Ahhh, The Luck Of The Irish!

Ahem, well, not really.... but it’s St Patricks day and as my post is about different cultures in the workplace, I wanted to have a title that got your attention!!


As some of my friends and family would know, I am having renovations done to my place. I’m calling them renovations for lack of a better word for some maintenance issues! Anyway, this afternoon I have had a lovely chap in my place working on the reno and we got talking about where his heritage comes from. He had an accent I couldn’t place and was talking about travel he had done. Turns out, he came to Melbourne from New Zealand and was born in Italy. His Father is Italian-Hungarian and his Mother is German-Maori which has led him to being very culturally aware and open to others, something he is obviously very proud of.

However, he has been working in Melbourne for 2 years now and has found quite the opposite of the people around him in the workplace. Interestingly enough, his colleagues find him ‘a nice enough guy’ but he really hasn’t fitted in and is looking for somewhere new to work. For some reason, he opened up to me about how the other guys all share a joke but exclude him, how the others catch up socially with people that are like them, and he is left out. He also mentioned how his manager jokes around with him and pokes fun at him because of where he comes from. Always in ‘good fun’ but is there not a hint of truth behind sarcasm?

This guys’ customer service was amazing – he checked and rechecked everything and was clearly proud that he could do, and was doing, a good job. So why was it that he was feeling excluded and not ‘part of the in-crowd’? Why was it that he found it hard to be accepted by his workmates?

Interestingly enough, modern day Australian businesses still vary greatly on the acceptance of true diversity in the workplace. Some corporations have a diversity agenda which promotes that if we harness the difference in others, we harness the strength of our organisaiton which inturn provides opportunities for our customers. I once worked with an organisation that every Friday morning tea was put on by a staff member who brought something in from their cultural background – everyone downed tools for 20 minutes, ate, had a cuppa and chatted. Amazing how food can bring people together!!

Other organisations, however, seem to be still stuck in the dark ages where different can mean wrong, incompetent or fearful. How is it that people can still be fearful of something or someone who is not like them? I often say that the communication we get from others is equal to the communication we give – unconsciously or consciously. Therefore, if we fear that something different in others, what are we actually fearing about ourselves?

I will leave you with some questions to ask yourself about you and your team or business:

• How can you harness the fabulous differentiating factors of your team that will open up a wealth of history, information and opportunity?

• How can you look at diversity as more than male/female ratio or age?

• How can you lead by example with your workforce so that others who look to you for guidance can learn as well?

• When you bring in people from different backgrounds and cultures, how do you onboard them with the rest of the team to set the right communication model?

• And finally..... If other saw you as different, how would you want them to treat you?

Would love to hear your feedback!