Intercultural lubricant for work — American vs. Asian Edition

5 min readOct 11, 2020

Friction

Story #1: A friend in Hong Kong, an American expat, was preparing for taking a leadership role in the Thailand office and felt nervous about potential intercultural challenges. He told me that he asked some local co-workers once if they could get a job done and they responded yes. But of course, after three months, he found that it wasn’t technically possible to complete but the team “wasn’t honest with him” from the start. “I need to figure out a way to make our work more efficient.” He said. Story #2: On the other side across the Pacific Ocean, a Chinese friend, who works in a San Franciscan tech firm, received feedback from her American manager that her communication should be more direct to the points as opposed to starting with long-winded contextual descriptions. “It’s a real challenge to my nature and personality.” She said.

These stories share a common thread — it is friction in working with people from very different cultural backgrounds. In my previous article “Sometimes Chinese say ‘yes’ when they mean ‘no’”, I described how culture shapes communication dynamics in the high-context and low-context societies. Low-context Americans have a more linear thought process and they tend to say what they mean. High-context Asians prioritize context and relationship so their communication is more contextual. However, the article didn’t talk about the professional world. Here I’d offer some lubricant for the friction, and I believe the first step is to be cognizant of the phenomenon.

Surprise: Your root has an impact on you

Culture has an impact on people’s ways of thinking, communicating, and deciding. Below are some stereotypical examples of differences between Americans and Asians at work. They are “stereotypical” because they represent some truth.

Example collection from narratives found on the Internet

Incompatibility on ways of working could create inefficiency. In 2012, a dispute exploded among some Western coordinators and Chinese engineers. A Chinese company introduced some machines from a Western company, but the transfer wasn’t efficient. The Chinese engineers complained that the western coordinators were condescending, too strict and calculative about working hours, and not willing to collaborate and work overtime. The Western coordinators, on the other hand, blamed the Chinese workers that they progressed slowly, tried to work overtime for meeting a leaders’ inspection rather than following the hours on the agreement. Both sides spoke the facts, but cultural fundamentals were the primary cause of confusion and conflict.

Knowing the causes to keep sanity

Beliefs, values, and customs came into being in the interplay of various factors such as geography, history, influencers, etc. Living close to the oceans formed an exploring and conquering culture, fostering westerners’ adventurous nature and risk-taking traits. It was a foundation for individualistic societies and enforced rules of law are essential to keep an individualistic society functioning. Westerners are cultivated to value rational minds, rules, logic, and privacy.

On the other hand, living in an agricultural society led the Chinese to learn how to observe and live in harmony with nature, creating a peaceful and harmonious culture. Confucius’s philosophy that advocated obeying authorities and loving others has a big impact on Chinese culture. Therefore the Chinese are relatively reserved and confrontation-averse valuing harmony in this collectivistic society. They coexist by relying more on relationships than contracts.

There are pros and cons of each style. American style is efficient but depersonalizing. Asian style is family-like but not great for innovations and creativity.

Organizational norms are important tools

It’s helpful to have some cultural intelligence as an individual, but don’t forget the organizational culture. Organizational culture makes a huge influence on employees’ behaviors. Organizational norms are important tools for establishing expectations, and norms should be established to help bring out the best synergies from their multicultural employees.

The world is learning and continuing to evolve. With more global exchanges with trades and talent fluidity, companies start to incorporate effective elements from different management styles. Chinese consultants started championing the notion of encouraging employees to embrace independent thinking and challenging the status quo for bringing out creativity and innovations. American companies started embracing the habit of arranging offsite activities to foster personal relationships among employees. Today, one could find a Beijing company with a flatter structure than a Canadian company. As we know more, companies could become more comfortable places for diversity.

Who am I?

A culture nerd. Fluid across the globe in the past years, I’ve been experiencing countless confusing moments caused by cultural differences. They are nuanced but can be discomforting. I chose not to ignore them and started digging into the causes of distinctions. I want to bring to the world the insights I formed from my experience, my friends’ experience, and research.

I hope that if you found here home if you’re in the same places. I hope that you could contact me if you have your stories to share. I hope that you could correct me if I miss or mistaken anything. I’m a hopeful believer that the world would become more fun if we slow down and try to truly encounter others. Brave in the cultural intersections!