Top 5 Challenges of Working in a Multicultural Workplace
I recently delivered a talk to a group of ladies from the Dante Alighieri Society, a non-profit organisation for people who share a keen interest in Italian culture and language. The subject of my talk was Working in Multicultural and Multilingual Contexts. While I am fortunate to have a ton of experience working with people from many countries (thank you American Express!) – I found myself learning even more about stereotypes during this dialogue and I am here for it.
I, myself, am an immigrant having married an Aussie and relocated from USA but I was surprised to learn the top countries for immigration into Australia. Here are the stats below:
1. United Kingdom 1,262,205
2. China 641,624
3. New Zealand 600,404
4. India 568,971
5. Philippines 281,216
6. Vietnam 265,018
7. Italy 202,617
Over the last 10 years most countries have become more vocal and even divided by attitudes towards immigration, faith, equality and now Covid. After meeting hundreds of people from different countries, here are what I believe to be the Top 5 Challenges to overcome for the workplace to become multicultural.
Our Own Bias
When I moved to Australia, I had already worked with and visited Australians so I had an idea of what to expect. I loved their humour, their easy-going nature and their refreshing attitude towards ‘work life balance’. Once I moved to Australia I realised there were some perceptions about Americans I hadn’t noticed until they were pointed out to me - like the massive consumer consumption, the huge wardrobes full of cheap clothing or being able to eat out on a whim. I began to appreciate the old adage “less is more”. One day someone made an observation to me - that Americans are naturally confident and this surprised me. I had known plenty of people in the US that weren’t confident so it seemed like an odd observation to me, but this helped me show empathy for others in workplace dealings.
When I met with the ladies from Dante Alighieri they shared their perceptions of Australians – education was a breeze for kids compared to Europe, they were impressed at how multi-cultural Aussies were towards accepting outsiders compared to Italy (very insular). They also told me most Aussies assume all Italians are good cooks. Not true! And so annoying to them! We did agree how welcoming Aussies are to various nationalities especially in an office environment.
2. Language Barrier – In person Etiquette, Slang, Email Etiquette, Greetings
You would think if you are a native English speaker moving to Australia was no problem for me. WRONG. It has taken me YEARS to understand Aussie slang like sparrow’s fart, arvo, fortnight, rug up, tracky dax, eskie and car boot. Twelve years later and I’m still learning new lingo! I also made the fauxpaux of telling someone I was rooting for them, a common phrase in America which means I’m cheering for you. The horrified look from my Aussie colleagues quickly revealed this was not a good thing to say to someone. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for someone who studied English as a second language and then arrived to Australia faced with the challenge of learning the upward inflection at the end of your sentences. Then you compound it with different etiquette like having to learn the niceties when you approach someone at work. First you ask how’s their weekend and then proceed to ask the work question. There are so many rules that nobody tells you because it’s all written in secret code that you’ll have to learn it through trial and error.
I remember when my parents came to Australia for their first visit. I had some time to coach them on what to say if someone asked them about their flight. In America when someone asks how was your flight, they are genuinely asking how it was, did it suck, was it on time, was the service ok? Aussies on the other hand don’t want to know the answer straight away. I had to coach my parents that when an Aussie asks “how was your flight” they don’t expect any other response than “it was good thanks”. Only after you grab a coffee or drink is it ok to moan about how long the flight was or that the food sucked.
When I travelled to Japan I wondered why my beautiful colleague, Hiromi, would cover her mouth when she laughed. Come to find out from my friend Google, it’s impolite for Japanese women to be outwardly confident or to openly laugh in public. Had I not travelled there, I would not have come to a deeper understanding and love for the Japanese and their societal norms. Hiromi was able to live in Sydney for 2 years and I’m guessing that helped her not be offended when an Aussie blew their nose in the office (this is rude in Japan!). Integration across multicultural teams can be difficult in the face of prejudice or negative cultural stereotypes but if in doubt, ask a local.
3. Communication Style
During a visit home to the US, I was at a family gathering where I had my 14 yo niece convinced that we ride our kangaroos to work and we store our laptops in their pouch. My family was rolling in laughter. If Aussies make fun of you it means they like you. This was a hard lesson for me when I first arrived in AUS, not to feel insulted when someone poked fun at me.
There are also subtle body language differences – in China they leave price tags on their business suits to tell everyone how much they paid and to show status. My husband was advised as a Director attending an important meeting in China, it’s a good idea to wear an expensive looking watch.
