The Dutch Way of Working

This video is a part of a free online crash introduction to living in the Netherlands, “Feeling at Home”. Learn more about building your life in the Netherlands: • Top tips for feeling a...
ABOUT THIS VIDEO:
The Dutch Way of Working
The video explains the Dutch work environment. It’s well known that Dutch people work to live, not the other way around. But what skills do you need to thrive in the workplace and get along with your Dutch colleagues? In short: forget hierarchy.
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Municipality of Amstelveen
WEBSITE: www.amstelveen.nl/english

[@peer_64]

In the Netherlands I once worked at a firm that was taken over by an American Company. We all got a booklet with the new american work culture. For example: when the chef calls, you immediately had to come, because the company was more important than your family. No company, no family they wrote. We all had a good laugh at it and we worked on as usual. After 40 years the firm still exists😉😁

[@ingridwatsup9671]

Yes, had the same experience with the Marriott.

[@peer_64]

@joe pesci at that time it was called Fort James. A big manufacturer of paper products as toilet-paper and napkins.

[@lp9777]

so true!!! ive lived 10 years in the netherlands,the most important things for a dutch is "be there on time or before, speak "DUTCH" properly, always plan in advance, be VERY efficiant at work and always be nice to your collegues at ALL time, in the netherland, if you need help for anything, THEY will help you anytime, for me Netherland is the best country on "how to become sumone" , ik kan ook de taal praten as ik will, nederland is ECHT SUPER TOPPI!!, Bedankt Nederland !!

[@joebar2249]

HAHAHA we had a new manager from the Phillipines, and the first day at 16:30 people turned down their PC's, to go home, and he asked angry what they are doing??? Going home, it's time... No no no , nobody goes home before I go home... Sorry that may be in the phillipines so, but here time is time...See you tomorrow

[@jaymo130]

I am new to the Netherlands, having lived around the world, took some getting used to the direct speak, but love it now, and just love how strangers in the street are very quick with a smile when walking past each other, Think its the combination of exercise every day from cycling to work come rain or shine and living next to water all the time. Its really great living here!

[@davegadge1]

Ten years in Amsterdam, I can say that I leant a lot , I like the way the cultures does not respect working until stupid o’clock. Now I work in Beijing and working until 11PM is common.

[@brianmaphar9685]

Nice to see these facts about being Dutch. I am Dutch and after having lived in The Netherlands for 35+ years, I moved to Canada 5 years ago. I still pride myself in the 'Dutch way' of working, people here appreciate (??) me for working in that way. Yes, I'm blunt/direct; will speak my mind when something isn't going the way we discussed it earlier; am always on time and annoyed when others are not. My excuse: ' I'm Dutch' Parts of me want to distance myself from my Dutch habits, but I've come to realize that this is easier said than done. I can see that newcomers to The Netherlands have some sort of a culture shock, bigger or just a small one. My blunt advise: Just deal with it. You'll learn to go with the flow and if you put effort into it, the Dutchies will see it and accept you as their co-worker.

[@agathahofmann6977]

also we love part timing. a lot of women work 3 days a week and most men have dad days too.

[@wimschoenmakers5463]

Say what you do, and do what you said! Simple as that. 😁

[@herbertdarick7693]

I am Dutch but I haven't lived in Holland for more than 20 years. The Dutch way of working is very pleasant and productive because people work together efficiently thanks to good and open communication. But going out for a drink with my Dutch colleagues or even going for lunch wasn't much fun. Most people continued talking about work or kept being very reserved. Maybe the horrible broodje kaas met karnemelk lunches didn't help either.

[@The_Livingdude]

That’s a nice word a Dutch could say

[@ronnie9187]

Haha heel herkenbaar. Ik ben ook meer dan 20 jaar weg uit Nederland en soms kom ik terug voor mijn werk. Dan is het genieten als de "hollandse lunch" wordt opgediend. Tenminste niet genieten van de lunch zelf, maar van iets anders. Dan kijk ik altijd stiekem naar de gezichten van collega's uit Italie, Frankrijk of Spanje die voor het eerst in Nederland zijn... Die teleurstelling, die radeloosheid in hun gezichtsuitdrukking. Geweldig!

[@gunner678]

Amen

[@RFGfotografie]

Awesome video :) Feeling proud to be Dutch. Though as a typical Dutch men, I am also a bit skeptical about this as it doesn't work that way everywhere. Lucky my job is perfect for me though :)

[@BrigataUPG]

My question is about English language used at work and whether policy, procedures email exchange are in english. Thank you

[@internationalnewcomersamst7887]

It depends on the company's policy. Some companies operate fully in English. Of course, language policies may vary per department or role.

[@irinakypriou9939]

Which country has better work life balance ? Netherlands ? France ? Sweden ? Germany ?

[@Guust_Flater]

You work to live, not live to work.

[@peet4921]

As if every Dutch person works in an office or has meetings all the time. Spoiler alert : Most don't.

[@Linda-hs1lk]

Dat wordt ook niet gesuggereerd.

[@peet4921]

@@Linda-hs1lk Nee, maar zo komt het wel over.

[@williamgeardener2509]

@@peet4921 Het gaat niet om het werken op een kantoor maar om de manier waarop mensen met elkaar omgaan op het werk. Je zult hier bijvoorbeeld niet de Amerikaanse cultuur beleven waarin personeel wordt gezien als noodzakelijk kwaad dat geen rechten heeft en gewoon maar te doen heeft wat hun wordt verteld en dat bovendien geen recht heeft op privacy en dus 24/7 klaar moet staan voor de baas.

