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Top 5 Chinese Customs You MUST Know

Are you living and working in China soon? We’ve compiled the top things you MUST know

about Chinese customs.

Guanxi

Probably the most difficult Chinese custom for westerners to understand, guanxi, literally translated, refers to a person’s relationships, both personal and

professional. However, as a concept guanxi is perhaps best translated as ‘saving face’. It’s decided by things such as age and rank and is the notion of maintaining the view by which others see and judge you; it forms a significant part in many aspects of Chinese culture.

There is a very strict chain of command in the Chinese workplace. Any attempt to circumvent the chain and

talk directly to a boss or senior staff member, thus ignoring guanxi, is not only viewed as gross

misconduct, but also a blatant show of disrespect to your superiors and can be punishable by termination

of the contract.

It can be particularly frustrating when, as a subordinate employee, you are made to take the fall for something that was quite obviously not your fault

so that the senior staff is not seen to lose face.

Communication

Exchanges in a Chinese company is an entirely different animal to that in the west and often ties in

with guanxi, as both are large to do with how colleagues interact among themselves. For example, the Western cliché of the chat by the water cooler

doesn’t apply; in fact, office banter, in general, is more or less non-existent and any attempt to initiate it is

often greeted with furrowed brows

It is also not uncommon for colleagues sitting side by side to communicate with each other on a computer –

normally via an IM service – rather than actually talking. In cases of communication, being the

foreigner has its advantages as we are more or less left alone to do whatever it is our colleagues think we

do. However, this causes a lack of direction, constructive criticism, praise or advice which can

sometimes leave you feeling a little isolated.

Medical

For many of us the idea of undergoing a medical examination before starting an office job seems a

trifle excessive, but in China, you don’t get a choice. Essentially the employer is only looking for any

infectious diseases and the like, which I suppose is fair enough.

Idiosyncrasies

A Chinese travel guide will say that the people of China have a multitude of quirky habits. These habits also

operate in a Chinese office situation, such as everyone eating lunch at their desk or fines for not closing the

office door in the proper manner. However, my personal favorite is nap time. As soon as the allocated

lunch period is over – for the record, what time you eat lunch is not up for debate – someone comes along,

turns the office lights off, and everyone goes to sleep for an hour. It’s just like being back in nursery school.

It may also be a tradition not to wear outdoor shoes in the workplace, which means removing them at the door and

replacing them with ‘slippers.’ This is especially interesting on the day of my interview as I was unaware of the rule and thus arrived at the office, suited and booted, only to be told I had

to remove my shoes.

Hidden Extras

In June 2012, the Chinese government imposed a new law aimed at stemming the flow of foreigners coming to

work in China. It stated that any foreigner seeking employment within the country would have to return to their home country first to pick up the working visa, at

their expense.

This combined with the cost of the visa (£66), the medical (£58) and the residence permit required to

live and work legally in China (£40) can add up to some costly start-up expenses. On the bright side, it’s

rumored that the new Chinese government, which assumed power in mid-November, will take

countermeasures to further open the country up to foreign investment and therefore relax the newly

tightened immigration employment laws.

BonusClick on the link below to read the full blog post!

https://blog.laowaicareer.com/contrasting-chinese-western-culture

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