Is Everything Really Slower Paced Down There?

[mark311]

So I think the way you've titled your subject of the thread with "Is Everything Really Slower Paced Down There?" is the reason that you've gotten these answers so far. No, everything is not really slower paced here in Austin. However, from what I've seen, most employers are fair and it doesn't seem like a lot of places like to push the overtime thing here. They'd rather hire a bunch of part-time college kids for certain jobs/industries where they don't have to pay them full-time benefits.

What I have seen are employees demanding better pay, flexible hours, etc. with threats of going elsewhere since there are other jobs available. Managers know this so they tend to keep and reward the really good employees and let the average to below average ones leave to go elsewhere. Sometimes HR at companies moves so slow that you can't even keep the really good employees from leaving for better pay elsewhere. So again, as mentioned above, the company culture will have a lot more to do with it than the location.

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by cBach

If you want a slower paced work ethic, go to Louisiana, lol

Or get a government job.

[Nitwhit]

When business started crapping on their workers I stopped working hard. What's the point of dedicating yourself only to be treated as another commodity. I work when I want to. I do what's necessary to get the job done. I dare you research a product and then go to a store and ask a knowledgable question about the product. You will everything from outright lies to complete babble.

[hillcountrywinefan]

Most of the Austinites I've met work very hard and have a commendable work ethic. I used to work in San Antonio for many years and can testify that there is a marked difference in the work ethic between the two cities. Austin wins hands-down. It's part of the reason I moved here.

San Antonio has grown considerably, but the one constant I noticed is the prevailing attitude among workers to do the least possible to get by. When employees from out of state would be brought onboard, I saw the locals evade work and shun the workflow towards the new guy. Our firm actually lost good workers due to this issue. I attempted to correct the issue until I realized it was deeply rooted in the culture here.

Lack of attention to detail, laziness and apathy run rampant in San Antonio. Most employees I witnessed spent their time posturing and manipulating the work environment to the extreme to avoid actual work. Punctuality is a joke with many workers; they'd arrive 20 to 30 minutes late every day. But they never, ever failed to leave on time. I purged some of the lazy workers as best I could but would always get several who'd cry to HR and try to manufacture stories of how they were being deliberately "marginalized."

When you're used to performing at a high level, you seek out a company that possesses similar values. I've seen more opportunities here in Austin for people who are hard working and care about results. For those whose values fall to laziness, apathy and tardiness, San Antonio is their mecca.

[TXEX06]

Originally Posted by hillcountrywinefan

Most of the Austinites I've met work very hard and have a commendable work ethic. I used to work in San Antonio for many years and can testify that there is a marked difference in the work ethic between the two cities. Austin wins hands-down. It's part of the reason I moved here.

San Antonio has grown considerably, but the one constant I noticed is the prevailing attitude among workers to do the least possible to get by. When employees from out of state would be brought onboard, I saw the locals evade work and shun the workflow towards the new guy. Our firm actually lost good workers due to this issue. I attempted to correct the issue until I realized it was deeply rooted in the culture here.

Lack of attention to detail, laziness and apathy run rampant in San Antonio. Most employees I witnessed spent their time posturing and manipulating the work environment to the extreme to avoid actual work. Punctuality is a joke with many workers; they'd arrive 20 to 30 minutes late every day. But they never, ever failed to leave on time. I purged some of the lazy workers as best I could but would always get several who'd cry to HR and try to manufacture stories of how they were being deliberately "marginalized."

When you're used to performing at a high level, you seek out a company that possesses similar values. I've seen more opportunities here in Austin for people who are hard working and care about results. For those whose values fall to laziness, apathy and tardiness, San Antonio is their mecca.

You must have never worked at USAA. Don't know where you worked, but my experience working in San Antonio with various companies or public sector jobs is completely different from yours.

I did work for a few years at DSHS in Austin, and that place was full of relaxed incompetence.

I think in general San Antonio is now a lot chiller and relaxed then Austin. Less keeping up with the Jones' and less hipsters who snub their nose at people in San Antonio.

Enjoy the outskirts of Austin.

[Rynldsbr]

The broad generalization your title makes is somewhat misleading. There is a huge variance in the work expectations from employer to employer and from industry to industry. The general lifestyle here is a slower pace than the upper east coast typically has, but the specifics of any place will vary based on the company and the management team.

If you can come here with a job in place, not sacrifice your current rate of pay, and have an opportunity to try a new culture, it may be worth doing. If you are uncertain about the opportunity, take some time to look into it and visit for a long weekend and talk to someone there that will give you honest feedback.

[radiolibre99]

What thing I am grateful for Texas is instilling into a me a superb work ethic. Texans work hard, play hard. It might have to do with the very regimented traditional outlook on business. It's conservative. I used to hate the no excuses attitude of it but it whipped me up to handle a lot of the jobs I've done outside of the state. I'm in CA now and the difference is huge. Cali is all manana, manana, manana, no sirs, ma'ams, or really any polite professional discourse. Co workers wonder just how I am able to maintain staying professional through most of the job. It's not rocket science, but I am shocked at what we consider normal, to be considered a strong work ethic in other states.