The work environment inside the VALBEK group is international. Foreigners from different countries gain valuable experience in their field here and learn about the life in the Czech Republic as well as the specifics of Czech culture. According to them, Czechs are more relaxed at work, they actively look for solutions to problems and teams are less formal than in their countries. We asked five foreign colleagues, what’s their worklife like in the Czech Republic and whether they perceive any cultural differences in their field or they had to get used to a different way of working.

zleva: Fernando Manuel Prego Varela, Ramazan Koca, Viaceslav Voronchin, Jovan Pejić, Hoang Do Xuan

Ramazan Koca (Turkey)

Ramazan comes from Turkey and has been working in the Czech Republic for a short time. Right after his studies at ČVUT, he joined V-Con in February 2022 as a bridge designer. He lives in Prague in Podolí by himself. He likes to spend his free time watching or playing football and getting to know the hundred-year-old Prague.

How long have you been working in Valbek? Why did you choose Valbek for your career?

When I was looking for job opportunities in Prague, luckily I saw the position on V-con website. I was looking for a job that would help me to improve my abilities and knowledge.The VALBEK company is the one that offered me this improvement.

I have been working for V-Con for four months. As a newcomer, I could say everything has been perfect so far.

Can you see some differences between working here and in your country? Can you see any cultural differences at a workplace between the two countries?

The thing that was really weird for me was that lots of colleagues wear slippers in the office. I have never seen that in Turkey. The other difference I had to get used to was, that people either bring their own home cooked food or go to a restaurant for lunch. In Turkey, the lunch is provided by the company.

In the office, during the working hours, people are more disciplined than in my country. They just focus on their job. There is rarely a chit chat. I may change this in our office when I get fluent in Czech.

About the professional setting, the process was almost the same but a bit slower than in Turkey. Here, the bureaucracy takes a long time. During the setting in V-con my colleagues were very helpful. They are really kind and respectful people.

What knowledge and benefits have you gained through your job in Valbek so far?

Here in V-con I learned to work with a new FEM software called Midas Civil. At first I struggled a bit, but now it is better. There are still so many things waiting for me to be learned in this job and I believe it will be a great journey.

Fernando Manuel Prego Varela (Spain)

Fernando was born in northwestern Spain. He is a trained architect and a civil engineer. He lived in London for approximately two years, where he met his Czech girlfriend. When she had to go back to the Czech Republic, he decided to move with her and live in Prague. His hobbies include swimming, travelling and reading mystery books.

How long have you been working in Valbek? Why did you choose Valbek for your career?

I´ve been working in Valbek for nearly three years. I wanted to work for a top company in the civil engineering industry in the Czech Republic, so it was easy for me to choose Valbek: excellent reviews, wide experience in the sector, a lot of different and interesting projects.

Can you see some differences between working here and in your country?

I can’t see too many differences between working here and in Spain. I would say the main difference could be that in Spain employees usually do not leave the office until the manager does. Flexibility is not very common in Spain.

Can you see any cultural differences at a workplace between the two countries?

In the beginning I thought the language would be a significant barrier to performing my work, but fortunately, my manager and my colleagues are very nice and can speak English. They speak English with me and I speak Czech with them (everybody wins).

Funny fact: The thing that hit me the most was lunch time. I was used to having lunch between 14:00–⁠15:00 and suddenly it was between 11:00–⁠12:00. It was too much for me in the first months.

Are there any differences or specifics in your professional setting in Czechia and your country?

Everything is pretty similar, because, I guess, both countries belong to the European Union, so laws, procedures are very similar.

What knowledge and benefits have you gained through your job in Valbek so far? What work plans do you have for the near future?

I gained knowledge about the designing and behavior of specific types of bridges I had never done before. I also improve my civil engineering skills. The main plan I have for the future is improving my czech skills and increasing my knowledge about civil engineering. Everyday we must learn something new.

Jovan Pejić (Serbia)

Jovan comes from Serbia, where he graduated from the Faculty of Technical Sciences. He works in VALBEK as the head of a group of electrical engineers. He lives with his wife in Strašnice, Prague. His family – brother and uncle – have been living in Bohemia for several decades. His favorite activities include tourism and sports. He also enjoys home crafts and construction work. Video games are also a big hobby, despite his wife’s constant protests. :) But his interests often change because he wants to experience and learn as many things as possible.

How long have you been working in Valbek? Why did you choose Valbek for your career?

I have been working for Valbek for 2 years. I was looking for an opportunity to work within my professional area and this job post was interesting because I wanted to broaden my knowledge and expertise, having in mind that this specific area was not on my list of experiences.

Can you see some differences between working here and in your country?

In my opinion, working in Serbia is characterized by more pressure and stress. The working environment here is more relaxed and a solution for everything is always reached, even if the odds are not in our favor – at least, it seems like that for now.

Can you see any cultural differences at a workplace between the two countries? What hit you really hard and took time to process?

