European employees fear a negative impact on workplace culture and policies because of the influence of US business leaders such as Elon Musk, a new study has found.

Workers in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and the UK have a heightened level of anxiety over the spread of US corporate culture in Europe, the report by career services platform Zety has found.

The study of more than 1,000 employees evenly split between the five countries found that 83% of employees are concerned that high-profile US leaders could drive a harmful shift in workplace norms. One third (34%) said they would start looking for a new job immediately if their company adopted stringent US-style policies, such as return-to-office mandates or weekly accountability reports, reduced holiday entitlement and longer hours.

Among other key findings, 78% worry that US corporate practices could threaten existing labour laws and impact work-life, and 76% said adopting the US’s “always-on” work culture would worsen their mental health.

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In the UK, the Employment Rights Bill, currently at committee stage in the House of Lords, will establish stronger labour protections, with the poll revealing that 68% supported stronger workers’ rights in response to fears over an increasing adoption of US-style workplace policies.

Nearly three-quarters (71%) were anxious about the impact of a possible US recession on their own workplaces, reflecting the broader financial unease that US economic trends were creating among European workers.

More than a third, 37%, felt US workplace culture influence was growing significantly stronger in Europe, and almost all (95%) wanted European labour laws to remain independent of US corporate influence.

Particular trends associated with the US that worried European workers included:

• Hustle culture and long hours were the top worry for 43%.
• Increased workplace surveillance and productivity tracking (34%)
• Layoffs and job insecurity in the tech and corporate sectors (33%)
• AI and automation replacing jobs (30%)
• The push to return to the office and reduce remote work (20%).

Despite the plethora of doubts over US working culture, many respondents also associated US-style work with high salaries, and performance-based pay (42%), while nearly a third (27%) were drawn by job opportunities within innovative industries. A quarter placed a high value on the US entrepreneurial mindset and career mobility.

While financial incentives attracted some, the broader aspects of US work culture – such as competitiveness and emphasis on individual success – held little appeal for most European workers, the report found.

“As US corporate influence creeps into European workplaces, employees aren’t having it,” said Jasmine Escalera, Zety career expert. “They’re pushing back against policies that put work-life balance, job security, and mental health at risk. With more workers demanding stronger protections, European leaders could soon be under real pressure to keep the harsher side of US corporate culture at bay.”

Fears over changes to working conditions have been heightened not only by the language and behaviour of US business leaders but potential hard bargains being driven by US trade negotiators over trade that cover areas outside imports and exports. For example, the UK government has been under pressure to water down the recent Online Safety Act over US political concerns about so-called “free speech”.

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