What is the Canadian workplace culture? How do we immigrants adjust to the unspoken expectations of our colleagues and bosses in an indirect culture?
I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. Thankfully, they haven’t been so costly yet. I hope. So, this conversation with Matt Adolphe was God-sent.
Born in Calgary, Canada, Matt moved to Asia after university and lived there for years. After moving back to Canada with his family, he found it hard to re-integrate into the Canadian workplace. In his words, "It wasn't an easy transition."
This experience, plus listening to the stories of immigrants and others who were struggling to understand the Canadian workplace culture inspired him to write THE BOOK on mastering the unspoken rules of the Canadian workplace.
I think his book is a seminal piece of work. A must-read for anyone who’s looking to work in Canada. Immigrant or not.
Matt joined me on The Newcomers Podcast to chat about his book and its impact. We also chatted about:
Why the Canadian work culture won’t change dramatically despite immigration
The differences between the Canadian and American workplace culture
Steps to take to help you adjust to your Canadian workplace
How to have hard conversations in Canada
Why being culturally adaptable is a superpower
And the concept of bringing our whole self to work.
This was such a good good episode. Jeez.
I’ll leave you with this: You don’t lose your sense of identity when you adopt a new culture. You become a much better and rounded individual.
Resources:
Here’s Matt’s book: Canadian Workplace Culture: Mastering the Unspoken Rules
He’s also got another one: Would You Hire You?
Did you read it?
Two months ago, Nelly Kawira shared a hilarious thread on Twitter about all she’s learned and achieved since moving to London two years ago.
Well, she’s published an updated version on The Newcomers, with some great images to boot.
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