The Foreign Office By Liesl Schillinger

if you love 'the office' (which is a prerequisite for friendship with me, at this point), i think you'd find this article interesting. it discusses the differences between the four (yes, four) international versions of the office which have been made -- french, german, british and american -- and shows (albeit briefly) how these differences reflect our cultures and workplace and love-life mentalities. geeky? definitely. but still interesting, so stfu.

link: http://www.slate.com/id/2150015/

highlights:

In the American office, passivity mingles with rueful hopefulness: An American always believes there's something to look forward to. A Brit does not, and finds humor in that hopelessness. What truths, I wondered, might Le Bureau and Stromberg reveal about the French and German professional milieus?

And if any conjecture could be made about the cultural differences that these subtly contrasting programs reveal, it might be this one: These days, Germans and Americans are doing much of their living in and around their offices, while the Brits and French continue to live outside of them.

We may still talk of "working like a dog," but the Russians lately have coined the expression, "to work like an American," reflecting our 24/7 on-call mentality. These days, for Americans, "home office" is not just a place, it's a state of mind.