{"id":31255,"date":"2024-09-17T14:56:40","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T13:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spanishchamber.co.uk\/?p=31255"},"modified":"2024-09-17T14:56:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T13:56:40","slug":"cultural-differences-in-business-uk-vs-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/2024\/09\/17\/cultural-differences-in-business-uk-vs-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultural differences in business: UK vs Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

When <\/span>expanding a business across national borders <\/span><\/b>there are many aspects to consider. Understanding commercial and operational barriers to entry, along with macroeconomic policy implications are key to successfully move a business into the UK. However, one important factor that is often overlooked is the <\/span>cultural differences between countries<\/span><\/b>. The ability to adapt to such differences is vital to ensure a successful expansion, and the <\/span>Spanish Chamber<\/span><\/a> will support you in doing so.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mastering in-person communication<\/b><\/p>\n

Although geographically close, the UK and Spain have many key cultural differences when it comes to <\/span>professional interactions in the workplace<\/span><\/b>. Whether it’s communicating with colleagues in the office or meeting with a client in person, in the UK being overly polite and adopting a formal approach is at the heart of every interaction. In contrast, <\/span>work relationships<\/span><\/b> in Spain tend to be more relaxed and direct<\/span>,<\/span> taking a more friendly approach.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the UK, upon meeting a new colleague or client the go-to greeting is a firm handshake and a formal introduction. In Spain, a handshake is considered normal and, in the past, two kisses on the cheek were also acceptable. However, it is worth noting that nowadays the latter greeting is no longer common in a professional setting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, British people are less expressive and tend to hide their emotions at work. Avoiding direct confrontation is a top priority, and Brits are very cautious with choice of wording when speaking to colleagues or clients so not to offend the other person. For example, when giving negative feedback or rejecting an idea, Brits often won\u2019t directly address the issue due to fear of causing offence. Their rejection is subtle, and responses are carefully formulated, often using positive language to mask negativity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, Spaniards are far more direct, whether the <\/span>response<\/span> is positive or negative. This is not to be mistaken as rude or offensive, but simply understood as a cultural difference in which Spaniards are accustomed to a more open and expressive way of communicating.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Navigating online interaction in the workplace<\/b><\/p>\n

Whether it is an email or marketing,<\/span> online communication in another language<\/span><\/b> is arguably more difficult due to the lack of visual clues. Literal translations of text often lose their original meaning when changing the register and tone. In addition, common formalities and greetings are language specific which makes emailing foreign colleagues or clients difficult.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Building a sense of trust and authenticity<\/span><\/b> is key when marketing a brand and it is common to use colloquial terms, however these are often the most difficult to translate. To maintain a company\u2019s brand image, it is advisable to work with professionals, such as those from the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, using our expertise to ensure the underlying message does not get lost in translation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

British and Spanish holidays: similarities and differences<\/b><\/p>\n

The<\/span> culture around holidays <\/span><\/b>has its similarities and differences. Both the UK and Spain have three main holidays being Christmas, Easter and Summer. Although, that’s where the similarities end.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In schools and universities in the UK, both Christmas and Easter tend to be two weeks long compared to the much shorter Spanish timetable. The UK also has half term, which is a one-week school holiday in the middle of each term. This means that the summer holiday is shorter at typically only six weeks compared to the three months in Spain. Although these holidays refer specifically to the school calendar, a similar pattern can also be seen in the workplace where, for example, some companies have adopted a \u2018Christmas shutdown\u2019 that aligns with the school holidays.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This results in a more constant workload in the UK as opposed to the Spanish slow down during the summer months. However, it is important to note that during these extra weeks of holiday, in the UK it may be hard to reach people and set up meetings. This is similar to a British person wanting to set up a meeting on a Spanish national holiday.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Flexible working: UK vs Spain<\/b><\/p>\n

In an era where<\/span> flexible working <\/span><\/b>is becoming the norm rather than the exception, many <\/span>industries in the UK and Spain<\/span><\/b> have now permanently adopted <\/span>hybrid\/remote working<\/span><\/b>. Moreover, a number of companies in both countries have also explored the possibility of moving to a four-day working week. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The former has proved to be highly popular in both countries, creating a better <\/span>work-life balance<\/span><\/b> and improving wellbeing among employees without impacting on company results. The four-day working week has been trialled in both the UK and Spain, with more and more companies in the UK jumping on board having reported an increase in productivity and positive feedback from employees regarding wellbeing. Since April, workers in the UK have had the right to request flexible working in their workplace and, more recently, the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to expand flexible working arrangements. However, in Spain, many businesses remain dubious about the shorter working week, although there are some companies which have put it into practice. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Being able to recognise and accommodate <\/span>the cultural nuances between Spain and the UK<\/span><\/b> is an important skill to acquire when working between the two countries. Learning social norms, etiquette, traditions and more takes plenty of time, which is often a challenge in the fast-paced world of business.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To help overcome this, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce adopts the British approach when it comes to communication, <\/span>trade negotiation<\/span><\/b> and marketing strategies, aiding in <\/span>strengthening business relationships<\/span><\/b> and helping companies to successfully establish themselves in the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Blog post written by <\/span>Sophie <\/span>Ziliukas, Kieran Naidoo<\/span> and Laura Garrido.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Navigating the cultural divide between Spanish and British business practices and etiquette <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":31256,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31255"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31261,"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31255\/revisions\/31261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spanish.en-desarrollo.net\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}