“Why should we worry about diversity at the workspace?”

Because it is reality!

Skilled migration in a globalised world leads to the workplace becoming a cultural mixing pot, and construction is no exception. Engineers Australia CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans AM said in 2021 report:

“Australia has an engineering skills shortage exacerbated by COVID-19, an engineering job vacancy rate that has gone up 97 per cent in just 12 months, and an economic recovery hinging on major infrastructure projects.”

However, the key findings of a 2021 report by Engineers Australia found that:

• 47% of migrants actively seeking a job as an engineer are currently unemployed.

• With migrant engineers trying to find an engineering role struggling to get a job at all, those employed in a non-engineering role turning to industries like construction (14%) and professional services (12%).

• Humanitarian visa holders are even less likely to be employed as engineers in Australia, with only 29% currently employed compared to 57% of skilled visa holders.

• One in three migrant engineers feel that, based on their experience, they should be in a more senior role.

• 35% of those who believe they’re employed at the right level, and 62% of those who believe they are underemployed, say their international experience isn’t valued.

• One in three migrant engineers say they bring specific skills and knowledge to employers, while a similar number say their unique perspective is a benefit.

• Recruiters interviewed say, many Australian companies have not only unconscious, but also active conscious biases towards hiring migrant engineers.

• Employers aren’t invested in fixing the profession’s skills supply issue. They don’t take a long-term, whole-of-profession, strategic perspective.

• Employers don’t know enough about the pool of migrant engineers to consider them a solution. It is not seen as a collective talent pool that they can access easily.”

Creating a culturally inclusive and culturally safe work environment is not only the moral and ethical stance to take, but also in the best interest of your bottom line.

The major infrastructure construction industry inherently requires a high degree of collaboration between various disciplines all present on a project, from legal to accounts, from enviro to structures, from safety to program, earthworks to drainage. All these various parties must interoperate, communicate, and collaborate to delivery these ever more complex projects.

So, understanding cultural differences to avoid misunderstandings and miscommunications can save companies significant costs. So too can it give companies a competitive advantage in the recruitment market and ‘plug’ the skills shortage facing the industry.

To illustrate these misunderstandings, I will use the example of a new employee recruited from another country to fill a much-needed position on a critical project. After the probationary period, the feedback from the manager is that the employee is disinterested and unmotivated. He is frequently late to meetings and doesn’t engage in planning and collaboration.

The company decides to terminate the employment to search for a more suitable employee. The company has wasted time and money in recruiting, inducting, and training this employee. Now the company must incur more costs to recruit, induct, and train the replacement. Furthermore, the turnover has impacted the project who has suffered instability in a key position.

The status quo is to chalk this up to a failure in recruitment and to take this lesson learnt into decision criteria for future hiring decisions, which may further entrench a cultural bias.

However, what if I were to say that this employee wasn’t unmotivated and disinterested. It was all born from a cross cultural misunderstanding.

• This employee came from a polychronic culture where punctuality was not correlated with interest and effort. So being late for meetings was not considered to be important or reflective of one’s effort.

• This employee is from a high-power distance country where one listens and follows their boss unquestioningly as a sign of respect. However, in Australia, a low power distance country, a boss would expect consultation and collaboration and feedback from team members when assigning tasks. Failure to do so may be seen as lack of interest or engagement.

• This employee is from an emotive country where expressing emotions and non-verbal cues are inherent in communication. Not receiving this from his colleagues has led to him thinking that he isn’t liked. Perhaps due to his ethnicity. With the subsequent termination of his employment this seems to validate it in his mind.

These misunderstandings are entirely avoidable if staff are educated and have an awareness of cross cultural differences.

Now let me make clear that I am not suggesting managers should suddenly allow employees from certain cultures to be late to meetings.

What I’m saying is that, if the manager understood that this was a cultural difference, he/she could have a conversation with the employee explaining that punctuality is important and an expectation without assuming any internal motivations of the employee. So too could the employee benefit from understanding that in the Australian culture, punctuality is valued and considered correlated with motivation.