I do not recognize any significant cultural differences. Those minor differences are mitigated by the individual approach of each person. Not only did I not have problems in processing tasks, but everything suited me, as well, disregarding intermittent language barriers. I am satisfied with my colleagues, equally in my sector and in other sectors as well. So far, I have not had any issues whatsoever.

Are there any differences or specifics in your professional setting in Czechia and your country? I mean laws, procedures, habits etc.

There are no differences that burden the process and the regulatory framework here is more effective and precise thus it makes processes easier to embrace.

What knowledge and benefits have you gained through your job in Valbek so far? What work plans do you have for the near future?

I have gained new professional experiences, and knowledge related specifically to my working tasks, but I am aware that I am just at the beginning of my personal development in this part of electrical engineering, so to say. My current short-term plans are aiming to get the professional certificate for electrical projects development.

Hoang Do Xuan (Vietnam)

Hoang Do is a graduate of CTU, majoring in Construction and Transport Construction. He works as a designer of bridge structures for VALBEK . He lives in Prague and his hobby is traveling. What he likes most is traveling with a backpack on his back and wandering wherever his legs take him. He also enjoys mountain climbing and other sports.

How long have you been working in Valbek? Why did you choose Valbek for your career?

It’s already been 5 years and a bit since I joined Valbek. It was a month after getting my master’s degree. I took a trip and traveled for a month and then joined the bridge-builders studio full time.

I remember the moment when I decided that I wanted to devote myself to transport construction and especially bridges. It was when I went on vacation to Freiburg, Germany with my family. The German highway around Nuremberg was then gradually reconstructed and new bridges were built there. I thought that a superpower country like Germany is still building new highways and repairing existing sections. If I go in this direction, there will definitely be a lot of work in the Czech Republic as well. Time proved me right, and the dynamics of the work in the bridge-builders studio in Prague is clear proof of that.

Can you see some differences between working here and in your country?

I have been living in the Czech Republic for 22 years and have never worked in my native country Vietnam, so I don’t have many comparisons based on my own experience. But in general, I would say that the level of professionalism is incomparable. I had the honor of studying at the Czech Technical University in Prague, which is, no doubt, one of the world’s best.

Can you see any cultural differences at a workplace between the two countries? What hit you really hard and took time to process?

Again, I have no personal work experience from my home country to compare here. In general, however, the mentality of the Czechs and Vietnamese is very different, and this results in differences not only in the workplace. Relationships not only in the workplace are very honest and straightforward in the Czech Republic compared to Asian culture in general. Communication not only between colleagues but also towards superiors is open and without hierarchical conventions. Emphasis is placed on the efficiency and speed of solving the problem. Whereas in Asian culture, the emphasis is on obedience to a person who is of a higher status. This is true not only at work, but is also a general feature of the behavior of individuals in society.

Are there any differences or specifics in your professional setting in Czechia and your country?

Social system in the Czech Republic for employees is on a different level compared to Vietnam. The civil code and Labor Codes contain clauses protecting workers’ rights to a degree that Vietnamese workers can only dream of. Above the framework of the above-mentioned laws, employers offer benefits that are attractive and therefore a motivation for better performance. This is not common with Vietnamese employers (at least as far as I know).

What knowledge and benefits have you gained through your job in Valbek so far?

Working in a team, eager to learn and not to be afraid of new challenges. These are the qualities I learned during my time working in Valbek. I think these are important values and skills and the basis for one to continuously develop professionally and be an increasingly valid team member.

The Prague studio of bridge-builders is a young and very rapidly developing team of workers. Experience and valuable advice are shared here on a daily basis. Thanks to the team and thanks to the varied range of design activities, a novice designer can gather a decent amount of knowledge in a short time, which is the basis for further development. The team consists of a mix of less and more or very experienced designers, which, given the variety of design work, is a very positive characteristic of the Prague bridge studio.

Viaceslav Voronchin (Ukraine)

Viaceslav comes from Ukraine and works as an IT specialist in VALBEK. He studied at the National Technical University in Kyiv and then computer technology at the National Aviation University.

How long have you been working in Valbek? Why did you choose Valbek for your career?

I have been working at VALBEK for two years. I chose it because I read that it is a large and steadily developing company, which was important to me.

Can you see some differences between working here and in your country?

As an IT worker, I don’t see much difference in work here and in Ukraine. But there is one big advantage. In the Czech Republic, more things are being planned and the plans are gradually being implemented. In Ukraine, I was in a constant rush and many things were handled haphazardly.

Can you see any cultural differences at a workplace between the two countries?

I don’t see any difference in the working environment. Colleagues communicate in the same way and drink coffee or tea in the same way. And of course, many like to go for a beer after work and also like to chat.

Are there any differences or specifics in your professional setting in Czechia and your country?

The advantage of the IT environment is that it is international and has standards common to all. So we understand each other without any problem and “memes” also work in any language.

What knowledge and benefits have you gained through your job in Valbek so far?

By coming to VALBEK, I got a job in a reliable and stable company, where I can feel safe and constantly develop professionally.