What could the Dutchies possibly have to teach the Brits? We’d never generalise, but the stereotypes (on both sides) do come from somewhere.
We Brits can all learn a thing or two from other nationalities — they just do things differently (and sometimes better). Here are five traits that we should learn from the Dutch.
Rest assured, no British egos were harmed in the making of this article. However, a cheeky (much-needed) humbling is definitely on the menu.
TIP: If you want to know what the Dutch could learn from the Brits, we’ve already covered that, especially for those Brits who were already fuming when they started reading this article. 😉
1. Be straight with people
The debate continues on whether or not the Dutch forwardness is considered “rude,” but in reality, sometimes you need to be direct. The Brits, however, tend to skirt around the issue at hand.
Say someone asks you if you like the dinner they made for you. “It’s gorgeous,” you say, while really you think it tastes horrible. You don’t have to be rude about it, but saying something like “thanks, but it’s not to my taste” wouldn’t go amiss.
Outright lying to be polite just means that you’re going to have that same dinner served to you over and over, and every time you’re going to have to wriggle your way out of eating it again.
READ MORE | Dutch directness: 5 questions you’ll get in the Netherlands (and how to answer them)
It might not be the most practical, but honesty really is the best policy.
What if your boss asks you if you can work on your day off? “Sure,” Brits would say, when really they mean “No,” out of the fear of sounding difficult (I don’t do this, I promise).
Your boss would rather you were honest than spend the whole day miserable because it was too difficult to work that day. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
You get the idea, and I guarantee that if we borrowed some more straight talk from the Dutch, we could avoid half of these awkward situations.
2. Be more stingy
Sometimes we Brits think that spending over €100 on a night out is money well spent. We think that getting a takeaway for the third time in a week is worth it if it means we don’t have to cook (yes, we’re a nation of takeaway lovers).
But being a bit stingy won’t do us any harm, would it?
I know for sure that impulses can take over sometimes, and we may neglect our finances. But do you really need that notepad with a picture of a kitten on it that you’ll never use? Can you really afford to pay for your friend’s meal? Or are you just being overly polite again?
READ MORE | 7 reasons the Dutch don’t do debt
There is a reason they call splitting the bill “going Dutch,” and maybe we should do it a little more often.
We get too worked up about what people think of us. By “going Dutch” on the bill, everything is fair and equal.
3. Tone down the “sorry’s”
There’s nothing wrong with being polite, and the word “sorry” can be one of the most polite words that you can say. Unless you’re British, of course, then you say that word for almost anything.
I mean, we say sorry when someone else walks into us or even when we sneeze! What on earth is that all about?
It’s used so much that it’s essentially a filler word if you feel awkward and don’t know what else to say. The issue with this is that the word starts to lose its true meaning, and as a result, it can seem insincere.
There’s been some discussion about whether the Dutch say sorry enough, but the Brits go overboard. Sometimes, I struggle to work out if we really do mean we are sorry.
Maybe we should go more Dutch and only say it when it strictly needs to be said.
4. Chill out
Us Brits can get so stressed! Juggling a million things at once, not saying no to anything (in fear of offending someone), and just generally not relaxing.
We would all be much happier if we took a little time for ourselves. The Brits work longer hours than the Dutch, and it would be great if that culture would change; maybe then we would get our work-life balance in order and be happier overall.
We already know that Dutch children, and the population in general, are much happier than most of Europe. Why? Less fretting and more quality time.
It does help that the Netherlands has so many cycle routes. I actually get more sun here than back in the UK (shocking, I know). Let’s practice niksen or gezelligheid, take a chill pill and try to stop ourselves from burning out. 🤗
5. Less Dutch courage, more actual courage
A lot of us get impostor syndrome every now and again. The second we get pushed back, the Brits tend to feel insecure (remember, we’re an awkward bunch).
As a result, we let those negative thoughts win and use alcohol as a helping hand.
Even when we write a resume, we worry that selling ourselves makes us “stuck up.” If we forget someone’s name, we even try to avoid asking, so we are awkwardly trying to skirt around needing to say the person’s name.
In short, we are just awkward and insecure sometimes. After all, we do tend to have a glass of wine or two (maybe even the bottle) and call that a bit of “Dutch courage.” Why’s that?
Throughout history, we wanted the Dutch’s confidence! It would be great if we could do it with a little less alcohol. 🍺
So there you have it, a highly stereotypical, slightly dramatic overview of how the Brits could benefit from the Dutch way. You know it’s true, though.
What else do you think the Brits could learn from the Dutch? Let us know what you think the Dutch could learn from the Brits down below.
Customer service!
Air pollution, 2/3rd of the country has it.