Does the American Work Ethic Sabotage Communication?
According to Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, a psychologist and business professor at the University of Michigan, there is a widely held American belief that an impersonal work ethic is most appropriate in the workplace and more conducive to productivity. Sanchez-Burks blames our “Protestant relational ideology” —related to our Protestant-rooted work ethic — for discouraging emotional connections at the office. He believes we’ve been acculturated to accept that personal relationships and the display of emotions in the workplace are unprofessional and may interfere with communication and disrupt productivity.
Interestingly, in his research on Asian and Latin American groups, Sanchez-Burks found that unlike their American counterparts, these groups place a premium on personal relationships and actually count on workplace socializing to foster productive decision making. Additionally, he discovered that East Asians use less direct (read: more face-saving) communication both at work and in social settings because interpersonal harmony is valued — not just outside of work, but at the workplace as well. Americans, on the other hand, tend to treat work situations differently from social settings. The American norm? More direct (sometimes blunt) communication at work and more indirect communication outside of work. Furthermore, in his research, Sanchez-Burks found that conflicts and misunderstandings were fueled by the different communication styles used across cultures.
So…will the American drive to stay on task and impersonal put us at a disadvantage in a global economy and with a diverse workforce? Sanchez-Burks believes it will and suggests that corporate socialization isn’t just “nice to do,” but is a valuable way to increase communication effectiveness, improve teamwork and reduce conflict, particularly in culturally diverse work forces.
