Settling in at Home & Work

National characteristics, 'Corporate Glue', 'Corporate Citizenship' are (intuitively) evident showing clear national identity and solidarity, however on an international assignment, this could act as a barrier for harmony in a multi-cultural environment, if no cultural empathy is instilled into employees. All individuals have in-bread values and stereotyped views of other cultures and when working on a multi-national arena new values and cultural empathy must be learnt to be a successful Global Leader.

The challenge for a Global Leader is to be able to work these two systems. Richard Lewis, author of When Cultures Collide, has the following list of what he calls 'weapons for empathy' for a global manager, based on 'accepting differences and building on these in a positive manner' : tact, humour, sensitivity, flexibility, compromise, politeness, calm, warmth, patience, preparedness for discussion, will to clarify objectives, observation of other side's protocol, care to avoid irritants, careful listening, respect of confidentiality, inspiration of trust, constantly trying to see things from the other's (cultural) point of view" (Ref Lewis, Richard D (2000) When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London).

Interestingly, in one of the most famous surveys into cross-cultural issues at a multinational organization conducted by Dr Geert Hofstede, in looking at the comparisons between Germany and UK, there is a marked difference in Uncertainty Avoidance ("The degree to which people in a country prefer structure over unstructured situations: from relatively flexible to extremely rigid"). Germany has a reasonably high rating at 65, and UK reasonably low rating, at 35, translating that the stereotypical German would be pre-programmed to be active, anxious, precise and dislike the unpredictable, expressed by the credo of xenophobia; what is different is dangerous. Adversely, UK, in weak, uncertainty avoiding societies have been pre-programmed to be passive, relaxed, imprecise, and dislike the predictable. A stereotypical UK citizen would be more prepared to give the benefit of doubt to unknown situations people and ideas; what is different is curious.

Hofstede concluded "Effective counseling of persons not sharing the same cultural profile demands special efforts, especially if the level of Uncertainty Avoidance for either or both parties is high." Dr Geert Hofstede Cultures Consequences (1980; revd edn 2001) Cultures Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values, Sage, Beverley Hills, CA).

What makes for personal and business effectiveness when working globally? McKinsey's study of 59 senior multinational managers in China found that the following attributes characterized successful expatriates; optimism, drive, adaptability, foresight, experience, resilience, sensitivity, organization. (Survey of 50 senior Western multinational managers in China", McKinsey Shanghai office, 1997).

Richard Lewis (When Cultures Collide) has the following list of what he calls 'weapons for empathy' for a global manager, based on 'accepting differences and building on these in a positive manner' Tact, humour, sensitivity, flexibility, compromise, politeness, calm, warmth, patience, preparedness for discussion, will to clarify objectives, observation of other side's protocol, care to avoid irritants, careful listening, respect of confidentiality, inspiration of trust, constantly trying to see things from the other's (cultural) point of view.

Fons Trompenaars, a noted author on cultural diversity, claims in 'Riding the Waves of Culture' that the ability to learn from one's mistakes is perhaps the most important attribute when working globally. 'Other cultures are strange, ambiguous, even shocking to us. It is unavoidable that we will make mistakes in dealing with them and feel muddled and confused. The real issue is how quickly we are prepared to learn from mistakes and how bravely we struggle to understand a game in which 'perfect scores' are an illusion, and where reconciliation only comes after a different passage through alien territory. We need a certain amount of humility and a sense of humour to discover cultures other than our own; a readiness to enter a room in the dark and stumble over unfamiliar furniture until the pain in our shins reminds us where things are."

(Trempenaars, Fons (1993) Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London).

A term introduced in 1960 by anthropologist Kalvero Oberg, saw Culture Shock as four phases: (Oberg K (1960) Culture shock; adjustment to new cultural environments@ Practical Anthropology, 7, 177-82)

The honeymoon, with emphasis on the initial reactions of euphoria, enchantment, fascination and enthusiasm.
The crisis, characterized by feelings of inadequacy, frustration, anxiety and anger.
The recovery: including crisis resolution and culture learning
Adjustment, reflecting enjoyment of and functional competence in the new environment.

When individuals make plans to move overseas the excitement about the challenge is usually extremely positive for personal morale and self-confidence. However, once the relocation is complete and you have settled into a new role overseas, it is highly likely that feelings of uncertainty will loom, for no apparent reason. These new feelings could be described as culture-shock! All new arrivals to Germany will experience one form or another of culture-shock and the following notes show the progressive stages of settling into a new country, written as a collection of memories by current UK expats who have personally been through (and survived!) this 'life-change'.

It is important to stress that all the notes written are very much short-term setbacks, and should be kept in perspective. Nobody is alone when they come to work for BAE SYSTEMS in Germany; apart from work colleagues the BAESG In-Country Management Office is an experienced team and are always available and willing to assist our employees overcome any problems.

