2-1 Culture Shock

Introduction

As we mentioned in Unit 1, globalization, fueled by constantly evolving technological advancements, is rapidly increasing. This, in turn, has resulted in more and more people finding themselves involved in intercultural communication, and in intercultural business situations. Before we get into culture shock, let’s first set some expectations about the perspective we need to keep in our minds. We are mainly focusing on culture shock and its effects on expatriates, not tourists, even though it applies to both. Even though tourists also experience culture shock, they are usually only in a new culture for a short period of time with the expectation of going home soon. Since this course is about intercultural business communication, keep in mind that we are more concerned with expats. An expat (expatriate) is a person who is living and working in a culture other than their own. However, it is also important to realize that you do not have to live for an extended period of time in a culture to experience culture shock; it can also happen in short business encounters with different cultures. For example; Think about a German engineer living and working on a project in South Africa for 5 years before he or she has to go back home or a German corporate team meeting with professionals from Vietnam over the course of 3 to 4 days. Although these are very different situations with unique challenges, they will both produce culture shock.

Culture Shock

“Culture shock is caused by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse.” Think about how many activities you do every day. Even though we don’t think about it, all of the actions and transactions of our daily lives are governed by rules. What to say or do when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to give orders or make requests, how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not- there are unspoken rules to each of these things. We rely on norms, custom, and cues to know how to properly interact with the world around us. These norms, customs, and cues may be words, gestures, facial expressions, expectations, or values which are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up. They are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend on our knowledge of and our efficiency with hundreds of these cues. They are so ingrained in our behaviour that most of us do not even consider them on a conscious level. We just know.

Even though modern life and business has created a new reality where many of us are exposed to other cultures, actually navigating, working, or living in a new culture is a completely different experience. The infinite amount of new sensory stimuli that you are absorbing through your senses in a new culture can be overwhelming enough. New smells, sounds, sights, foods, and mannerisms can be exciting when you are a tourist searching for new adventures, but they can be distracting and frustrating when you’re trying to get work done. At the heart of it, culture shock is a communication problem. It is an inability to effectively understand and communicate within the expected cultural structure of the society you are in. It can be overcome, but you need to understand how it works and its different stages.

5 Stages of Culture Shock

There are 5 stages that people go through when experiencing culture shock. It is important to remember that people are all different and unique. We don’t all experience or go through the 5 stages in the same way. Our own cultural perspectives, plus our values, personalities, and experiences all play a role in how we go through and eventually come out of these stages. It is also important to note that people experiencing cultures that are relatively similar or share the same language don’t necessarily have an easier time or experience culture shock less than cultures that are significantly different. For example; England and Canada are both low context cultures that speak the same language, and share many cultural traits; however, if a Canadian goes to England on a foreign assignment, that does not mean they will not experience culture shock.

It is difficult to determine how long any one individual will experience each stage, but there is an academic consensus however that we all go through the 5 stages of culture shock when relocating to a new society.

Stage 1 - Euphoria/Honeymoon Stage

When you voluntarily choose to go to another country or culture for an extended period of time with the intention of working and living there, it is natural to look forward to the new experience. Once you arrive, you are excited about the new culture, food, people, and places that you are experiencing, and the sense of adventure of experiencing these things is what you feel the most. You are more focused on the novelty of the experience rather than the differences you don’t yet understand or haven’t experienced. Everything is fascinating, new, and exciting. In many ways, you are experiencing the new culture in the way a tourist would.

Stage 2 - Crisis

The novelty of the new experiences you are having starts to fade away and your attention starts shifting towards the actual reality around you. Unlike the tourist who goes home long before this stage sets in, you realize that you have to stay and function in the new culture. You may quickly discover that you are not familiar with some or a combination of:

• Transportation
• Food
• Language
• Accommodation
• Norms
• Rules
• Gender role expectations
• Formality expectations
• Nonverbal communication
• Gestures

In this stage, people can experience feelings of anxiety, loneliness, depression, alienation, homesickness, and stress as the weight and complexity of their new situation becomes clear. These negative feelings and emotions can evolve into physical stress and even illness.

Stage 3 - Recovery

In stage 3, you begin to accept the new culture. Your cultural perspective starts to change. Through experience, you start to see and understand some of the nuances of everyday life in the new culture. Your social skills within that culture start to improve, and you are more confident in your daily interactions as you start to have some successes in the new culture. You might even start to contrast some of your cultural values with the host culture’s values and ideologies, adopting some of them and adjusting your own perspective. You are not 100% comfortable yet, but things are definitely getting easier. It is important to note that stage 3 is also the stage at which, if an individual fails to adapt and accept the new culture, they usually go back home.

Stage 4 - Adjustment

You now feel at home, and there is little to no anxiety due to cultural differences. Things around you make sense, you have close friends, meaningful relationships, hobbies, and activities. You have become a part of society. You start to adopt new ideologies, behaviors, etc; you start to integrate into society and don’t feel alienated anymore.You understand why people react in certain ways in specific situations, you understand the subtleties of nonverbal communication, and you pick up on things like intonation and body language. Life around you is not strange anymore. Challenges still exist, but you now have the knowledge, understanding, and skills to face them.

Stage 5 - Reentry Shock/ Reverse Culture Shock

Most people find it hard to believe that their own culture could seem strange or alien to them. However, that is exactly what happens in stage 5. When you stay in a new culture long enough to successfully go through the first 4 stages of culture shock, you change. You are not the same person you used to be before. The time you have spent in the new culture influences your point of view, ideologies, perspectives, and behaviors. You’re still you, but you see the world differently than you did when you left home. When you go back, the things, norms, rules, places, concepts, and behaviors that were familiar to you now seem strange and distant. What happens is you start to go through the 4 stages of culture shock again, this time as you adapt to your own culture. For example; an Egyptian couple moved to the United Arab Emirates in 1981, worked, raised their children, and lived there till 2017 After 36 years, they retired and moved back to Egypt. Even though both countries share the same language, many cultural values, and similar lifestyles, readjusting back into Egyptian society was not easy. Differences small and large were hard to readjust to. Noises of the city, smells, commuting, paying bills, products and services available, among many other things, were not easy for the family to reacclimate to. For many people, reverse culture shock can be more upsetting than culture shock because it is unexpected. In Lesson 2 and 3, we’ll discuss some of the ways to make it less stressful.