Why cross-cultural problems like culture shock are killing your productivity as a team

Your international team is supposed to be efficient, their skills are supposed to complement one another but you find yourself with a team in disarray. Your team is unfortunately not as agile as you had hoped. In fact, together they might even be making each other less efficient.

How is this the case? People are always talking about the benefits of an international team. International teams can be the best teams for your organization but they also come with their own challenges.

Cross-cultural issues

The term culture shock probably means something to all of us. Specifically, it is a feeling of anxiety or disorientation as a result of coming in contact with another culture. It is experienced by people who are not familiar or who have not had much experience with the new culture. Culture shock is expressed through many negative emotions such as frustration or depression but often the person who is affected by culture shock does not know what they are suffering from. 

Your expectation as well as the expectation of many of your host country national (HCN) colleagues is that an international team is a more effective team. When you and your colleagues realise that this is not always the case, you begin to lose faith in a multicultural team. The productivity of all members in the team is then lower than it should be. If fact Forbes has said that 84% of digital projects with international teams are unsuccessful!!

What is going on? A silent thief! 

Unknown to you, some of your international colleagues are probably struggling with everyday issues. For example, some international colleagues may not understand why a colleague said something to them in a particular tone. Or they might not understand why they cannot find a large range of products at a grocery store, but instead have to go to a grocery store, a bakery and drugstore. Different aspects of life in the new culture will be a challenge for different people. Naturally you cannot know all the reasons that cause an employee’s culture shock but you must know this: it is there, it is silent, and it is causing a disjoint among members of your team.

How to resolve cross-cultural issues

Without awareness of these issues, you cannot know how to counteract it. Congratulations on taking the first step to a more stable team.

The next step is the acknowledge that different employees from different cultural backgrounds need different support. For example, a colleague from Europe may simply need help on systems (such as the citizens’ center (De: Bürgerbüro)) in Germany, whereas a colleague from Japan may need to know that it is acceptable to freely add their views during a business meeting.

Next you will want to make clear that there should be an open discourse between the international employee and you as their superior so that when they are unsure, they can come to you with their questions. If you do not create a culture of ironing out little issues, eventually they will be bigger issues which cause larger disruption to your team.

This can include demotivation and even cases of depression. After investing in highly capable candidates, you do not want to lose them over an inability to adjust to their new surroundings. You know that you ought to give them a fair chance when integrating into your team.

Something not to forget

This also applies to colleagues who have been in your team for a longer period of time. Culture shock and cross-cultural confusion is an ongoing battle. Culture shock normally sets in after a few months of being in a country - once the euphoria of living in the new country has worn off. After that, the person normally makes some necessary behavioural changes which reduce friction between their culture and the new “target culture”.

For some time this helps ease culture shock and the person may begin to enjoy their time in the new culture. At a later stage, normally after about one and a half years, the person may be hit with another bout of culture shock - normally resulting from issues that have not yet been resolved for the person such as question as to their own cultural identification and the future of their cultural identity. There are even some scholars who write about bouts of culture shock reoccuring years after a person has moved to a new culture. However, it is important to stress that this is not true of everyone; naturally some people will not have severe bouts of culture shock. 

If you do not address cross-cultural issues, you will not become the most efficient team you can be and you will continue to lose time, money and capable employees who only need your guidance.

More information

Take at look at our website for more information on cross-cultural topics.

Culture shock: your number one enemy as a manager in 2020

In today’s post, we at MCS International will talk about why culture shock is your number one enemy as a productive manager in 2020.

But first, let us give you an overview of what culture shock is so we are all clear. Culture shock is understood as a feeling of anxiety or disorientation as a result of coming in contact with another culture (Oberg, 1960). While it is obvious to some people that they are experiencing culture shock, others cannot identify where negative and tiring emotions are originating from. As a result, culture shock, invisible to the employee, starts to eat away at their concentration, their confidence and their motivation.

How culture shock affects your team

In 2020, you most likely have at least some culturally different employees working in your organization. In fact, you likely have employees from several different countries working in your organization. They must work together in order to be one coherent productive team. However, many of your employees will not be equipped to deal with the unfamiliar situations that they find themselves in as a result of being in a new cultural environment.

This means that there will be cross-cultural conflict or at the very least, confusion and frustration resulting from misinterpretation of host-culture behaviours and actions. This will demotivate your international employees. In more extreme cases this will cause anxiety, stress, homesickness and depression. For your host country national (HCN) employees, this will also lead to frustration as they do not understand their international counterpart’s lack of motivation.

It may very well seem like a dismal state of affairs but it doesn’t have to be as we will see below. The truth is, however, that most international employees will suffer from culture shock at some point, especially if they have not had cross-cultural training, or if they have not had previous experience with their new culture.

In fact, culture shock can even redevelop after some time in the new culture:

Figure 1. Depiction of culture shock and adjustment over time

So what can you do to improve the situation? 

Essentially there are three effective steps you can take to help your employee overcome culture shock.

1. Explain to the employee the concept of culture shock and how it will affect them (above).

2. Inform the employee about appropriate cultural behaviours in their new culture.

3. Offer guidance when the employee is dealing with unforeseen situations (this could be behaviours or actions which are new to the employee).

The role of cross-cultural training

Additionally, as a manager you can offer the employee cross-cultural training (CCT), which aims to achieve all three of the goals listed above as well as a few others including:

1. Imparting realistic expectations of the host country to the employee.

2. Explaining values, cultural frameworks, and systems in place in the host country.

3. Cultivating positive feelings toward the host country.

4. Teaching the employee appropriate behaviours to utilize in the new culture.

It may help to understand that behaviours and actions that are effective in one country may not be effective in another. In fact, they may be counterproductive. For example, a Chinese employee may not put as much emphasis on written documentation in agreements as a German employee would. This is because in Chinese business culture, writing a formal contract can be viewed as lacking in trust in your counterpart in business negotiations. However, in Germany this is viewed as a standard business practice and does not necessarily indicate mistrust between the two parties in a business negotiation.

As we see in this example, the most basic of business principles may differ between cultures and lead to confusion. This example is just to outline the fact that cross-cultural confusion or culture shock can originate in many different areas and confuse both the employee, and you as their manager.

Thankfully, you can beat your number one enemy in 2020.

The good news is that the affirmative steps above can get your team on the way to being happier, healthier and more productive. The great news for you is that you can have a team that works well together and is seen as an exemplary team in your organization. An intercultural team that is aware of the challenges that face it will be able to appropriately find solutions to problems when they arise.

This, in turn, will develop a team culture of problem solving as well as one that is welcoming to new colleagues. Best of luck in being the best team you can be in 2020.