, jokes are projected to and from all directions so often that a tense situation never gathers momentum and is diffused almost immediately into wholehearted laughters.

• The Brits are extremely sensitive towards each others’ feelings. Even in disagreement everyone retains great diplomacy and the air never gets hostile.  Rarely anything ever gets carried over to affect people’s emotions.  

• The Brits are very considerate towards each other and are very respectful of each others’ boundaries.  They don’t take up others’ time unnecessarily and are very careful about adding burden on others.

• Companies are genuinely considerate about employees’ well-being. Working extra hours, although required very occasionally, is not the norm and the companies generally go to great lengths to prevent that from becoming a routine for the employees.  When I was working in the UK, when I clocked in extra hours my manager would be genuinely concerned and would subsequently re-evaluate my work assignment.  Making staff work on weekends would be unthinkable.  

Knowing that you’ll be going home on time and can make plans for the evening is a truly comforting thought.

The company is dedicated to keeping things that way.

• The air is cool.  Icy air filling your lungs is invigorating and it dissipates stress. Commuting to work may indeed be a lovely countryside walk

There I have it.  A decade of workplace wisdom succinctly summarised in a few bullet points. If you have worked in both the east and west I can imagine you can relate. I can also imagine your response to be ‘so what else is new?’