When you go overseas, it's not just the differences in the workplace that can unsettle you. To help you cope with cultural differences, here is information about:
Your cultural sensitivity may be an important reason the employer decides to hire you. The ability to adjust to the host environment, work productively in a foreign culture and develop good networks is critical to your success as a transnational employee. Thoroughly research your intended destination's social, political and religious customs.
It's important to react to these customs with understanding, rather than regarding them as strange or offensive. Your employer will expect you to fit in with the local culture and accept the customs of that society. (Remember, it's highly likely that locals find some of your Western customs or assumptions disagreeable.)
Once you're overseas, your employer will expect you to settle into your new environment quickly and start repaying their investment in you. To do this, you'll have to rapidly adapt to the different work and social conditions of your host nation.
Culture shock
Cultural adjustment requires you to continually confront differences in your new culture and re-examine your own values and practices. This can be an exciting and beneficial experience. But be prepared to sometimes feel disoriented, uncomfortable and alienated from the culture around you. This is called 'culture shock'.
If you are going to work for any period overseas, whether in Canada or Saudi Arabia, you may encounter culture shock. Culture shock does not usually happen immediately - it tends to build up gradually as the novelty of your host culture wears off and the realisation that you must live in this strange environment grows.
Symptoms
Symptoms of culture shock include:
- an increased vulnerability to infections
- feeling homesick or not in charge in your new environment
- loss of concentration and sense of humour
- an aversion to socialising for fear of meeting strange people
- an unwarranted hostility towards your host country
- depression.
Stages of culture shock
Culture shock usually moves through several distinct stages:
- First contact: On arrival, you feel good about your new surroundings and curious and excited about its culture.
- Disintegration: Differences between your new home and your old begin to take effect. You may begin to reject the local mores and become frustrated with and rebel against 'alien' customs and practices. You sometimes think you will never fit in here.
- Reintegration: You begin to understand the new culture better. You don't feel as lost, and you have a sense of beginning to belong in this new place.
- Autonomy: You begin to gain self-assurance in the new culture and become more relaxed with your surroundings. You can see your own role better, and you establish some goals for living here.
- Independence: You accept social, psychological and cultural differences rather than questioning or rejecting them.
People are sometimes unaware they are experiencing culture shock, so it helps to know about it ahead of time so that you can deal with it effectively when it arises.
Some tips for dealing with culture shock in your everyday and work life are:
- Ensure that you visit friends and family in Australia before you leave, and remain in touch with them once away.
- Avoid making judgments about the behaviour or attitudes of local people until you have a greater understanding of the local culture. People will be watching you, and trying to work out what kind of person you are - you don't want to come across as intolerant or ignorant.
- If you find yourself beginning to dislike your surroundings and the locals, remember that not everybody and everything back home pleased you, either.
- If possible, speak to someone with a similar background to yours who has been through the same process of adaptation to the local culture. They can give specific advice on dealing with culture shock symptoms.
- Observe how the local people deal with issues that bother you. If long queues or rude waiters bother you, seeing that a local is comfortable dealing with these things can help your self-confidence.
- Don't assume that you'll be able to interact with your fellow employees in the same way as you do in Australia. Observe and follow local etiquette.
- Observe the body language and communication habits of local people. By learning local customs (such as how people speak on the telephone) and using some of them, you can more quickly become accepted into the local community. Learning, for example, how much personal space people require is an important step towards becoming more comfortable in your new home.
Exposure to other cultures is basically a healthy experience for any person to have. Learning the unwritten rules of another country or region can make the place, and your stay, more rewarding. And while you are learning other people's culture, they are learning yours - remember that people see you as a representative of, or an ambassador for, Australia.
Coming home
Be aware that you can also experience culture shock when you return to Australia. Changes will have happened in your absence, you might feel homesick for your host country, and you'll need to give yourself time to adjust.
Further information