Font Size:
+-
Working with Chinese Staff: 6 Points to Look Out For
Mar 31, 2011By Mike Cormac, eChinacities.comIn my time in China, I have had seven different jobs and so encountered a wide variety of colleagues. Working with Chinese staff has, on the whole, been a pleasurable experience; nearly all have been affable, diligent and helpful. However, there are some differences in approach and behaviour which can fail to span the cultural bridge, reminding you that this is indeed a different country. Here are some of the pointers I have picked up in my time here:
Photo: dietsinreview.com
1) Humour
Most people like to lighten work with some jokes and bantering. It helps to develop team spirit, and dissipates the post-lunch ennui that can come creeping in. But humour is a highly subjective thing, and if you are part of a group of foreigners joking about Western music, film, TV or sports, don’t expect your Chinese colleagues to be amused. They might be smiling, but they’re not laughing with you. Similarly, punning bantering is an acquired taste, and one which might go over their heads entirely.
2) Socialising
We foreigners are often keen to have staff nights out – they’re good fun, help you to get to know your workmates, break cultural barriers and all that jazz. But mostly we suggest activities which revolve around alcohol – KTV perhaps, or just going to a bar, which tends to pare Chinese participation down to roughly zero. The main staff socialising I have encountered have been company organised staff dinners, team-building events etc. Such events tend to involve comical activities and events which we foreigners shy away from (unless uninhibited by alcohol, of course). For example, I once was invited to dinner by an adult class I had taught; each person in the table performed a little song, poem or routine, where most waiguoren would shy away from such an exhibition. These may be fun for some people, but on the whole they’re just not what we’re generally used to!
3) Forewarning
I have sometimes found that Chinese colleagues aren’t so hot at giving notice when events are afoot. Perhaps this is a function of the top-down economy where information is passed down when you need it, but it can be agitating. For example, when I was a university English teacher, I went to the classroom as usual only to find it had become a building site. This was puzzling, as I had already picked up the key for the computer and the microphone at the audio-visual room, but no-one told me that room was being refurbished. I eventually found the classroom where my students had been redirected – they had been told, but no-one had thought to inform me! Another time, I received a phone call saying that a photographer was going to take some pictures of me for publicity purposes. “When?” I asked. “Now, can you come back to campus now please?” And on another occasion, when copyediting for a publication, they sent me 19 articles to work on “by tomorrow, thanks”. So be prepared for sudden changes to your own plans!
4) Interviews
So you’ve gone for a job interview. The manager is Chinese. You’re in your smartest clothes, have prepared well and answered with some fluency; it seems to be going well. Then the question: “What are your salary expectations?” You don’t know what to say (online research failed to give any specific figures for similar jobs; they all said “Salary dependent on experience”), but suggest X RMB a month. She frowns. “Oh, we can only offer Y RMB a month,” she says. Why not just say what the salary is, then?
5) Matters of Delicacy
Say there’s a problem of some kind which needs to be addressed. With Chinese workmates, you tend to find that these matters are not addressed directly, leaving you uncomfortably aware that things aren’t quite right but not much clearer on what exactly the problem is. The concept of “face”, while admirable in its consideration of the feelings of others, sometimes prevents you from getting to the root of the matter. For example, when I first arrived in China and was teaching at a university, I had never taught ESL before, having been a high school English teacher beforehand. My approach was thus that of a high school teacher, which wasn’t what the students needed or wanted. But while my teacher-sense picked up that something wasn’t right, no-one told me what I was doing wrong. I ended up stumbling onto the right approach some weeks later, but it rather spoiled my first semester.
6) Meetings and Conferences
Chinese organisations are rather top-down, whereas Western managers usually try to show that they just like you, the worker - even if it’s just an act. So meetings are prone to overlong speeches by executives and managers, sharing information as though it is a gift from them rather than the lifeblood of a company. Meanwhile conferences are ghastly enactments of corporate group-think, the organisation insisting “We are your family” while executives give self-congratulatory speeches and exuding an air of noblesse oblige. And this seems to be the social highlight of the year for your Chinese colleagues!
Related links
Working in a Chinese Office: Five Keys to Success
7 Tips for Surviving the Chinese Workplace
Chinese Business Practices – 3 of the Biggest Cultural Differences
- 3
- 1
Of course they're going to say, "Oh, we can only offer you [Y amount]." They think everyone should work for 1000RMB per year and not complain.
- 3
- 4
agreed..these chinese so called enrepreneurs have been broke the records of indian BANIYAS in terms of lack of morality..
- 6
- 2
I've had the very same thing happen to me in a job interview in UK, so I can't really say this is a characteristic of the Chinese alone, however brain splittingly mad.
- 3
- 1
of course as some of the bosses or hr or whatever,no matter Chinese or other race,they think everyoone shoudl work for Y money while u asking for X money.NOT to mention only Chinese.I've met some people from other countries,when I asked for example 5000,they said they can only offer 1000...what a joke!
- 5
- 2
In Chinese compay , the HR extremely like to ask people "What your salary expectation?". because if you expectation salary below the company offer, they would likely give your prices. just like bargaining with a vendor.
- 2
- 3
I was unable to sign an agreement to teach only at the university. Some colleagues told me that teachers ignore this rule and teach outside anyway, but I couldn’t say one thing and do another. I honor my Chinese colleagues, students, parents, and friends like I do my family and close friends in the USA. My time in China has been a lifetime memorable experience.
- 12
- 1
Working for others in China wont make you rich no matter where you are from.
