Cultural Differences in the Workplace

I wanted to talk today about something that I've noticed that international travel and the workplace have in common, and that is the importance of understanding cultural and cultural differences and cultural commonalities.

One of the first things that people started talking to me about when I started planning this trip to New Zealand, is how to be respectful of the Maori culture that has a really profound influence on the national local culture here, and how to respect the protocols, the prohibitions, the sensitivities and the expectations. And, of course, I'm dealing with a lot of people from different countries. All kinds of nationalities hike this trail, and so sometimes you end up in very close quarters with people who might have different ways of doing things than you.

One concept that comes a lot, particularly for companies that have a workforce in Eastern or Southeast Asia, is the idea of “face”. In English we have this saying to “save face”, which means to avoid humiliation or embarrassment, to maintain your dignity, to maintain the respect of others. The importance of this idea and the way that it is conceived of varies from culture to culture.

In some countries, particularly countries in Eastern and Southeast Asia but not exclusively there, it's very important to maintain face, and so this means that disagreements, criticisms, even simple observations that could safely be made openly in one culture will be seen as a profound insult in another and disrespect to the person's authority or to their status. And so this is something that you need to be aware of.

What is the importance of face in the culture that you're interacting with? And if you have something to say, it doesn't mean that you can't disagree or that you can't speak up about something that you think is wrong or that you think is dangerous. It just means you might need to be more circumspect about the way that you do it.

You may want to address it privately rather than in a group, and find a way to address the issue without embarrassing another person. For example, if you disagree with the course of action, instead of saying so directly, you might propose alternatives. You may want to approach the person with a statement such as, “Maybe we could also do things this way, and here would be the benefits of doing it this way.” Or if you think that someone isn't thinking through a certain risk, you might ask them, “What would happen if this were to happen?”

This positions it as such that they still get to be the authority. They get to answer the question, rather than being told “Oh, you're forgetting about this” and “There's something that I know that you don't know". They are able to maintain their sense of authority and the respect of others, believing that they know what they're talking about.

It can also help to avoid putting someone on the spot, because if they are forced to abandon their perspective and adopt yours, then it can make it seem like they have capitulated, they have lost status to you- they have lost face.

And so, allowing them a chance to go back to think about it and then to come back to you with their final decision (which might happen to look a lot like what you proposed in the first place) provides them with the opportunity to claim that it was their idea and their thought process, rather than them giving it to someone else.

So these are all ideas for when you are dealing with someone whose culture puts more emphasis on face than yours does. But you might be in the opposite situation, where you are dealing with someone who doesn't think about it the same way, who doesn't put as much emphasis on it and tends to speak in a more direct way, which you might perceive as disrespectful or rude.

In that case, it's worth asking yourself, “Okay, what's going on here? Is there a cultural difference at play? Are they trying to undermine me? Or do they simply believe that it's more kind to be clear and direct about what they think?”

In any case, it's a matter of just understanding where this other person coming from in terms of their expectations about directness. What do they think is the appropriate and the kind and respectful way to communicate? And culture will dictate how you look at those things.

Of course, it is important to be aware that culture is not the only thing, and that you can't just extrapolate from one culture to everyone who belongs in that culture. You can't extrapolate from one person in that culture to everyone who belongs in a culture.

Cultures can overlap. The place where you live, the place you come from, your family of origin, your chosen family, your faith community, your profession, your hobbies can all create these overlapping sets of cultures that influence the way you interact with the world and, of course, we are all individuals who express the cultures that we come up in differently.

Since I've been here, I've had a few situations where I have done something and someone said, “Oh, that must be a Canadian thing.” And no, really, it's just an Alex thing, and so we want to be careful about that.

We can learn about cultures to understand tendencies, to gain insights into the way that people behave, but then we need to take that next step and absorb them as individuals and see what works best for them.

This stuff can be complicated, but it is doable. If you ever are facing a situation where you feel like it's a bit of a challenge, this is the kind of service that we provide. Check out our website, see how you can work with us if you want someone to talk over a particular situation.

Finally, I would love to hear from you how has cross-cultural awareness influenced and improved the way that you operate in the workplace? Let us know in the comments.

Oh, and if you want to get on the list for classes, workshops and coaching in the spring, you can join the waitlist and get first dibs!