The beauty of Cultural Diversity - Share culture, bridge the gap

Culture is a broad term that encompasses beliefs, values, norms, behaviours, and overall can be understood as our “way of being” – it is that which shapes us and our identity. The world is a vibrant canvas of people from all backgrounds and walks of life and in every corner of the globe there exist people from different religions, racial identifications, ethnic identities who speak various languages, have specific traditions and celebrate different holidays. Whilst there is a beauty associated with this, the struggle for it to be fully appreciated remains to be a challenge.

These cultural dimensions can be the very issues that are linked to many global conflicts, and the growth of mass media transcending geographical boundaries can largely impact one’s cultural identity and sense of belonging in society, and also in the workplace. As organisations become more diverse than ever, we must always be prepared to encounter, overcome, and accept cultural differences, and take the time to deepen our understanding of the values that cultural diversity brings.

The beauty of cultural diversity in business

Cultural diversity is crucial in every setting in life but can be pivotal in business, particularly for organisations that want to have a competitive edge and advantage. Having a pool of diverse employees from different backgrounds and perspectives has shown:

• to drive creativity and innovation by welcoming a variety of voices, viewpoints, and richer ideas
• to develop cultural literacy and awareness which can enhance understanding, communication, employee engagement and unity in the workplace
• to help us recognise and respect different “ways of being” that are not necessarily our own
• To significantly improve productivity levels, and improve decision making by bringing a more diverse set of skill sets and solutions to specific problems

Culture shock

Stepping into the outside world or into a workplace that is different from what you know can be challenging for individuals and may result in internal identity issues, disorientation, uncertainty, and confusion. We often take the concept of culture shock for granted, and whilst it remains true for all the other domains of diversity, organisations need to understand and take steps to accommodate employees to feel a sense of belonging.

Culture shock generally occurs in four stages: (1) The Honeymoon Stage. There is excitement here and often individuals experience a sense of euphoria as a result of the differences observed. (2) The Distress Stage. Where the ‘new’ starts to become ‘old’ and there are feelings of frustration, particularly with specific customs and values. Confusion and feelings of isolation rise to the surface where the individual craves familiarity. Despite an individual having an open mind and a love for different cultures, individuals seek out to find connections and seek familiarity in others to feel a sense of belonging. (3) The Orientation Stage. The beginning of acceptance and the path to respecting both the positives and negatives of different cultures; slowly becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. (4) The Adaptation Stage. The ability to function successfully with cultures and feel well-orientated, where a sense of self-identity is preserved and slowly a sense of ‘home’ is achieved.

As culture shock is not a linear process and affects everyone differently, individuals in the workplace can find themselves failing to successfully reach the adaptation stage or constantly moving between the different stages, never feeling a sense of belonging.

How to support cultural diversity in the workplace

Here are some ideas to help gain a deeper understanding of your team’s cultural diversity:

• Acknowledge and celebrate cultural holidays, festivals and food to increase cultural literacy, awareness and acceptance
• Host a staff dinner or an international food day with cultural awareness as the theme
• Actively interact with people outside of your culture. Be curious about your colleagues’ culture - do not listen to respond, but to understand
• Take the time to learn from different cultures and discuss something you read about the next time you speak; pay attention to differences in culture
• If there is a global issue that impacts your colleague, begin the dialogue; be comfortable with the uncomfortable
• Speak out against anyone who is being culturally insensitive
• Accept that differences are beneficial and not harmful, don’t force your beliefs on others with opposing views
• Actively hire employees from all sorts of different backgrounds, regardless of race, religion and culture, yet be aware of their engagement and belongingness
• Undergo an internal audit, analyse recruitment, and staff turnover – is there a pattern in relation to cultural patterns?
• Take off your shoes! Everyone’s perception of reality is different – it is often said to have empathy and to walk in someone else’s shoes, but in reality, how often are we ready to take of our own shoes – our own prejudices to enable us to walk in someone else’s?

Sources:

Amaram, D.I., 2007. Cultural diversity: Implications for workplace management. Journal of Diversity Management (JDM), 2(4), pp.1-6.

Copeland, L., 1988. Valuing Diversity, Part 1: Making the Most of Cultural Differences at the Workplace. Personnel, 65(6).

Martin, G.C., 2014. The effects of cultural diversity in the workplace. Journal of diversity management (JDM), 9(2), pp.89-92.

Minbaeva, D., Fitzsimmons, S. and Brewster, C., 2021. Beyond the double-edged sword of cultural diversity in teams: Progress, critique, and next steps. Journal of International Business Studies, 52(1), pp.45-55.

Pedersen, P., 1994. The five stages of culture shock: Critical incidents around the world: Critical incidents around the world. ABC-CLIO.

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