[shard]

>I think the brutal/ultra-competitive work culture is uniquely American

American work culture is only moderately competitive. Many Asian work cultures are much more competitive than the US, where women taking a break to have children will basically end their career (and indeed this is how many women plan their careers), and paternity leave greater than 2-3 days have only started to show up in the past few years. Most of the drive towards more parent-friendly policies actually come from the government, as they try to stem the tide of low birthrates emptying out the countryside.

[sangnoir]

The upside for many asian countries also commonly have multi-generational households/having more than just a core-family living in one home, so grandparents/cousins/siblings can hold the fort.