Managing Life Overseas: Culture clash and the recovery phase - Part 1

In the blog last week, we examined the meaning, causes, and some of the consequences of culture shock. This week, we will move further into the U-Curve adaptation process by exploring the recovery phase. However, as this stage is typically determined by some personal commitment to readjust behaviour in the host context, we must initially examine the concept of culture clash that is the most frequent trigger of the need for significant change.

The meaning, causes, and consequences of culture clash

For the small minority of sojourners already exhausted or weakened emotionally by experiences such as having had limited success in building a comforting daily routine or a highly unpleasant encounter with homesickness, some possible future looming threat of outright culture clash is an additional unwelcome prospect.

Outright clash tends to arise from rather basic misunderstandings due to divergent behavioural expectations, customs, and norms between dissimilar national cultural contexts. Then, this can be further aggravated where participants during interpersonal interactions unconsciously impose their own domestic values or judgements leading to inevitable friction. Moreover, the trigger for such clashes is not typically some major incident or event, but relatively minor issues if considered in isolation or on later reflection.

For example, In the English-speaking nations such as the UK, USA, and Australia, maintaining eye contact during interpersonal interactions is typically regarded as positive behaviour while also signalling sincerity and honesty. However, in some Asian contexts, it can be experienced as threatening or even disrespectful, especially by more junior members when interacting with elders or figures of authority.

Furthermore, from my personal experience, one of the most frequent causes of culture clash perhaps surprisingly arises from issues related to queuing. In the context of whether ‘to queue or not to queue’, the comically accurate joke directed towards we British is that, even if we find ourselves alone waiting for a service or the opening of something, we will still form an orderly queue of one.

To queue ......

...... or not to queue

Then, other cultures, in which queuing seems to move beyond being simply an act of politeness or respect for others to reflecting a deeper aspect of national identity, Include such diverse contexts as the English-speaking nations, Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Japan, and perhaps especially North Korea. Most other nations place much less emphasis on this ritualistic behaviour to the extent of it being regarded as quite bizarre or even antisocial.

Motivation to re-evaluate the experience

Then, even after being on the receiving end of some inevitable shocks, bumps, and false starts along the path towards adjusting to life overseas, only the smallest minority take the step of returning home early. Instead, a commitment to adjustment and subsequent recovery is overwhelmingly the most common response across all cultures.

Moreover, those who survive the ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ often develop a particularly admirable sense of focused determination that further enhances the commitment towards adjustment and eventual successful recovery.

Influence of personality on adaptation

Finally, two further factors reflecting individual personality traits also positively shape the process of recovery. First, the characteristics of openness, resilience, and flexibility are a significant asset. Indeed, those who are generally more open to change, especially behavioural modification, and are resilient when confronting challenges, are better suited to navigating the overall complexity of cultural adaptation.

Then, people who have a stable sense of personal well-being are also strongly positioned to find the motivation and willingness to actively engage in the process of cultural recovery while making a successful outcome far more likely.

To conclude, in the continuation of this topic next week, we will move on to focus exclusively on the recovery phase, during which we shall also explore some practical techniques that can aid the process based on my person experience.

Questions for discussion on this topic will be shown at the end of part 2 next week.