Adapting to work culture in india

[chanakya10]

Hi,

I will be R2Iing in a month's time and will be working for a US-based MNC in B'lore. I wanted to know what kind of interpersonal communication/etiquette's should be observed in the workplace that are specific to India? Are there any basic Do's/Dont's ? Does this vary from city-to-city or state-to-state?

Thanks in advance,

[geethbala]

Hi Chanakya,

I personally feel the folowing

1. Dont tell your colleagues that you were working in USA unless you need to tell. This is to avoid the unwanted questions that might arise.
2. Also never tell that you never faced such problems in USA. this might alienate you from your co-workers.
3. Try to fit-in like going out for team luncheons.
4. Try to recollect what you might have done had you never been in US.

Hope this helps a little

[sftrade]

Based on your other post it appears that you will work for Cisco in Bangalore. You will find a lot of R2I'ers in that office and all over Bangalore in general. I would classify the workforce to consist of the following set of people

1. Junior/early career engineers who have never been to US/abroad
2. Mid-level/Senior engineers/managers who have lived/worked in US/abroad for short time.
3. Mid-level/Senior engineers/managers who have lived in US/abroad for long time
4. Mid-level/Senior engineers/managers who have never worked in US/abroad except for few occasional business trips.

If I have to generalize I would advise caution in dealing with folks who fall in category 2 and 4, some of who will consider you as NRI (Not Required in India). If you agree with my analysis till now, the best way to deal with such folks is to keep them at arms length and complain about the negative's in US which would make them feel good about not leaving India. Any praise for your lifestyle abroad will be seen as you having a superior experience which will manifest itself negatively when it comes to work related issues.

[mobi]

I don't think you can hide the fact you were working in USA to your colleagues for long.

You will always end up giving hints directly/indirectly (someone can know this by just looking at your profile in LinkedIn for example).

Just be yourself. Don't indulge yourself in office politics (unless you are good at it and it works in your favour).

Assume work culture in India will be quite sour for NRIs. Then you don't have to suffer much.

[chanakya10]

Thanks for the replies. This is very helpful. I was wondering how social life with office colleagues outside work is these days in India? Do people still get together/interact as much outside work or have professional and personal lives become more segregated over time?

[mvkris2]

ha ha - chanakya10 - This is something that has been running in my mind and is one of my biggest concerns of R2I decision. The Q is will we FIT IN ?

[pazham]

Life has become very hectic even in India. During weekdays, by the time that you comeback from office, it is late night. You are very tired and don't want to do anything. All you want to do is to eat and hit the bed. During the weekend, you feel so frustrated with the traffic, crowd and weather, you don't want to leave your home. Now tell me, what is your requirement of Social life outside work? I have hardly met my neighbors in 2yrs.

[KRV]

I am reading the forum after a long time (just too busy at work). The best way - I feel - to adapt to work culture in India is that you use the insights, communication skills, knowledge and broad-based appreciation of different work cultures to apply to your daily work without attributing the source and position as a humble suggestion.

In other words, whenever you share an insight, just make it grounded. I am not asking you to be phony, the insight should be genuine, but don't preface it with phrases like "When I was in Seattle..." or "My American colleague told me once" or "My former American boss said" or "My Latin American co-worker always used to say..." etc. If you feel that the message that follows these phrases is worth saying in your Indian work environment and genuinely can improve whatever project/environment you are in, say it just plainly and also end it with the all-powerful "Don't you think?" This way, the insight gets shared without rubbing off your American penchant and ending it with a question as above makes the listener more receptive to your idea.

This has repeatedly worked for me during the last 1.5 years in India, so I thought I will share it with you. Taking this approach also attracts your co-workers/subordinates/boss towards your ideas and makes them more receptive - because they see your style as "non threatening".