You are learning the language, meeting new friends and work colleagues, getting to know your new city and planning lots of trips around Europe You feel that there are many things that are similar to your home country and you feel a great sense of achievement in making the move and settling in well. In addition, being a foreigner can give you an exotic social status, which can be a real ego boost. On a deeper level, getting to know another culture, another language, and setting up a new life in new surroundings can increase our ability to see ourselves and our lives in a different and more positive perspective. Being so far away from home and from our past lives can make it easier to forget some of the burdensome psychological baggage we may been carrying around, providing the opportunity for an optimistic new start in life.

After this 'honeymoon' period is over, you start to experience frustrations in the simplest of things like organizing a standing order at your bank, posting a package at a post-office, and generally not being able to express yourself and communicate on the most basic level. You start to feel helpless and see the differences in your host country as negative aspects. You could start to experience feelings of disappointment, loneliness, depression, emptyness or anxiety. It is easy to underestimate how exhausting it is to be almost constantly confronted with the unfamiliar, both subtle and obvious on a daily basis. On the obvious level, you are constantly confronted with a language you do not understand, social rules you are not aware of - how to answer the phone, how to greet people etc. Maybe you smile at someone on the street and they give you a dirty look. Over time, this constant confrontation with the unfamiliar can leave even the most stable of us feeling not only exhausted, but insecure, hostile, and lonely.

If your Assignment is accompanied your spouse may go through this stage sooner; the employee can communicate with work colleagues in his/her native tongue but the spouse (if not working) will be immersed totally into the German environment and encounter this 'culture shock' far quicker. This in itself can cause frictions. He/she will feel a knock to his/her self-esteem and confidence and may question whether the move overseas was a wise decision.

You start to compare your home country far more favourably, strive to make contact with your old friends back home, plan reunion trips. However your friends and family you have left behind will probably not commiserate with you, they will not understand your depression and negativities. They could possibly be resentful at your 'good fortune' in an overseas Assignment; especially if they know you have a good relocation package. Overall you feel you are losing your friends back home, and feelings of isolation may set-in.

You start understanding that although things work differently in your host country it does not mean that it is worse, and that life in your own country is not perfect either. It is at this stage people will do a lot of soul searching; discovering new hobbies, identifying new ways to met people and ultimately enriching their lives with new friends and new activities. You start to rethink the international assignment with a more positive perspective to enrich your career and personal life, accepting your new settings and try to get the most out of it.

The most important aspect to constantly bear in mind is that each visitor to Germany will experience some form of culture-shock or another which will come in various forms affecting people in different ways. The differences between German and British culture are very visible, and these differences should be viewed in that way - that our histories are totally different and therefore in a cross-cultural situation we can have very different expectations which may collide. The questions to bear in mind when this happens are: "Could it be that my colleague's strange behaviour was not intended as rude?", and "Is my behaviour just as confusing?". Please see further notes below on specific areas on 'Working with Germans in Germany' to highlight main areas of cultural differences you may experience.

The most dangerous threat to our peace of mind is feeling alone in the world - and there is certainly a good chance of feeling that way as a foreigner in a foreign country. Whatever helps a person feel connected with others, finding other expats or foreigners to talk to, talking regularly to friends at home, even reading the right book - any of these can be a good strategy for preserving peace of mind.

Even if you feel that you are not a very social person, consider joining an expatriate club, (for example, German/English Association) if only for the first year to help you get settled in. (refer to the monthly English publication 'Munich Found' for a detailed listing of clubs and social groups). There is no real stigma in joining an organisation like this; they are usually very well attended and organize numerous sporting and cultural activities. You will meet people in exactly the same situation as yourself; and be able to talk about your problems to people who have had the same experiences. This helps a great deal in reinforcing the message that you are not alone in dealing with your 'culture-shock'.

You should expect and accept that basic activities like shopping and banking will take twice as long as you are used to. Just relax. Develop a routine. If you are learning the language, organize specific projects of language topics each week and put it to the test. This is extremely rewarding and your host nation will (in the majority of cases), help you when they see you are trying to speak their language!

It is important to talk to your spouse about the challenges you both have in adapting, you will both be experiencing different feelings of culture-shock but you should support each other and start to build a network of friends and colleagues with whom you can both communicate and build confidence with. If a spouse accompanies an employee to Germany, the sacrifice of leaving a profession, friends and family is immense, and the partner remaining at home should be encouraged to join as many networking/social groups as possible (a language class/an activity group/English-speaking network group) any activities which involve raising self-esteem, making friends is a key factor for a successful move to a new country.

This area often causes misunderstandings for visitors to Germany. Germans exercise a strong division between their public and private lives. They believe it is best to keep friends and colleagues separate This is not to say that the Germans are not friendly at work, often a good working relationship can become a friendship too, however this tends to be avoided. Germans may seem distant and cold when you meet them which makes visitors feel uncomfortable; however the opposite side would be how the Germans feel with the seemingly over-friendly manner of the British. One German expression highlights this culture:

Bier ist Bier und Schapps ist Schnapps:

Both are beverages, but they are not the same and should not be mixed!

