While unpacking after my arrival in Vancouver I swore to myself when I realised that I had forgotten my neckties. What a stupid oversight I said to myself, “I’ll need those ties for the office!”
Two years later I more often sport a T-shirt rather than a dress shirt, and what a relief it is to be able to wear sandals to work on hot weather days (a relative concept in Vancouver). To dress this way would be unimaginable in my previous Paris work locations. Even on the “casual Fridays,” borrowed from North America, the dress style was more formal than in many Vancouver business meetings.
Not surprisingly, I was a little perturbed on the first day of work when my supervisor called me “buddy.” No “sir” here. Everyone up to the director himself is on a first name basis. This flexibility in reporting relationships isn’t just a façade; communication is clearly easier and more personal.
Lunch on the go. | Photo by Toby Bradbury
In contrast, lunch is a much less sociable occasion. It is all too common to eat in a hurry, all alone, at your desk! Little importance is attached to the midday meal – the proof being that a measly half hour is scheduled. However, in my experience, lunch is the best time to break down barriers between departments and to allow for free, easy dialogue with your fellow workers. I therefore routinely exceed the ridiculous half hour allocated for lunch and often entice a few colleagues along to share a joyous and good-humoured lunch. Envious remarks can be overheard from co-workers passing through the lunchroom, “It sounds like a family dinner!” New recruits are regularly added to our table.
It stands to reason that the sometimes contradictory mix of laid-back attitude and reserve of the Vancouver lifestyle is also found in the business world. To casually approach your boss in the office is not shocking, but making a vaguely crude remark will have your co-workers staring at you in amazement. All the same, they won’t deny themselves the pleasure of hearing you upset the politically correct office culture. “You Europeans are so risqué,” they’ll say, after recovering from their hysterical laughter.
It is certainly interesting to live with these cultural differences whose existence I hadn’t even suspected. While my culture is obviously not representative of all others, I am certain it is not an outlier, for I know of other European or Latin American immigrants making the same sort of workplace observations. All agree that one of the more positive aspects of the Canadian job market and corporate culture is the possibility of advancement. Following my lead, many have had the opportunity of being promoted in their Vancouver workplace within a year, while they might have spent several years in the same position at the same salary in their native lands.
So we adapt by making the most of these differences. We rid ourselves of the tension that we had grown used to shouldering when arriving at the office. We’re more direct with our managers – how good that feels! In return we bring a little of our zest for protracted lunch breaks and occasional off-colour remarks, while we play our part in the cultural diversity of Vancouver.
Translation Barry Brisebois
