Understanding your multicultural workplace environment as a newly arrived expat

For recently-arrived new expats, the international office environment can be a scary place.

Arriving in an unfamiliar country with an even less familiar language and strikingly different office etiquette is a nightmare for newly-established expats, however qualified and experienced in the home country they may be. Although it’s not obvious at first, working in an international office can be an eye-opening experience as regards innovative business ideas, diverse opinions and perspectives and even office customs and etiquette.

For those unaccustomed to working in a multicultural team, one of the most confusing aspects is the different approaches of each nationality towards the pace of work, personal collaboration and even timekeeping. Worse still, when there’s a less than perfect understanding of the English language, even the most basic statement is easily lost in translation. If you’re working as part of a remote but global and multilingual team, checking your colleagues’ workplace cultures online can avoid misunderstandings.

Distinguishing between your new colleagues’ cultural types well help you avoid obvious mistakes which may disturb the workplace’s harmony. For example, extroverted cultures such as Spain, Brazil and Mexico produce multi-active, extroverted professionals, whilst unflappable colleagues are likely to be Japanese or Vietnamese. Northern European expats are likely to be results-oriented, careful planners needing organised working hours, and a mix of all expatriate types in the workplace can be the best way to make any business succeed.