Professional communication can be misinterpreted or difficult to understand across languages and cultures. When a friend worked on a multi country project in Europe once, he had to deal with teams in Germany and Spain all at the same time. His German team could not be given enough information, explanations, data or context on the project. They were obsessed with time and punctuality, and he was always conscious of having to be early (not on time) for meetings. Start work early and finish late, this was the way in Germany. Furthermore, Germans were very serious at work with not a lot of social or idle chat, they were all business but extremely efficient.
His Spanish team on the other hand were the polar opposite. No need to be in the office before 10 or 11am, take a few breaks during the day and always take time to chat and socialize with others in the office. They would often work late and head out to dinner around 10PM which is when most working Aussies are off to bed. He also said that giving them a lot of information was not effective, they liked to figure things out and a lot of tasks were to be completed ‘manana’. They were totally laid back in their approach which was not too dissimilar to Aussies.
In a Tedx Talk by Pellegrini Riccardi, he spoke about Cross Cultural Communication and he shared the misconceptions of an Italian growing up in England who has lived in Norway for the past 20 years. Contrasting the Norwegian culture with Italian culture was hilarious when he relayed a story about the culture of where to park your car.
4. Technical Challenges
When my daughter (23) was traveling through China, we knew the only way we could communicate was through our iPhones using Facetime. No problem, but I was shocked that our conversations were disconnected every minute and she had to redial me several times to have a decent chat. This happened for two weeks. I don’t have a technical explanation for this but I wondered if it relates to the restrictions for open communications in this country.
During our first Covid lockdown, I decided to become an accredited ESL Teacher, teaching students English. In order to complete my certification, I had to deliver a number of teaching hours for work experience, which was organised with Chinese students. I had to download a couple of tools, like the equivalent to Skype – XYLink and teach my classes using this technology.
I’ve also learned from a friend that despite having gained a Bachelor degree from Italy and then being accepted into an Australian university’s Master’s program, they later discovered that their overseas Bachelor degree was not recognised for work in Australia. This is similar for other professions where a native qualification from the home country may not always be recognised at a similar value in Australia. I’m sure this applies for Aussies leaving to other countries as well.
Other technical challenges can be as simple as navigating public transport systems. In Japan for example I was amazed at how complex the train system was – you had to know whether to take the underground, above ground, bullet trains and Wow, I couldn’t have done this without a local helping me. In my hometown of Phoenix public transport is very limited therefore having a car is essential not optional. This means people immigrating there need to apply for and get their driver’s licence. People, like my husband, also have to learn to drive on the opposite side of the road which can be challenging. The rules really are really different from country to country.
5. Customs and Societal Norms
Decision making in many cultures is quite hierarchal as I learned while working at American Express. There are some Asian cultures which find it hard to be assertive or even raise an issue for that matter, whereas many western cultures have no issue highlighting a problem. When working as a Project Manager on a technology project with my Indian counterparts, I learned that the lower ranked employees were not allowed to tell me about project issues unless their leader gave permission. In fact they were quite fearful and when I asked, they assured me all was okay. After a bit gentle probing, I learned how to help them and this helped me understand how to navigate future projects to make colleagues feel safe when working with me.
It is not a surprise that colleagues from some cultures may be less likely to share their voice, and for that matter some females are surprised when you ask for their opinion. Other cultures readily show emotion and sometimes I’m not sure if it’s happiness or anger. Have you ever been at a public place and two people are having a conversation in another language that makes you wonder “are they arguing or are they just chatting away?”
So in conclusion, if we are to tackle multiculturism in the workplace, take knowledge from this phrase “If you want to be understood, seek first to understand.” Companies that prioritise cultural, ethnic and gender diversity are seeing positive results that outpace their less diverse peers. One Tedx Talk speaker says you can Complain, Conform or Confront but perhaps this isn’t the only approach. Perhaps it’s not anyone changing but rather asking about each other’s customs and cultures, through food or shared time together. Or showing gratitude to people for sharing a bit about themselves, their family, especially those who are normally quite private. Perhaps it’s a set of kind and gentle acts over a series of time.
There’s a TikTok influencer named ‘NasDaily’ who so eloquently said “The World is as big as your village you live in. Traveling has taught me that if some person does not fit in my world, then it just means that my world is not big enough. It’s okay to be Hindu, it’s okay to be Muslim, it’s okay to be gay, it’s okay to be whatever because the more you travel the more you realise the world is much bigger than a village.”
If you want to learn more about ways to embrace multiculturalism in the workplace, check out the Diversity Council Australia website: https://www.dca.org.au/.