Cultural Differences in Standard Work Schedules

When conducting international business you need to be aware of cultural differences in how business is carried out in other countries.

One of the first things you should not overlook is that some cultures have a different definition for their standard work week.

Unfortunately, it is not that simple. The differences in standard work weeks are varied.

There are two advantages to reading further:

• You can easily annoy prospective clients by not respecting their standard work schedules.


• You can get more value out of adjusting the time, or day, or even the week you choose to communicate with your foreign clients.

Different Days Of The Week

Some countries do not have the same work week. Monday through Friday is common in English speaking countries.

In Muslim-majority countries the legal work week in the Middle East is not the same as many other countries.

• It is Saturday through Wednesday in Algeria and Saudi Arabia, so their weekend is Thursday and Friday.


• It is Saturday through Thursday in Iran so their weekend is Friday (however, many government offices and private companies are closed on Thursdays)


• It is Sunday through Thursday in Egypt, Syria, United Arab Emirates so their weekend is Friday Saturday

Shorter Work Week

Fridays are not always a good time to schedule international telephone conferences. In some countries employees traditionally work an hour or a half day less on Fridays. The time difference between participants can create bad feelings, or low attendance.

The American state of Utah , state employees started following a "TGIT" experiment earlier this year. As in: "Thank God It's Thursday."

In a yearlong experiment aimed at reducing the state's energy costs and commuters' gasoline expenses, Utah is about to become the first state to switch to a four-day workweek for thousands of government employees.

They will put in 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, and have Fridays off, freeing them to golf, shop, spend time with the kids or do anything else that strikes their fancy. They will get paid the same as before.

Government Employees And Local Customs

The example above is about state employees.

In many countries government employees work slightly different work weeks compared to people in the business sectors. And the professional categories of "government employees" is not the same in every country.

Some countries have very strict laws about working on the weekend, where everything is closed.

Lighter Work Months

And don't forget cultural differences on when people traditionally take their annual vacations. In France many people take their annual vacation in August.

In a not so distant past, business in Paris was considered as coming to a total standstill in August every year. Although this is not 100% true across all industries today, you still need to factor this in. And driving in Paris in August is still different than the rest of the year.

And there are also countries where the work schedule is influenced by religious events over several weeks in a year.

Develop Your Basic International Skills

Of course the list above can be useful.

But do not rely solely on this list, or any other list you may find, when planning your calendars. It is always best to ask the people concerned yourself.

In fact, the key to this article is something else.

It is important to develop your international awareness to different lifestyles and different business environments.

• How would he feel if you called him on his weekend?
  



• How would he feel if you called him during his work week, but it was your weekend?

You can symbolically meet your client on his ground, by going out of your way to call him on his day at work and your day off.

Many delays happen in international business development simply because business are unaware of the local work week schedule.

Imagine if you need something important from someone minutes before the end of his work week or the beginning of his month long vacation?

• Is it a good idea to schedule an important cold call on September 1st to someone who has probably been out of the office most of August or who is trying to catch up with colleagues for the first time in a month?

As you become familiar with different work habits you will begin to acquire basic international business skills.

Respect for differences in standard work schedules is one of the first steps. This respect also leads to maintaining an open mind and the flexibility to deal with different business environments.

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