Are you ready to take the next step in your professional life and reach international seas? Awesome! That’s a big deal, so congrats!
Now this step can be in the form of you relocating to Mexico or simply working with Mexican employees, clients and business partners.
Whatever the case, it’ll bring many benefits to you. But it can also be quite confusing at first. Because you have a different culture and ways of working and communicating.
That’s okay. There’s always a solution. You just have to be prepared and know the cultural and communication clashes when working with Mexicans or in Mexico. As well as solutions.
Thankfully, here at TruFluency we’re prepared to help you figure all of this out.
Benefits of Knowing the Cultural and Communication Issues You Might Face Working Abroad
You’ll be more prepared
If you know the issues that can come from communicating in a language that’s not your mother tongue and immersing yourself in a new culture, you’ll be more prepared for whatever comes.
You’ll have time to assimilate that it can be confusing at first. But you’ll also have time to relax, clear your mind and accept that you can work through it.
You’ll also be able to make a list with ideas on how to overcome those obstacles, so you can emerge victorious.
All in all, you’ll be more prepared, which will make the adapting process and the path of working abroad easier.
Your coworkers will feel respected and like you care
If you’re aware that between cultures there can be some communication and cultural clashes, your coworkers, clients or business partners will feel like you care. Because you’ll be arriving at the workplace knowing that but still have all the attitude to work through it and resolve anything that happens.
They’ll see you’re trying to immerse yourself in the culture and learn more about how they work, therefore they’ll feel respected. Contrary to if you work with them but are not willing to learn about their culture and ways of working and want to impose yourself.
This doesn’t mean that you have to agree to everything to make them feel good. But simply informing yourself, preparing for whatever comes, and adapting to the good things will be respectful.
You’ll attract more clients
This has something to do with the point above. If you make your coworkers, business partners and clients feel respected, the word will spread.
If you’re prepared to face the cultural and communication problems, clients will notice. So, they’ll tell others; they’ll recommend you. And you’ll end up attracting more clients.
Let’s say you learned Spanish to work better with your Mexican clients. They’ll be happier with your service and that you thought of them, so they’ll recommend you to more Spanish-speaking clients.
The same applies for business partnerships. More people or companies will want to work with someone as committed and resourceful as you.
You’ll help improve the workplace
You might come up to the workplace with new ideas to work through any communication or cultural issues that arise. This will not only help you understand others better and make yourself understood, but it’ll also benefit the whole workplace. Because they can apply your ideas when working with any other foreign employee or client.
Basically, you’ll help them improve the workplace in general and grow the business, especially in terms of cultural awareness and international and national communication. Which is something many companies need. Yay!
Cultural and Communication Clashes Working in Mexico
Here are some cultural and communication clashes you might encounter when working in Mexico or with Mexicans. You must be aware of these, so you know how to adapt or work towards improving your communication with Mexicans coworkers.
Usted vs tú
Mexico is a friendly country, but this doesn’t mean they don’t speak formally sometimes. Especially with people that are authorities, old people, or when they’re at work. In these kinds of cases, they’ll always try to speak more formally than with friends, for example.
Part of this formality is using the “usted” (you) instead of the “tú” (you). Yes, in Spanish there are different ways of saying “you”.
If you use “tú” in formal places or with serious people you might seem disrespectful. So, when you’re at work, don’t forget to use “usted” when speaking to somebody else, especially your boss or someone you don’t know.
For example:
¿Usted tiene los reportes? – Do you have the reports?
You’ll notice that they also speak to you using “usted”. Even if you’re an employee, your boss will use this personal pronoun.
If you’re talking to a close friend, you can use “tú” even in the office.
Greetings
Mexico has many different ways of greeting someone, from hugs and kisses to many slang expressions. It is known as a warm society, because they’re very expressive and kind even with a simple greeting. But how does this work in business?
