Austin - Work Culture

I’m going to explain some of the work culture at NI. Firstly, people here wear sandals and shorts to work. I don’t know how they can stand the cold but I’m sticking to my long khakis and long-sleeve shirt. Second, their lunch break is quite early; at 11.30am. Besides that, we can have our tea break if you want as long you swipe your card out when you go eat then swipe it back when you finish. So, I can still fulfill my 6 meals a day! XD Third, we interns have to work 40 hours a week, no more. Actually, they strongly discourage you to do any overtime because it’s expensive for the company for us to do so; more so during these recession times. 40 hours a week may sound long but we interns found that it’s hard to keep it under 40 because we may work longer than we thought. In addition, we have a very flexible work hours; as long you fulfill 40 hours, it’s fine. Meaning you can come to work at 10am and go back at 7pm or go early at 5am and go back at 2pm! Cool eh? XD Oh ya, the office is open 24/7. Extremely cool! Fourth, we have our own fitness center (fully equipped and has numerous classes such as yoga, strength training, etc all weekdays) and a medical center within NI’s campus. We have to pay USD 15 per month to use the fitness center though – still WAY cheaper compared to what we earn. Back to the lunch/tea break thing, you can bring your meal to your desk and eat there; you can put the plates back at designated area to be washed. So, for you people who likes to pack, it’s heaven here XD.

Tim, my supervisor told me that he uses his lunch hour to go for a short jog or go to the gym or even go for yoga! Damn cool! I’ll be doing that once I registered myself and get used to working life. =D

The next posting, I'll be explaining about why I might gain weight here in US. Haha.