Moving to a new country often comes with unexpected lessons, especially in the workplace. For one Indian professional, pursuing higher education in the United States changed the way he viewed punctuality, preparation and professional responsibility.
In a recent LinkedIn post, Anushk S reflected on the workplace habits he observed after spending a few years in the US. He listed five practices he believes professionals everywhere can learn from, while also acknowledging the strengths he carried with him from India.
What workplace lessons did the Indian professional share?
The post begins, "When I moved to America for higher education, the first thing I experienced was culture shock. The way things are done here was very different from what I had learned back home."
He continued, "After spending a few years here, I have noticed certain workplace habits that America gets remarkably right. They are habits that professionals everywhere can learn from. If I had to carry five lessons back with me, these would be them."
The first lesson was about punctuality. "Time is taken seriously," he wrote, adding that America does not operate on what he jokingly calls "IST: Indian Stretchable Time."
"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. That discipline is not cosmetic. It is how trust is built," he said.
His second point focused on preparation. Referring to the phrase "dekh lenge," he wrote that professionals usually come to meetings after doing their homework, understanding the context and preparing for possible challenges. While describing jugaad as a valuable skill, he said preparation should ideally prevent situations where it becomes necessary.
The remaining lessons centred on assigning clear ownership of tasks, giving constructive one-on-one feedback without taking it personally and taking action before every uncertainty has been resolved.
Take a look:
What did he say about India and the US?
Concluding the post, Anushk reflected on how living in both countries shaped his perspective.
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"These habits have completely changed the way I think about work now," he wrote.
He added, “India taught me resilience, adaptability and how to create opportunities with limited resources. America taught me how much further those qualities can go when they are supported by preparation, ownership, honest feedback, respect for time and the courage to move early.”
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