Different people have different levels of tolerance for uncertainty. Fear of the unknown is something inherent to every human being, knowing what is to come makes us feel safe and in control. Dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity is a potential cause for stress and anxiety, but the level of stress that it will cause you, depends a lot on how you handle the uncertainty. When you are not in control it makes you want to try and regain control of the situation, you take different measures to be more certain of your future, trying to predict what is going to happen next. When arriving in Australia, you should know that they treat ambiguity with a more laid back attitude than what you might be used to. Let’s have a look how this manifests itself and how it compares to what you are used to.
In a business environment you will notice the effects of the different levels of uncertainty avoidance, which is 51 for Australia (Itim International, 2017) and 80 for Saudi Arabia (Itim International, 2017), in the way that your social interactions will take place, how the work hierarchy is viewed or how a meeting will proceed.
Rules
In acclimating to the Australian business culture, you will notice that they have fewer rules that governs, what needs to happen and how. In Australia, because of their lower level of uncertainty avoidance, they believe that rules are impractical and even a little annoying. Australians believe that less rules provides them with more freedom to make the right decision based on their own knowledge and experience. Rules in this context is not only the formal rules that apply internally in a company, but also the informal social code of conduct that you will be expected to know and adhere to (Bjerke & Al-Meer, 1993). Navigating this difference can be a challenge because you will have to accept that situations are more fluid and will be able to change direction depending on the people involved. An example of this would be a formal business meeting within a company, it might seem very unstructured to you, people will voice their opinions on the topic at hand depending on their personal perspective, it is not uncommon that they will agree with their manager as well. This is tolerated because Australians feel that the discussion is a necessary step on the road to reaching the best possible solution, therefore the disagreement is appreciated. Ideas that are outside of the norm is not something that will be immediately stricken down in Australia, this is because thinking “outside the box” is seen as a positive trait, indicating that you are willing to take a measured risk to help improve on the status quo. Going outside the boundaries of what is already established is generally encouraged and rewarded (Bjerke & Al-Meer, 1993).
Changing Jobs
(Source: http://www.lbisoftware.com/blog/employee-turnover, Image by: CallMe ! IQ)
Australians on average change their job about every 3 years (mcrindle, 2014), this means that if you deal with a company for an extended period of time, you are more likely than not to experience that some of your business relations will end their tenure to take on a new position at a different company. This is consistent with the lower level of uncertainty avoidance of the Australians, prompting them to embrace the uncertainty that a change of job entails, to a larger degree than people do in Saudi Arabia (Chan & Cheung, 2012). To adapt to this higher level of employee turnover, you will need to become proficient at building relationships (see related blog) with the people that will inevitably replace some of your contacts over time.
Ethnocentricity
The diversity of cultural and national backgrounds in Australia is vast with almost half of the population having at least one parent that was born overseas (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014). This diversity means that you will experience, people that look, speak and act differently both in the office and in the streets. When the population is less homogeneous, it provokes a higher level of uncertainty because you won’t always know how people will act depending on their background. Australians are accepting of this uncertainty to a larger degree than you see in Saudi Arabia (Chan & Cheung, 2012) This means that you will have to prepare yourself to meet people with an open mind no matter what their background might be, as it will not be accepted if this affects your behaviour negatively towards others.
REFERENCE LIST
Australian Human Rights Commission 2014, Face the facts: Cultural Diversity, Australian Human Rights Commission, viewed 5 May 2017, <https://www.humanrights.gov.au/face-facts-cultural-diversity>.
Bjerke, B., & Al-Meer, A. (1993). Culture’s Consequences: Management in Saudi Arabia. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 14(2), 30-35.
Chan, Awh, & Cheung, Hy. (2012). Cultural Dimensions, Ethical Sensitivity, and Corporate Governance. 110(1), 45-59.
Itim International 2017, Australia, Itim International, viewed 5 May 2017, <https://geert-hofstede.com/australia.html>.
Itim International 2017, Saudi Arabia, Itim International, viewed 5 May 2017, <https://geert-hofstede.com/saudi-arabia.html>.
McCrindle 2014, Job Mobility in Australia, McCrindle, viewed 6 May 2017, <http://mccrindle.com.au/the-mccrindle-blog/job-mobility-in-australia>.
CallMe ! IQ, 2013, Viewed 06/05/2017, <http://www.lbisoftware.com/blog/employee-turnover/>
Cruise to Australia 