|
Enjoying Your Work Richard Brislin |
Outsiders need to learn
protocol before dealing
with new tribePeople have features that are visible to others with whom they come into contact. Many times, these differences can lead to conclusions that "some people are like me and so are part of my group, and others are different and so should be thought of as members of another group." Differences can be based on physical features such as gender, skin color, age, handicaps and choices of clothing. Differences can also be based on behaviors such as how often people speak up in public gatherings and whether they take disagreements personally when discussing important issues in an organization.
When people from one group interact with people from another, there is always the possibility of misunderstandings and negative reactions. Many times, these reactions are based on real likes and dislikes. People develop preferred ways of behaving over their lifetimes, and they decide that other ways of behaving are unacceptable, inefficient or rude. But as part of their everyday intergroup relations, people may interact with others for whom these other un-preferred behaviors are quite acceptable. For example, most well-educated American adults do not have a smoking habit. Less than 20 percent of American middle-class adults smoke, and this is an extremely large difference when considering behaviors that lead people to form groups.
But if Americans travel to Asian countries, they will interact with many smokers and will eat in restaurants where secondhand smoke fills the air. Many Asian countries have not enacted laws that provide for smoke-free restaurants, bars and enclosed office spaces. This difference between Americans and Asians, based on a real dislike, can have an impact on decisions regarding personal and business travel.
Behaviors common in the workplace often lead to the feeling that there is more than one group present. Many recent arrivals from the mainland United States were socialized to speak up in public meetings, to voice their complaints openly and to disagree with others in the pursuit of better decisions within their organizations. Many locals in Hawaii were socialized to be careful about speaking up in public. They were taught that it is better to seek consensus through quiet negotiation rather than through open disagreement and confrontation. Mainlanders are surprised to find that they are labeled as loudmouths in the workplace. I recently attended a meeting in Hawaii where the job description for a high-ranking executive position was being discussed. People at the meeting agreed that the executive could be ambitions, could have lofty goals and could move the organization toward major changes. But the executive would have to do this in a quiet, nonconfrontational manner that does not cause others to lose face.
People often have to make decisions based on behaviors that they like and dislike. People decide to pursue relationships with others for many reasons, and the presence or absence of a smoking habit has an impact. In the workplace example, many people from the mainland must decide if they can put aside their preferred direct and confrontational style in favor of a softer, harmony-seeking approach to decision-making. If they cannot, they might find themselves on an airplane back to the mainland.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Given the amount of time people spend at work, job satisfaction should ideally be high and it should contribute to general life happiness. Enjoyment can increase as people learn more about workplace psychology, communication, and group influences.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration, University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu