The Canadian Way
Canadian workplace culture and cultural diversity
“Canadian diversity is increasingly recognized as an asset
in both the domestic and international market and as a major
contributing factor to Canadian economic prosperity”- Creative
Immigration and Business Consultants Ltd. Website,
(www.creative-bd.com)
Culture influences every aspect of our lives, yet many employers
are unaware of this. If asked whether or not culture has a
significant impact in the workplace, many will answer that
it does not, based on their understanding that culture means
music, literature, arts and language and that, therefore,
only language (mother tongue other than English/lack of sufficient
proficiency in the English language) has an impact in the
Canadian workplace.
In fact, culture has a much deeper meaning and significance,
impacting what we do, how we feel, how we think and act, how
we communicate and interact, influencing all aspects of our
lives.
Culture is learned, taught and shared by a group comprised
of people from the same country of origin, ethnicity or religious
background and it represents, describes and symbolizes common
characteristics, behaviors and beliefs of such a group.
To a great extent culture is the lens through which we see,
perceive and assess others.
And although there are differences among people from the same
culture, there is no culture of one; culture is a collective
concept that manifests itself with some variations among different
individuals from the same background.
We, Canadians, by and large are people whose work culture
points to the realization that respect for rules and regulations
is critical; that attendance and punctuality are important;
that respect for authority together with personal initiative
and team work is essential and that performance and accountability
must be observed and assessed at all times. We are polite,
civil, amiable, respectful and non-confrontational in the
workplace. We are friendly but keep our personal and family
life mostly private and separate from our professional one.
For business we wear business attire, whether formal or casual
depending on the nature of position, the nature of our duties
and the specific corporate culture.
We welcome immigrants from all over the world to come, settle,
work and live in our country but, as employers, we should
not assume or take for granted that they share our workplace
culture, customs and ethics. However, we should not assume
either that newcomers’ cultures are so different that they
won’t be willing or able to compromise and adapt to Canadian
culture and the specific corporate culture of the company.
Employers should pay more attention to the fact that immigrants
bring with them not only different languages and experiences,
but also different cultures to the workplace.
On the other hand, quite often employers fail to see the need
for enlightening immigrants’ employees as to the Canadian
work culture and company’s specific corporate culture.
These two sides of addressing the issue of employment of newcomers
to Canada can be summarized by a combination of awareness
and commitment based on immigrants cultural adaptation / integration,
and employers cultural tolerance & accommodation.
In the Canadian workplace, cultural differences are one of
the most valuable assets of any business but at the same time
they represent a possible troublesome source of conflict.
The failure of both employers and employees to fully comprehend
these cultural differences may lead to personal and social
problems affecting the harmonious functioning of the workplace.
Failure to recognize and adapt to these differences can mean
the difference between success and failure in building and
managing a diverse workforce, with obvious consequences to
the bottom line.
In the workplace, communicating across cultures is imperative,
and it takes awareness, commitment and great sensitivity to
achieve successful inter-cultural communication.
By understanding other cultures both employers and employees
become more insightful and adaptable in their communication
efforts to work together as a productive team.
As employers welcome and embrace cultural diversity into the
Canadian workplace, it is imperative that every effort is
made to learn about each other cultures to be able to successfully
work together and avoid conflicts in the workplace.
After all, that’s the Canadian way!
Dr. Yamil H. Alonso is Program Coordinator, The Brampton Board
of Trade, Skills Without Borders. For more related information
visit www.skillswithoutborders.com
< back
|
