Australian Workplace Culture

Australia being a land of variety, has developed its own way of doing things and because of that it has come up with her own way of doing things, which includes workplace etiquette. Although there are many aspects in it, I think the most important ones are how they value punctuality, how they go about hierarchy and how people are often free to speak their mind even if they are lower down the power ladder. Punctuality is especially valued here and I can say that from my part-time work experiences here. Managers and pretty much everyone at a workplace likes a person who is on time. Another aspect in workplace culture is their view of hierarchy. Although there are many positions and roles in Australian business hierarchy, the employees tend to receive the same treatment and a great emphasis is placed on the team rather than a high-ranking officer. This is especially good to bring out a sense of relaxation among the employees while boosting morale and promoting hard work. Moreover, this supports the Australian way of speaking their mind directly and straightforward, without having to worry about any superior officers, as they themselves ask the employees to speak their mind out.

This contrasts with what has been observed in other countries to some degree especially the aspect of speaking your mind and punctuality. Punctuality is sometimes a bit bend, where people, especially those working in smaller companies, may bring up excuses for being late at the workplace. This is not something that should be entertained in a workplace at all to be a successful organisation. Similarly, the speaking their mind is not also promoted, as it needs to be, as it is considered to be kind of ‘rude’ to contradict your superior in the hierarchy in public.

I think the main challenge that international students when going into a new workplace is that time period where you need to integrate your culture into the Australian culture which is a mix of different cultures (of different people from different backgrounds and that formed what is now the Australian culture).

To overcome this social integration is very important where you need to interact with your colleagues to understand what are the common factors that everyone enjoys and find a way to relate those common factors to similar things in his/her culture.

This way international students can find ways to appreciate what Australians enjoy while nurturing and strengthening a sense of camaraderie.