At Carbon13, the venture capitalist firm in London that I have been working for this Summer, I have been confronted with a work-life-balance far different than As a self-proclaimed “workaholic” and perfectionist, I have found that my willingness to work long hours and rigorously scrutinize every detail of my work was, although commendable in an American work-environment, ill-regarded in the United Kingdom. While I certainly would not claim that residents of the United Kingdom do not work hard, English work culture is certainly more relaxed and slow-paced than it is in America. Compared to the legal internship I had last Summer, I perform less work per day with Carbon13, and I am experiencing a much more friendly and personal work environment rather than one that is predominantly professional.
Initially, I found the slower pace of the workday to be boring, but after a few weeks, once the initial excitement and energy of having a new job, being in a new city, and acting as a tourist died down, I quickly grew to appreciate the less-taxing nature of the United Kingdom workday. I find that I have significantly more energy for personal activities at the end of my shifts, allowing me to easily fit exercise, studying, household chores, and reading into my daily routine with relative ease.
Furthermore, the relaxed nature of the Carbon13 team has made me less fearful of making mistakes in my work. While I continue to work diligently and troubleshoot for errors in my tasks before submitting them for review, I am less anxious about my performance: predominantly due to the more personal relationship I have with the team, despite their age and experience being significantly greater than mine. Due to the relaxed and slower nature of work, the delay caused by making and fixing a mistake is far less significant in the United Kingdom venture capital workplace than in the United States legal one.
As my weeks with Carbon13 pass by, I find that these workplace differences stem not just from the obviously different natures of the legal profession and venture capitalism, but also from the differences of cultural emphasis on self-generated success (a.k.a. the “American dream”) and personal wellbeing. The United States is a country that strongly values entrepreneurship and often defines one’s success by the merits of one’s labor. For example, I often define myself by my accomplishments, and I know that my future will include a long span of hard work before I would ever consider myself satisfied. In the United Kingdom, however, there seems to be a greater cultural emphasis on personal wellbeing and defining one’s success by one’s long-term continuous growth rather than clearly defined moments or achievements. Success, while definitely a goal of most people in the United Kingdom, is expected to come naturally, and instead, the most common goal shared by London citizens is contentment.
To adjust to this new working mindset, I’ve begun to treat my time in London as less of a work opportunity and more like a vacation. While I still work hard, I never think about my internship outside of my working hours and instead focus on relaxing, exercising, or exploring the city. In fact, after a few weeks, I found that I began thinking less about the future and consequently being more “present” in the present. As a result, I actually have found my own anxieties about the future diminishing as I worry less about what the future has in store and instead trust that as long as I accomplish my goals each day and enjoy myself when I can, then a future I am content with will likely come my way.
