Overview

A group of four students, three from Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and one student from Kozminski University in Warsaw Poland conducted an interview with a male Dutch civil. The interviewee works with people who apply for social benefits. Particularly, he only works with people under the age of 27. The organisation not only decides if people have the right to receive social benefits but they also try to help people get a job if they are able/allowed to work.

The interview was investigating the impact of culture within the employment sector. People with many different cultural backgrounds apply for social benefits and this can be cause for cultural barriers. Potentially, five kinds of barriers can occur: language, nonverbal, stereotypes, judging behaviour and a high level of stress. The civil servants can have conversations in Dutch, English or German and for any other language interpreters will be called through the telephone.

In the interview questions were aimed at establishing how these civil servants deal with situations in which there can be, or actually is, a cultural barrier. It quickly became clear only few problems had occurred and that our interviewee did not have much trouble handling these situations. He was able to give a good example.

Case

A Turkish woman had an appointment with a male Dutch civil servant, the conversation was in Dutch. The interaction started with the civil servant reaching out for a handshake which she kindly declined. Her beliefs prohibit her to interact with a male in such a way. The civil servant felt inhibited not giving a handshake but went on with the conversation. He talked her through several job suggestions she was offered by the organisation, but she had declined or stopped working at those instances after a short while. Some she declined because it was already stated that she would not be able to wear her hijab. The civil servant was surprised though that the other jobs, where she could wear the hijab, did not work out for her. Employers had said she was excellent. The woman however argued that at all those places there were mostly men working. Even though her beliefs do not specifically prohibit her to work with men, she felt very uneasy working in such an environment. She requested the organisation would look for a job where she could work beside other women with preferably an Islamic cultural background. The civil servant understood the situation, but told her those requirements would make it noticeably more difficult to find her a fitting job. Furthermore, because she technically is able to work, social benefits were not exactly applicable. The civil servant decided that for now he would just look for jobs where she could wear her hijab and where mostly women are employed. In the following weeks very few job offerings meeting the requirements were found. The woman however called the organisation and said she had found a new job herself within her own social circle, no further assistance was needed.

The civil servant understood the woman and her situation and tried to help her in the best possible way. The woman had felt uneasy at previous jobs because of her cultural background. In Turkey it is less likely for women to work beside men, whereas in Holland it is quite normal. Although the woman found a job in the end the civil servant felt that the organisation had lacked in providing her the service she needed.

Outcome/Religion

During the interview we asked how our interviewee  what he thinks about a situation that is directly linked to someone’s beliefs. He answered the organisation should be aware of cultural barriers at all times. He is now used to not giving a hand to Muslim women, although it still feels inhibitive.
Understanding that someone’s belief could prohibit them from certain actions, like not wearing a hijab,  is necessary when trying to help them get a job. Trying not to see it as a barrier, but as something that can work. From the case  this becomes very clear. Connecting it to Hofstede we can see a sizeable difference between the Netherlands and Turkey in uncertainty avoidance. The Netherlands scores 53, whereas Turkey scores 85. Turkish people make use of a lot of rules and rituals to minimize anxiety. As some customs seem religious in nature, often they are just traditional social patterns. In the case we see this as the woman feels uneasy working with other men, as it is uncommon in Turkey. All these cultural barriers can be linked to Weaver’s Iceberg: the feeling of unease is a result of the invisible ‘deep culture’.

Achievement

Achievement can be linked to the masculinity or femininity of a culture. A high score would mean a masculine culture, a low score would indicate a feminine one. In Hofstede we see that Turkey, with a score of 45, is leaning more towards the feminine side. Compared to the Netherlands however, which have a score of 14, Turkey is more masculine. Turkish and Dutch culture both characterize themselves with avoiding conflicts and ending with an agreement. In the case we see this as the woman, even though she already had some trouble, still finds consensus with the civil servant. When we actually do look at gender roles within both countries we can say that Turkish culture values these roles more. Certain behaviour is expected from both men and women, and some of this behaviour does derive from the Islamic culture. In the Netherlands gender roles of course exist as well, but are less valued, frequently opposed and lack a religious drive.

Identity

We see another massive culture difference when we look at the level of individualism. The Netherlands scores very high with 80 and is an individualistic society. Turkey however scores 37 and is a collectivistic society, the culture being characterized by taking care of one another. We could state from this that the Turkish woman would like to find a job where she feels like she belongs. A job where she does not feel at unease. People in the Netherlands however have less of a tendency of wanting to belong to a group. There is a preference for a loose social framework in which they deal with individuals as individuals. This contrasts the difference in power distance. Whereas the Dutch scores a low 38, the Turkish score decently high at 66. This lack of hierarchy expresses itself in the workplace in quite some ways. According to Hofstede in Holland there is considered to be an ‘extremely’ low power distance. A culture in which inequalities among people is minimized and anyone can take the lead in the conversation at any time. In the Netherlands it is not uncommon for a woman lower ranked within the organisation to speak up to her male manager. In Turkey this would be prohibitive. A Turkish woman in Holland could feel very inhibited to act as a Dutch female employee, because of this cultural barrier. In the case we can see the woman actively trying to find a job that recreates the Turkish work experience. Avoiding men and trying to work amongst other women who share parts of her cultural background. In the end even finding a job within her own social circle, being helped by someone who probably shares the same (collectivistic) cultural background.

Best Practice

Within the governmental environment it is of utmost importance to follow the rules and procedures. However, in some cases civil servants can make judgements they see fit for situations at hand.

Our interviewee believes that the current procedures and rules are sophisticated enough to be considered best practice. Civil servants try and help every ‘client’ as best as they possibly can. Each and every client handling with care and respect. Sometimes trying to figure out a clients current situation without diving to deep into personal life can be tricky, but is not impossible. Approaching clients in a way so that they can feel safe and being taken seriously is key. Not only for citizens with a Dutch cultural background, but for people from all backgrounds imaginable. Examples of this are the languages required to speak for the job and the interpreters that will be called whenever there still is a language barrier.

One thing that could be improved upon however is the level of cultural awareness whenever an interpreter is not involved. This means improving the cultural knowledge of civil servants for the job, so they are aware of cultural barriers that can occur. Making it so they can anticipate, properly approach and successfully overcome cultural barriers. This way instances that share similarities with the case at hand can be prevented. The Turkish woman finding a job is not a failure, but the organisation however not being able to successfully find a good fit for her is a failure. If the needed requirements would have been taken into account from the start, the organisation could have better helped the young lady. This case truly shows the importance of cultural knowledge needed for effective communication and procedures.

Student Authors

Remco Komen (LinkedIn)
Student Faculty of Business and Economics, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
Block 4, Semester 2, 2021

Kevin Rivera (LinkedIn)
Student Faculty of Business and Economics, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
Block 4, Semester 2, 2021

Tom Kürble (LinkedIn)
Student Faculty of Business and Economics, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands
Block 4, Semester 2, 2021

Lucie Sanne (LinkedIn)
University of Kozminski, Erasmus Exchange KEDGE Business School , Warsaw Poland
Block 4, Semester 2, 2021