Well, the classic hugs and kisses you see Mexicans giving each other all the time aren’t that common in the office. This might surprise you but think about it: The office it’s a formal place. So they prefer to give a handshake as that’s seen as more formal.
Now, this doesn’t mean that nobody hugs and kisses in the office. If you work with a close friend, you can give them a hug or kiss. This is more common between girl and girl, instead of boy and boy or girl and boy.
It’s worth noting that the kisses are in the cheek and it’s just one kiss. Plus, it’s usually about putting cheek to cheek and blowing the kiss into the air, not really kissing the other person’s cheek.
But if you’re meeting with your boss, a client or a business partner, it’s better to say hi with a handshake.
In terms of what to say, you should stick to the formal style with some kind but formal phrases:
- Hola, buen día – Hello, good day
- Buenos días – Good morning
- Buenas tardes – Good afternoon
- Buenas noches – Goodnight
- Es un placer conocerlo / conocerla – It’s a pleasure to meet you
- Mucho gusto – Nice to meet you
- ¿Cómo está? / ¿Cómo se encuentra? – How are you?
Small talk
Small Talk is a highly important part of working in Mexico or with Mexicans. You’ll notice this whether you’re an expat in Mexico, you work remotely for a Mexican company, or are making deals with a Mexican business partner.
Or even if you’re hosting a meeting with Mexican employees or have a Mexican boss. Small talk is important for them.
They do this before many important situations. If your boss calls you to their office, expect some small talk before announcing why you’re there. If you’re about to meet with a partner from Mexico to close a deal, you must do some small talk.
Even in meetings, when everybody is already in the office, they’ll start with small talk before diving deep into the topics of discussion. As you can see, small talk is important in all kinds of situations.
So, don’t act bored nor pressure them to go faster if you see they’re doing small talk. You don’t want to sound rude.
Kind and warm society
Many people that go to Mexico – whether for vacation, business, or to visit a loved one – notice that they’re a kind, friendly and warm society.
Yes, this applies to the work environment, especially when employees talk to a supervisor or their boss. Offices and work are formal places with serious people trying to grow a company and make a living. They should be as formal and serious as them, and this goes hand in hand with being kind.
That’s why you’ll notice many employees use kind phrases and expressions while at work, as long as they’re appropriate for work. So nothing informal. For example:
- Permítame presentarle a… – Allow me to introduce you to…
- Permítame darle una sugerencia – Allow me to give you a suggestion…
- Podría usted por favor hacer… – Could you please do…
- Disculpe, tengo un par de dudas sobre… – Excuse me, I have a couple of doubts about…
Sadly, in some Mexican companies, work classes are very well defined. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, with the fact of being an assistant or a boss.
But many supervisors, bosses, and just people with higher job positions take advantage of that. They feel superior to their employees, so they act quite mean towards them. They have a bad attitude and talk rudely to them; they’re also impolite when asking for things. They’re not kind.
This doesn’t happen everywhere, but it does happen often, sadly. Employees, though, act formally and kind towards their bosses and superiors; they can’t risk losing their jobs.
Indirect speaking
For Mexicans, it can be tough to be direct. They might feel like they’re being mean or impolite, and they have a warm culture in general and a formal one in terms of work. So they wouldn’t like to disrespect you.
This can lead to them repeating themselves or saying many other things before arriving at what they really want to say. Basically, this can lead to them being indirect when telling you something, instead of just saying it straight.
This also means that they might have trouble refusing things. Once again, they’ll probably say many things before refusing. Or they’ll over explain their reasons to refuse.
For cultures that tend to be extremely direct and simply say the things as they come, this might be odd. But if you’re confused and have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask them; they’ll answer.
If you tend to be a direct person, that’s okay. Just make sure to use kind phrases or greetings before and after saying what you need to say.
For example:
- Por favor – Please
- Gracias – Thank you
- Te lo agradecería mucho – I would appreciate it very much
- Necesito esto, por favor. En verdad te lo agradecería. – I need this, please. I’d really appreciate it.