[@peet4921]

@@williamgeardener2509 Nee, dat is wel duidelijk. Toevallig kwam ik dit tegen (schijnt de laatste maanden nogal 'a big thing' te zijn in de US) kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJO5YqSolL6Mr8U

[@TheOpticalFreak]

Het gaat hier alleen om kantoorwerk! 😝 Dit is een reclame voor Zuidasklerken! 😅

[@fahadamin7042]

what is the strength of dutch economy, what type of sector in netherland....

[@stoeptegel14]

food export

[@martijnb5887]

High tech industry (ASML!), civil engineering, flowers, finance

[@janottens6755]

Yes i work to live , is there an other way ??? So yes that would be horribel 😞

[@DuxJerome]

Managers like lots of meetings because it justifies their desks.

[@NYtoDCtoNY]

Te veel over kantoorbanen. Daarbuiten is het toch ook weer wel wat anders hoor. Iets teveel van het goede

[@johnnydinnissen]

It's just a shame that they are throwing away the Dutch way with all those managers First we had a chief who did the work of 4 managers now and really made decisions and didn't think short term

[@markschattefor6997]

As if being called manager has some extra value that other workers don't have. Hahaha, without skilled people on the workfloor who know what they are doing, most managers would not be having a job at all. The best manager was the old-fashioned housewife PERIOD. And not the modern day fasttalking nitwit with no practical skills that has to tell people on the workfloor how have they have to do their job.

[@anaguq4651]

@@markschattefor6997 And we still have a lot of "housewifes" in the Netherlands. lol

[@markschattefor6997]

@@anaguq4651 Wellicht zou het kunnen helpen als "Den Haag" eens wat meer zou luisteren naar wat mensen met gezond verstand zeggen, ipv naar types te luisteren waar Yuri Bezmenov ons voor heeft gewaarschuwd.

[@anaguq4651]

@@markschattefor6997 Ik ken de man niet, maar heb net naar hem gezocht. Ik zal eens luisteren wat hij te vertellen heeft. Goede tip, thanx!

[@markschattefor6997]

@@anaguq4651 Als u ziet en hoort wat deze man in 1984 ( sic) te vertellen had en u bekijkt hoe de westerse wereld er heden ten dage bij/voor staat, kan ik niets anders concluderen als dat de voormalige Soviet Unie de koude oorlog gewonnen heeft lang nadat ze zelf in elkaar geklapt waren.

[@iris72]

Voila, that's it.

[@mogeking56]

I am retired so I am moving where it’s cold and wet all the time this is why the Dutch are always depressed

[@jannetteberends8730]

Dutch kids are the happiest in the world according to UNICEF

[@williamgeardener2509]

Dutch people are always depressed? Sure, they've got a lot of reasons to be depressed. 4 day workweek to begin with. At least 20 holidays. Nearly unlimited sick days. No "At-will employment". Right to privacy against nosy employers. Must be hell....

[@vosovoso5220]

Germans 2.0

[@provocase]

Hahaha! indeed...

[@irinakypriou9939]

Why ?

[@cecilecorpuz5735]

I'm an American while working here I totally turned their cookie jar up side down of what a good worker is all about. I once worked for Nedlloyd working in a warehouse at 1st the temp agency said we'll you don't speak Dutch! I said I'll let my work do the talking for me! They said OK we'll give you a try! So I had 3 bosses Max Tom and Ruel You will work with BRUNO! OH! Great he's a GIANT as compared to me, he'll show you how to do the work! This was a Monday on the Friday of this same week BRUNO told me that this will be my last day, I then asked Why! He said I remember the day that they said that I would show you how to do the work he then said I must correct that it's you that has showed me how to do the work. It's seems to me at this location where I used to work at, productivity really didn't get started until after the 1st break, when I get to work I'm at it. Something that they had no clue as to how a person can take on work as like I did. Some here are saying that the Dutch are not good at giving or receiving complements well my bosses showed me their appreciation for my hard work, I was a temp worker so normally we didn't receive the same perks as regular contract workers, one day before Christmas my boss said Hey! Can you stay a few minutes later I said sure, when all the temp workers were gone I was given a Christmas box, they said don't tell anyone about this. When working over time the company was to buy us dinner. They would have a menu from a snack bar which was marked with the items you can order and items that you can not order! Well the boss ask me if I can work I said I want a whole chicken which was a no go! The boss said OK! And I want 2 soft drinks and a candy bar. Well the food came and my co-workers were questioning why will he have a whole chicken and he'll have 2 soft drinks and a candy bar! Max said FLAT OUT RIGHT! Because he worked for it, his 2nd soft drink is mine so I gave it to him, and the candy bar is out of my own pocket. The people who were doing all of the questioning, they were contract workers. In about 5 weeks time of starting work there I was offered a contract, which in most cases the offer would be made after 1 year! When having a talk with 3 people from the temp agency they said between the 3 of them they will have 55 years experience doing this work and in those 55 years we have not had a worker such as you.....With that said they asked me if I could take it easy with my co-workers, I asked why, they said we are running out of people that may be able to work with you, 2 to 3 days and they are finished. This went on for 3 years. When seeing one of my old bosses Ruel, I said what's up Ruel, he grinned and smiled, you know we are still talking about you. This was 15 years later. And no I wasn't one of those Americans who will live to work, I just hated all of the derogatory remarks that I would received from my co-workers, I could have just laid back and work at their pace, instead I decided to turn down the screws and make them eat it.