Germans reserve the use of first names only for close 'friends' and generally using the surname only is a strong sign of professional respect. They distinguish between 'Freunde' (someone considered as close) and 'Bekannte' (an acquaintance). However, in an international multi-national working environment it is quite common for Germans to use first-names with English colleagues, but this is purely to accommodate this multi-national environment, you may find that the Germans will not use first-names with other German colleagues. In reality first-names symbolize a closeness in a relationship where the offering of a first-name is ritualized by a formal offer (over a glass of wine/hand shake etc). It seems extremely unusual and formal for the British visitor to not use first-names, however understanding the reasons is important.

For Germans, first names basis is referred to as 'per du' which is taken seriously. It means responsibility towards the relationship is expected, and the style of communication changes radically. Not only are the informal pronouns used, but the barriers for the exchange of personal information are lowered.

Germans realize that English speakers do not have a formal set of pronouns in their language, and that they are generally informal when interacting. What they do not realize is that informal tone has nothing to do with friendship. Therefore, it is sometimes difficult for them to know the boundaries of a relationship since in their culture, first names put them into a framework of thinking that affects their behaviour.

Small-talk is often not a comfortable communication style for Germans. They value depth and clarity in conversations and like to discuss the same topic for long periods of time, adding comments on problems, alternative solutions, historical facts etc. This clashes with the purpose of small-talk.

One reason small-talk is difficult for Germans is that through their division of private and public worlds (first-name vs surname etc), they do not have the variety of topics that can be used to engage in small-talk. For example, they will not ask personal questions (marital status, family, past activities, religion, income, job details friends etc). They often feel uncomfortable being asked personal questions because they may wonder about the intention. Small-talk topics which are comfortable for Germans tend to include hobbies, sport and travel.

Germans tend to gesture little when they communicate. Their emphasis on privacy causes them to be careful of expressing how they feel. Some Germans are so good at keeping their feelings, opinions etc to themselves they seem to wear a poker-face all the time. This can be very disconcerting for multi-cultural groups who rely on body gestures for feedback. This is also one of the reasons Germans are often referred to as arrogant, stiff and cold, which in reality is not the case.

The use of arms and hands, exaggerated head nodding, eye rolling, sound effects to exemplify tend to be considered as childish. Germans feel that a mature, intelligent person has enough vocabulary to express his/her thoughts clearly so that body movements are unnecessary.

Germans shake hands every time they greet and then when they depart. Hand shaking is very important; refusing to shake hands is an affront and taken very badly. Everyone shakes hands, men, women and children. However that is the extent of being tactile in a professional environment. Taking a German's arm, touching the shoulder while talking, patting on the back are generally considered inappropriate behaviour.

It is considered inappropriate to ask how a German colleague is coming along with their work, as this could imply lack of confidence in that person's ability For the German point of view, you cause the other person to feel he/she has to justify his/her position.

Critical observations and detailed discussions carried out in a direct tone are very important aspects of German communication. Germans value directness as this is seen as a sign of credibility and truthfulness. Germans love to discuss things into depth, bringing up every aspect of the problem, then presenting the alternatives to those elements. This may seem confusing and overwhelming and give the appearance of a lack of team loyalty. The British politeness brings situations of confusion; be direct with questions and in what you actually want!

Some cultures show involvement by making positive comments about a team member's work. Germans tend not to compliment or show positive recognition; this would imply the questioning that person's abilities. Many Germans are suspicious of compliments, or positive feedback about their work because they perceive it as a way to manipulate them to do more work. In addition, singling out one person for positive feedback is generally embarrassing for the receiver. "Celebrating" one's accomplishments could cause bad feelings for the rest of the team, which is why Germans prefer to stay modest about their abilities.

Before a decision can be made, the problem or situation needs to be presented and discussed, usually beginning with a long detailed description of the background. For Germans, in order to be able to solve a problem, it is considered as important to completely understand the causes, and have relevant background. Visitors to Germany often make the mistake of expecting a decision making meeting to end with a decision. Decision making is, relative to England, a slower process requiring a series of meetings. Coming to a quick decision can be seen as a sign of poor planning.

Some helpful hints in dealing with conflict situations:

Don't lose your temper. Germans will show disgust, aggravation, impatience but they tend not to lose control of their temper!

When you have a problem, confront it in a discussion, but stay emotionally detached. The cooler you are the more leverage and respect you will receive.

Don't take the comments personally: often open comments are a show of trust and interest.

If what you have experienced seems terrible, share it! Tell your German conversant what you think of the situation. This will help start discussions that strengthen the relationship and help both sides learn something about each other.

Remember, if you are a native English speaker, your semantics will differ greatly from your German conversant! Many Germans speak excellent English, and this can sometimes lead you into having a false-sense of security; the occasional word could be used which could change the whole meaning. Always be aware of possible miss-communications of this nature, if in doubt - ask for clarification.