Western work cultures get Indian work flavour - Even with globalisation, there is still a long gap to bridge

By Harsha Pramod @ Wednesday, June 04, 2008 1:49 PM

Section - Outsourcing/Outsourcing

Many Indian companies acquire foreign companies to gain entry into markets, causing an influx of Indian employees into their offices in the West, and taking with them the Indian work atmosphere.

An employee complains that while most western companies close at regular office hours, their office works late just like their office back home in India.

Techies who are often sent on duty for a couple of months to western countries often find the working atmosphere very different. Even with globalisation, there is still a long gap to bridge.

Some companies prepare their employees about what to expect. It can be anything like, “In the US it is considered bad to use official printers or scanners for personal use” or “do not expect someone to call a taxi for you, though a colleague may guide you about how to get around”.

In the case of multinationals, their offices in the West are run by their own rules and the Indian staff going there simply get used to it. Some say that they are surprised at how their colleagues leave at regular office hours and very often on a Friday evening everyone is in a weekend mood. Their habit of taking long holidays also surprises them.

However, their foreign counterparts do not indulge in chitchat during the office time and it is often necessary to ask for permission to talk to them. In India colleagues may not think it necessary to use the communication window to ask for a convenient time to talk to others. Some people find this working atmosphere boring, but feel that people may get used to this soon.

Some Indian offices abroad are neither here nor there and its employees find themselves in a foreign land but in an Indian work atmosphere. Foreigners working in such companies are slowly getting a flavour of the Indian work atmosphere. X