Three Key Cultural Differences for Indian Professionals Working in the USA

Working in the USA as an Indian Professional: Key Cultural Differences to Understand

Did you know that Indians form the second largest group of immigrants in America, with Mexicans taking the top spot?

Although Indian expats may enter the US with a typically high level of education under their belts and a strong work ethic, they often find cultural differences between the US and India quite a challenge. That’s where USA cultural awareness training comes in handy!

3 Key Cultural Differences Indian Professionals Experience in US Workplaces

1. Direct vs Indirect Communication: Harmony and Honesty in US and Indian Culture

Unless they are prepared, it’s not unusual for Indian expats to find their American colleagues offensive.

Whether it’s online or face-to-face, in American business culture, Americans tend to ‘say it as it is’, or to use a popular acronym, WYSIWYG, ‘what you see is what you get’.

They see giving their opinion directly, maybe dressing it up a little to soften it, as a good thing.

Indian colleague – “I’ve pulled together a design for the conference invites, which I think will really appeal to people.”

American colleague – “I had a look at the design,and I don’t think it reflects our company culture very well. I think you should revisit it.”

To another American who values directness, what their colleague has said probably won’t be taken offensively. To an Indian, however, who is more likely to value harmony, the directness of this feedback could be taken very offensively indeed.

In Indian workplace culture, Indians tend to be indirect in what they say.

Even if they don’t agree with their counterpart, they are still unlikely to openly confront their counterpart or to say anything that might damage harmony within the relationship.

Indeed, they are far more likely to give clues to their feelings through what they don’t say, rather than through what they do say.

If you’re an Indian expat, then be careful not to take offense to such direct speech when in America, as such direct statements are generally not intended to be disrespectful.

Instead, it’s an American way of putting honesty and outcomes objectively over personal feelings.

Relationship building is different in American and Indian business cultures.

2. Explicit vs Implicit Communication in US and Indian Business Culture

Americans also tend to be far more explicit than their Indian counterparts.

To ensure that everyone is of the same understanding, they might reiterate things, emphasise, check understanding, and then commit details to paper.

In Indian business culture, however, people are more likely to communicate implicitly by making use of body language and non-verbal cues. They expect their counterparts to ‘read between the lines’ and infer meaning.

Where someone is from a similar communication culture, then this may not be an issue, but for Americans, it can cause confusion and might well be met with the reaction, ‘But they didn’t say that!’.

Indian expats, therefore, should bear in mind that their American counterparts are likely to be less able to read between the lines, and they should, as such, try to express things verbally whenever possible.

Where a shared understanding is important, don’t assume your counterparts know what you mean. Verbally reiterate things and check their understanding.

3. Individualism vs Collectivism: Key Differences Between US and Indian Work Culture

One of the challenges that Indians often take a while to acclimatise to is American individualism.

Americans are more likely to think about themselves than the group or the team. It’s thought that this behaviour is rooted in the ‘dog-eat-dog’ survival struggle for the original European settlers in the US.

Life was incredibly tough, and mortality rates were high. Indeed, if you weren’t equipped to look after yourself, then there was often very little in the way of support systems to ensure your health or safety.

As such, it was essential that people put their individual needs first. The enduring nature of this shared experience is reflected in many ways in America.

For example, in the American management style, considerable value is placed on individual achievement awards, and employees often have career growth plans that involve moving from employer to employer to gain greater experience and to progress their careers, rather than staying put for the sake of team harmony. Married couples are also likely to live independently, while young adults are more likely to leave home fairly early in life to ‘make something of themselves’.

For Indians, however, the group is of precedence, and identity is often very much integrated into the group. Team awards are far more celebrated than individual awards, young adults are unlikely to leave home, extended family members are more likely to live with each other, and employees tend to stay put with the same employer for far longer periods of time.

It’s important that Indian expats relocating to the US appreciate the greater sense of individualism in the country. It might take some getting used to, but don’t assume that this means that individuals care any less about their family or friends.

It’s just expressed differently. Likewise, teams are still important to American employees, but loyalty is demonstrated differently.

Avoiding Stereotypes When Working Across US and Indian Cultures

For the sake of brevity and comparison, we’ve used some quite binary descriptions of the Indian and American business cultures and working styles.

This is merely intended to give you a fairly general picture that you can use to help inform you in different situations.

If you imagine cultural preferences as sitting on continuums, then cultures are fairly fluid – you will find that most cultures occupy the same general point on a continuum, but there are a number of people who have quite different preferences sitting at very different points of the cultural continuum.

So, when starting your assignment in America, be aware of cultural differences, be careful not to judge your American counterparts against your own cultural standards, and be prepared for a period of assimilation and adjustment.