Funnily enough, I learned this insight not in India but in USA from my seasoned former boss who made our HR dept add another item in the performance evaluation sheet: "Is / Is Not Threatening with His/Her Intelligence". :))



Best wishes,
KRV

[KirKS]

Since your relocation is to BengaLuru:

Do's:

[LIST=1]

Don't hide your US exp or background. Use it to your advantage in situations

Pay for lunches/dinners in situations where 'Dutch' might have been implemented. Think of them as investment during initial days to break ice.

Be positive about India/Karnataka - its culture, traditions, food, dress, language, potential etc. People want to hear good things about local stuff, particularly when there is a newcomer

Like one suggestion said before mine, focus on ideas, not the source. Let's upgrade to this new version of source control because of XYZ.. not because I used it in US or heard it from US etc.

Teach family to also forget US as soon as possible. It helps them to bridge the gap

Learn local interests of your colleagues. If they follow IPL, watch some games (don't whine about how cricket sucks compared to football/baseball). If they like resorts, familiarize with some resorts. If they love cars, learn the brands. Knowing what papers they read, what serials they watch will help you bridge the gap soon.

Eat with people as much as possible whether in cafeteria or outside. Go out with them during breaks, as most of India's 'office politics' comes out in pieces during tea/cigarette/lunch breaks.

Attend office parties, get together's, meetings without fail. Observe closely how they dress and change your wardrobe to some extent. For instance, I had hard time getting adjusted to logo T-shirts in India which is very much accepted by even senior management.
[/LIST]
Don'ts:

[LIST=1]

Flaunt wealth, cars, villas or accessories. If you have good fortune, be very modest. Also, don't lie about being 'poor' too going to the other extreme. Just change topics when it comes to net worth part. People have a fairly good idea of how much you will be worth based on your profile. Almost one in five middle class families have had someone in US/UK (visit or long stay) from BengaLuru, so the data is all out there.

Use American accent & body language too much. I have seen people with long term US stays putting funny (in local setting) hand gestures in meetings. People giggle outside. Need to unlearn 'skedule', 'phaath', 'curve ball', 'touch base' phrases. Learn 'going for a six', 'schedule', usage of that extra 'u', statements turned as questions (Let me do it ?).

Whine - It's a huge turn off. Traffic sucks.. political bundh is a waste of resources.. elections are sham.. corruption is everywhere.. kids get sick all the time.. toilets are horrible.. potholes everywhere.. movies are big joke.. quality of everything is bad.. service is horrible.. partiality/nepotism.. food quality sucks.. etc. The more you whine initially, the more you turn off people. YOU came looking to settle down.. THEY did not invite you. Once you are a part of the 'group', you can whine as much as you want.

Don't talk politics, particularly inter state politics during settling down period. You wouldn't know who is what still.

Most importantly, with your US staff, don't talk down locals just because you can convey better with them due to your prior experience. Poking fun of locals (accent, attendance, timeliness, quality, dress, lifestyle) while being in India is a big no-no.
[/LIST]
Small talks & small gestures adjustment goes a long way. None of the above listed are very critical, but will add up down the line for you to assimilate faster.

[My Roots]

Eat with people as much as possible whether in cafeteria or outside. Go out with them during breaks, as most of India's 'office politics' comes out in pieces during tea/cigarette/lunch breaks.

Attend office parties, get together's, meetings without fail. Observe closely how they dress and change your wardrobe to some extent. For instance, I had hard time getting adjusted to logo T-shirts in India which is very much accepted by even senior management.
[/LIST][/quote]

Any tips on how women manage to do these in India?
I do go out for coffee/lunch here in USA with Indian co-workers and most of the time it is me who took initiative in the beginning. Indian guys seem to have some kind of withdrawn behavior which is nothing do with SI-NI, they are all same when it comes to asking a married, 30+ women for coffee/lunch.
Once the pattern is set OR we are all used to it, there is no problems. It is either me or they ask.
Don't know of this is acceptable in India OR do they draw some other meaning if women shows enthusiasm?