- 3
- 1
There's a thought. I'd love for you to expand it. Even working for foreigners here seems like a deadend.
- 1
- 2
umm, any where in the world, if you work for someone else, you will never get rich. china is no different... and if you look at the jobs for the embassy's over here.. clearly our country wont help make us rich either..
but the amount of people in our home country's that would kill for a connection in china... well, there's your life line, a few extra hours after normal work has finished/.
- 0
- 0
I don't get it, how can you farm out your Chinese connections to get any value from them?
- 8
- 0
I think another thing that's majorly different here in China is dress code. At first I used to be totally shocked seeing young women in tiny hot pants and high heels heading to the office. And not just women, men in ridiculous outfits too. In general, there's a lack of dress code (of course there are exceptions). Having worn a school uniform most of my life, I've actually come to enjoy the freedom of wearing what you like. But from an outsider's point of view, it can be surprising at the start.
- 5
- 3
i'm a chinese , but i feel the same way as you , particularly, the salsary question(and actually the general salaries in china are kind of lowpaid facing to the prices) ,the group-think,meetings and yes, the "so important face" porblems.....sometimes you just can't find yourself up , and no one cares what you really think ! i'm trying not to become one of them. i prefer the western culture in daily life ,so i will seize the opportunity to go aboard.maybe i will find some pionts to look out in west countries and then write an article here :)
- 2
- 5
agree with you in some part, but you are selfish,
many problem in chian at this moment..
de mo cra cy , when can come to china.
God help chian to be de mo cracy.
PS, take me away when you living.
- 1
- 0
excuse me , i think i did't get what u said ....chian.. china?...de mo cra cy ..democracy ?
but i could understand that world ,,,selfish.....lol....i don't know what u meant , but tell me , how to be less selfish facing the problems like these..
i feel like i'm not much suitable to some chinese lifeways ..i just i love the western culture, i don't know if i would enjoy living in other countries , i need to try ,u know, i want to go after what i want , at least figure out what i reeally want ... that sounds selfish? ,,, then ,,,i'm fine with it...
- 0
- 4
Communism is the success of china democracy is a failure, if my country will be communist it will not be full of politicians stealing your money right in front of you. another thing is china doesnt believe in god thats why they are successful. god is out of their thinking only common sense. and china doesnt need any help from who ever god you worship. use your common sense and dont be a fool.
- 0
- 1
Agree, If there is something you dislike, instead of running you should try to improve it. If you study China's rise you actually have to tip your hat to the Govy. That being said, China has bigger problems than anyone, but also bigger upside. There fate is their hands.
- 7
- 0
Our company held an annual staff meeting last month amid great fanfare. When we arrived at the well-decorated meeting room, everyone was handed a carefully prepared pack of materials, including a bottled water, a notepad, a pencil, the written text of the Chairman's speech and the corporate plan for the new year. In the next 6-7 hours we were just sitting there listening to the Chairman and his right-hand man read the speech and the corporate plan word to word from the first page to the last. I couldn't help but wonder to myself as each and every one of the attendees had the materials on hand, why not let us read it ourselves at home??????
- 3
- 0
I couldnt agree more with being informed of things. I have only been here for about 1 month and from week one i found out about this. With the 'tomb sweeping holiday' coming up next week tuesday, i was lucky enough to have a friend from the company tell me about it in the beginning of the week and that everyone would have have to work tomorrow (saturday) so that monday would be free. My boss only told me about it this afternoon (friday). I really dont get about what is so difficult about being informed beforehand, I also dont know what my task for the day is until my boss sends me an email which was written when he arrives on the same morning.
It really needs getting used to and the ability to quickly cancel plans.
Apart from that, very nice article, loved it.
Thanks for sharing, was actually wondering why none of the chinese collegues wanted to go out drinking...
- 3
- 0
I couldnt stop my laughter as the author told wat exactly Im facing at my workplace especially the top management speeches as a special treat for employees and forcing them to think that organization is their family but how it can be? a family takes care of ur all aspects while the organization needs more and more ur output rather than interested in satisfying ur personal needs
- 0
- 0
Thanks for your kind comments, folks. Cornelis, you'd better get used to it - such things have happened to me many many times; it seems to be the custom here. And Bruce - I know exactly how you feel! You sit there wondering "Why are we all wasting our time here?"
- 2
- 0
Great article, and spot on the money! Last year I was organising a leaving paty for a school I worked in for over a year. When the students caught wind of the party they told me they were all going to "chip in" and supply drinks and snacks. As it turned out, about fourty students attended the party - all sporting bags of fruit...not quite the party I had in mind.
- 5
- 0
This article forgot to mention how to avoid that girl in your company, who wants you to be her personal language tutor for free. I've done the research, and I'm pretty sure she's in every company.
- 1
- 1
I had to laugh when I read the article and comments. As a teacher here, I find the Foreign Companies the worst! Like Bertliz or ELS, they pay 100 RBM per hour! Give me a break! And the Universities want slave labor, they want you to come for the "experience" and very low wages! I came free lance and I never work for less then 200 RBM's per hour. However, I have the experience and education to back me up, so I have found a lot of work.
- 3
- 1
I would have to disagree Rose. If you are working three days a week at a university for 4500 a month I don't think that is slave labor. I only work 10 hours a week at my uni, have three bedroom apartment with totally free utilities. A good deal, but still not good enough to impress a Chinese woman, even if you have a house and asests back in your own country like myself.
I get sick of some Chinese women who tell me to "get a better job". Guess I can just ignore golddiggers like that.
BACK