- Te agradezco mucho la propuesta, pero lamentablemente en este momento no necesitamos… – I thank you very much for the proposal, but sadly at this moment we don’t need…
- Lindo día, Samantha – Have a nice day, Samantha
Business Email
This has something to do with the last two points.
When writing any kind of business email, they’ll always use formal but kind greetings and goodbyes. They’ll never write these emails in an extremely direct way.
For example: They won’t say “Necesito esto” (I need this) without a proper introduction in the email. They’ll always say “hi” first, introduce themselves, and then write the message. Finally, they’ll write a phrase or question to close the email, like tell you if you have any questions. Then say goodbye.
This is very important, because for them it shows kindness and respect. Otherwise, you might sound rude in the email.
Attire
We know that communication doesn’t always happen through the words, but also through our actions, gestures, and for some even through fashion. This is the case when working in Mexico.
For many people in Mexico what you wear for the office communicates how serious you are about your job. As well as how seriously you view the person you’re meeting with, like a business partner or the talent recruiter that will interview you for the job.
Mexican companies prefer formal attire. For women this means using suits, blouses, shirts, or skirts and dresses that aren’t too short. No broken jeans, crop tops, or a shirt with your favorite band’s logo on it.
For men, it means suits with shirts and ties. No shorts, flip flops, broken jeans or pants, nor a shirt with a crazy print in it.
For them this communicates seriousness and formality, two valuable things for work.
Of course, this depends on the company and your boss; there might be some that allow you to dress in your personal style. But most prefer formal attire.
Some companies give their employees the freedom to wear jeans on Fridays.
Punctuality
For many cultures, punctuality communicates respect for your time and the time of the person you’re meeting. This applies in all areas of life. In Mexico it’s no different, at least in terms of work.
Many Mexicans tend to be unpunctual. So if you’re meeting with them outside of work, like for a party or a coffee, they might get there late. They’re not trying to be disrespectful, they’re just usually late. Of course, not everybody, but it is quite common.
But in terms of work, companies require punctuality and often they have penalties if you arrive late. So even if you work in Mexico with an all-Mexican workforce, be punctual.
Nonetheless, because companies know things can happen and that Mexicans aren’t very punctual, they have a tolerance of a couple of minutes, like ten.
Even with this tolerance, some people still aren’t punctual and arrive late at work. But this isn’t very well seen at the office. It can be impolite and communicate a message of disrespect for someone’s time, especially when you arrive late at a meeting.
Build Your Language Skills to Communicate Better
Lastly, another very important communication issue you might face is the language. It might sound obvious, but not everyone is prepared with the proper Spanish skills to work in Mexico or with Mexicans.
But the truth is that whether you’re in Mexico, the USA, or any other country, learning the language is essential! Otherwise, natives might feel like you’re not really interested in communicating with them, at least not very much. Even though that’s essential to work properly.
They’ll also feel you’re not that excited to immerse yourself in the culture, despite the fact that language and culture go hand in hand. You don’t want that to happen, as it will make you seem disrespectful and impolite.
Don’t worry, there’s always a solution and in this case, we have it! TruFluency offers Spanish immersion classes with native teachers! This means you’ll learn from the very best and from true experts. They know the language inside out, including things schools don’t usually teach you, like slang.
The coolest part is that our lessons are customized to your language goals. Just tell us what you need, and we’ll make a plan. Do you need Spanish vocabulary for business? Great! Or maybe some accent training? We got you! Whatever it is, we’ll gladly help.
We also encourage all students to speak in their target language in every single class. This is the best way to achieve fluency. This will be highly beneficial for your career. You’ll notice that soon you’ll be having fluent conversations in Spanish with your Mexican coworkers and clients.
Sign up for two trial classes of one hour each now! They’re completely online and you can choose from any of our flexible schedules.
You’ll see that we’re prepared to help you shine at work and anywhere!
