[sebastianconcpt]

Just wanted to say something about this part: "In short, Americans actively suppress gratitude on the job, even to the point of robbing themselves of happiness. Why? It may be because in theory, no one gives away anything at work; every exchange is fundamentally economic." <- this does not matches with my work experiences with americans at all. On the contrary I noticed careful attention to appreciate every bit.

[8ytecoder]

I agree - this matches my experience too. Americans are blunt but that goes both ways. They appreciate a good deed while at the same time make their disapproval heard too.

[pjlegato]

I would point out that "Americans" are not a homogenous entity, culturally or otherwise. The United States is huge and has many distinct local cultural regions, with radically different behavioral norms that are obscured through the use of a common language and political system.

San Francisco is vastly different than New Jersey, for example, and both are vastly different than, say, the rural south.