Preparing to work effectively on assignments abroad
Many multinational corporations have learned that an employee with culture shock can ruin an overseas project.
What is "culture shock"?
It is your reaction to your realization that different rules/norms/behavior are valid in the new culture.
Symptoms of culture shock can include depression, aggression, or even paralysis, the inability to function in the new situation.
If you do what works in your culture, and it doesn't work, what is going on? How can you know what is the "right" thing to do?
If you are prepared for the new set of values and behavior that operates in the new culture, you can make a smoooth transition.
Living and working in another culture is a challenge not only for the person who has to work in a foreign environment, but also for the wife/husband and children who have to live in a strange culture. Many divorces have resulted from overseas assignments. The one who works has a support network in the office, but the one in the home may feel isolated. How can the employee work well if his home life is in trouble? The whole family must be prepared for the new culture.
As you may remember from our intercultural quiz, different rules operate in cultures within the western, industrialized world, not only in Asia, Africa or India.
Many Americans being sent to Europe are surprised to find some of their deepest beliefs are not shared. The same thing happens to Europeans going to the USA, which they often think they know from American films and media.
If the underlying values are different, so is the behavior which is considered appropriate.
As with individuals, it's important to remember for cultures also: one is "different, not better" than the other.
Let me give you the intercultural skills you need to feel at home and work successfully in another culture.