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Yeah, we’re happy to work
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| The Summer crew
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Now that I am working in a western company as an expatriate
(or expat), I have a unique view on the Russian working experience. As
an expat, I am treated quite different from the Russian staff, sometimes
like a king, sometimes like a leper.
I am given certain graces and accommodations because the many expats
before me have shaped an opinion in the Russian mind that we are here as
saviors, and if we all go home the country would grind to a halt. This
misconception also plays to my disadvantage. There is a bit of
resentment towards the expats because we sometimes act like prima donnas
and pitch a fit if we do not get what we want in a western style. I
think there are quite a few expats who try to live like
Americans/Europeans in Russia, which is impossible.
Overall, there are great similarities between the Russian staff and
your average American staff. We all have our good days and our bad days,
our workers and our slackers, but here the family plays an even more
important role than in America. If there is a family need a worker will
leave the job instantly, and no Russian will even question the need,
while it is only the theory, not the practice, in the States.
There is a huge difference between Russian and American compensation.
An average Russian outside Moscow makes about $200-500 a month in a good
job, about double that in Moscow. Anything above $1500-2000 is a high
level manager or businessman. While I was waiting for the Peace Corps
gig to work out, I was approached by several Russians about working for
them. One job, a dream job as an Assistant Director of a non-profit,
sounded perfect until the salary was mentioned. Although I would be paid
as much as the Director, $1500 a month just did not cover my needs.
Now I am talking about official, or at least formal, compensation.
Everyone here has a side job, or jobs, and no one is ever short of cash.
As it was explained to me, you are paid twice, once by the company and
once by ‘the envelope.’ There is a lot of press about the
Russian Mafia, but the title is really a misnomer. The Mafioso here are
mainly all the unofficial businesses, ranging form kiosks to taxis, that
are the real economy. Like the army of kids mowing lawns on any given
weekend in American suburbia, they do not pay taxes (almost no one
does), and they are not regulated.
Here at Price Waterhouse, I work with both expat and Russian staff.
My bosses are expats and my ‘teammates’ are Russian. I usually
talk with the Russians in a mix of Russian and American (as opposed to
English, which my bosses speak), reserving the American for detailed
instructions. All non-expat conversations are in Russian, with the
expats conversing mainly in English, with a bit of American, German, and
Spanish thrown in. This is really a multinational corporation! |
