"America Taught Me": Indian Shares 5 Workplace Habits He Learned In The US

An Indian professional's reflections on workplace culture in the United States have attracted attention on LinkedIn, with many users relating to his observations about how people work, communicate and take responsibility.

In a post, Anushk S said moving to America for higher education exposed him to a completely different way of working.

"When I moved to America for higher education, the first thing I experienced was a culture shock. The way things are dealt here versus the way I had learned back home," he wrote.

After spending several years in the country, he said he had identified five workplace habits that America "gets remarkably right" and that professionals around the world could learn from.

His first lesson was the importance of respecting time. According to Anushk, punctuality is considered a sign of professionalism in the US.

"People respect your time, and they expect you to respect theirs. Meetings begin on time, deadlines mean something, and being late is rarely treated casually," he wrote, adding that "that discipline is not cosmetic. It is how trust is built."

He also highlighted the importance of preparation, saying the culture of "dekh lenge" does not work well in many American workplaces. Instead, employees are expected to understand the context, anticipate questions and prepare for potential problems before meetings begin.

Another lesson was clear ownership of work. He said responsibilities are usually well defined, with employees knowing exactly who is accountable for a task, who makes decisions and who is expected to deliver results.

Anushk also praised the way feedback is handled. "Good feedback here is usually specific, constructive and often delivered one-on-one. The focus is on improving the work, not humiliating the person," he wrote.

His fifth takeaway was that people are willing to begin executing ideas even before every detail has been finalised. "A strong idea, a clear vision and the ability to convince the right people can be enough to begin," he said, adding that plans often evolve as work progresses.

Despite praising several aspects of American work culture, Anushk also acknowledged the strengths of India. He said India had taught him "resilience, adaptability and how to create opportunities with limited resources".

He concluded that those qualities become even more powerful when combined with "preparation, ownership, honest feedback, respect for time and the courage to move early."

The post has sparked discussion on LinkedIn, with many users sharing their own experiences of workplace culture in India and abroad.