A misunderstanding of cultures at work can lead to decreased productivity and a generally unhappy work environment for everyone involved. Taking the time to understand where other employees are coming from can make a positive difference in a multicultural team. Keep in mind the cultural lens through which each person views the world as you work with diverse cultures in the workplace.
Trust
Managers can create better multicultural teams if they encourage trust-building activities among team members. Trust plays an important role in building professional relationships. However, trust in certain cultures is built through nonprofessional chats and activities, while in others, it can be built by coming through in difficult circumstances for a colleague.
Talk
A few frank discussions about the way of life in the countries represented on a team with members from different countries can help clear up confusions about communication styles among colleagues. This can prevent miscommunication and frustration when, for example, an employee from a culture that values direct communication asks a question of an employee from a culture that values more subtle communication styles.
Language
Although a workplace's common language may be English, it's important to realize that speaking a language natively is quite different from learning it as a second language. The ability to pick up on figures of speech and subtle meanings in words can be difficult to learn. In addition, learning English in a place where British English, Australian English or Jamaican English is spoken is not the same thing as learning English in the United States. Vocabulary for the same objects is different; figures of speech are different; and what's funny in one country that speaks English isn't necessarily so in another.
Paraphrasing
An employee can briefly rephrase --- in simple and concise language --- and repeat what another team member says to ensure that he understands what someone communicated via email or in conversation. Taking this extra time to be sure the employee understands what's being communicated is vital to preventing misunderstandings about work-related topics.
Patience
Being patient as team members learn each other's ways of communicating is important. Mistakes in communication are bound to occur when people from different cultures work together. Someone forgetting that another team member lives in another time zone can happen --- the other team member may be woken up in the middle of the night. Identifying the causes of these problems as they occur and trying to prevent them are the keys to creating a more peaceful and productive workplace for employees from different countries.
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