Business In The United Kingdom

In my last post I talked about business attire, so I have decided to keep the theme of business going. Throughout this post we will talk about various business contexts in the United Kingdom. Let's dive right in.

        Before we talk about anything else in the realm of business, we must first start by discussing greetings. In the business sector of the United Kingdom proper etiquette is to greet someone with a firm handshake. Gourmet Pro also says that upon greetings you should also address someone with their title and their last name, and maintain that unless they tell you otherwise. Initial conversation is also very important to address. Those in Great Britain are infamous for their stiffness in conversation, so it is not surprising that this is also prevalent in the business realm. The British find directness to be rude, so focus on very indirect and subtle cues throughout conversations. 

In my last post we vaguely discussed proper business attire for men, but let's take a deeper dive into proper business attire for both men and women. Formal attire is the most common and expected form of dress in the workplace in the United Kingdom. As I have mentioned, men usually are expected to wear lounge suits to work. The same article by Gourmet Pro says that this is most common in industries such as finance, investments, professional services, and food and beverage. In terms of female business wear, women usually dress in blouses, skirts, and dress suits. 

In terms of gift giving, Culture Atlas says that gifts are usually given in the United Kingdom for special occasions. When giving a gift it is important to remember not to break the bank, but instead find a gift to reflect the recipient's interests. When you give a gift in the United Kingdom the recipient will most likely open the gift for you, so don't be caught off guard if and when this happens. If you are going to a party, or visiting someone's house it is always acceptable to bring a small gift as your token of appreciation, but it is certainly not required. A gift to signify a token of appreciation could be a bottle of wine, chocolate, or even flowers.

In terms of challenges that an American could face if they were to enter into the business realm of the United Kingdom, three challenges come to mind. The fist challenge that comes to mind would be communication. More specifically, in the United States we tend to be more direct, but as we now know that it is considered rude in the United Kingdom. It would certainly be a learning curve for an American to learn the art of picking up on subtle cues, but with time I certainly think that this challenge could be overcome. The second thing that would be a bit of a challenge would be adapting to the United Kingdom's business attire. It certainly is more propper and elevated attire than we are used to in our western culture. This article also mentions how prominent and particular British sarcasm is to their own culture. This level of sarcasm also carries over to the business realm. This could definitely be a challenge for Americans to adapt to since high levels of sarcasm and humor are not very prominent in our business cultures.

In the opposite realism, if an individual from the United Kingdom were to move to the United States, there would certainly be cultural differences that would take a while to adapt to. For example a manager would likely need to sit down with the new employee and explain that when another businessman is being direct it is not them being rude. Instead they are just trying to give constructive criticism for the sake of the company. Other than that a manager will just have to keep an eye on the transfer employee in order to ensure their success within the company.

As always, I’ll catch you next time!

Xoxo,

Lil