Perhaps if both parties knew a bit more about cultural differences, they could better contextualise each other and avoid miscommunications.

“What should construction companies and professionals be doing?”

We should be educating our workforce on cultural differences to be aware of and to not make generalised assumptions based on behaviour through our own cultural lens. Also educating the workforce that understanding cultural differences isn’t an alternative to assimilation. Rather it can greatly aid in the assimilation of migrants by fostering an understanding environment.

Education should be based on the research findings from the field of cross-cultural psychology on some common differences between cultures. It is important to understand and communicate that learning some measurable and generalised differences between cultures is not a way to prejudge a person based on their culture. A generalisation of Australian, is that we like cricket. However, I’m Australian and do not follow cricket (don’t hold this against me).

It is instead a way to ensure we do not judge these behaviours using our own cultural lens to deduce assumptions of one’s character.

The literature has developed over time to determine what the most accurate cultural dimensions are. The image to the right shows how these have developed over time.

For simplicity, we will discuss the dimensions presented by Hofstede, as these are the most researched and well known in the academic literature. Hofstede discusses the following dimensions of culture:

Power Distance

This dimension reflects the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept unequal power distribution. Some cultures embrace hierarchical structures, while others strive for more equality.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

This dimension explores the balance between individual interests and group cohesion. Individualistic cultures prioritize personal goals, autonomy, and self-expression, whereas collectivist cultures emphasize group harmony, loyalty, and interdependence.

Uncertainty Avoidance

It measures a society’s tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. High uncertainty avoidance cultures seek clear rules, formal procedures, and stability. Low uncertainty avoidance cultures are more adaptable and comfortable with ambiguity.

Masculinity vs. Femininity

This dimension assesses the degree to which a culture values assertiveness, competitiveness, and material success (masculinity) versus nurturing, quality of life, and cooperation (femininity).

Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation

Some cultures focus on long-term goals, emphasizing persistence, thrift, and tradition. Others prioritize short-term gains, adaptability, and innovation.

Indulgence vs Restraint

This dimension gauges a society’s inclination toward gratification of desires and impulses. Indulgent cultures allow for leisure, enjoyment, and self-expression, while restrained cultures emphasize self-discipline and restraint.

Further on from Hofstede’s dimensions is the dimension of Monochronic vs Polychronic as mentioned previously and discussed below.

Monochronic Cultures:

• Definition: Monochronic cultures prefer to focus on one task at a time. They value orderliness, a sense of proper timing, and a clear sequence for everything. Distractions are minimized.

• Characteristics:

  • Sequential Approach: Monochronic individuals tackle tasks sequentially, completing each action before moving on to the next.

  • Punctuality: They place great importance on being on time and adhering to schedules.

  • Efficiency and Reliability: Monochronic cultures emphasize efficiency, reliability, and adherence to plans.

  • Short-Term Relationships: They commit to short-term relationships and prioritize task completion.

Western countries often exhibit monochronic tendencies, where time is seen as a distinct commodity. Think of scheduled meetings, deadlines, and promptness.

Polychronic Cultures:

• Definition: Polychronic cultures lean toward fluidity and less rigidity. People in such cultures thrive on handling multiple tasks simultaneously, as long as they can be executed harmoniously.

• Characteristics:

  • Simultaneous Activities: Polychronic individuals juggle several activities concurrently.

  • Interpersonal Relationships: They value relationships over strict schedules. Interactions take precedence over time constraints.

  • Natural Rhythm: Polychronic cultures allow for a more organic flow of time.

In some African, Latin American, and Asian cultures, interpersonal connections and flexibility matter more than rigid adherence to time.

Key Take-Aways

• Cultural diversity in construction is not just desirable, it is inevitable.

• Successful integration of different cultures into the construction team and organisation is essential to success.

• Understanding culture difference from both the dominant culture and integrating culture helps the integration process and avoids costly misunderstandings

  • Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are a great starting point for understanding other cultures

  • One must remember that generalisations are just generalisation.

• Companies that can successfully create an integrative and diverse company culture can “win’ the global war for talent