Challenges in Turkish Business Life and The Ways to Overcome Challenges
Turkish business life has reached international standards in many respects. But there may be some cultural differences for foreign nationals who began working in Turkey. In this article we will touch upon at some of the challenges you may face in Turkish business life and ways to cope with these challenge. Examples we give that we will give can occur anywhere in the world. And you just need to indicate that problems are not unique to Turkey.
Long Working Hours
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data, Turkey is among the countries with the longest working hours. Worldwide, average annual working time of 1765 hours while the mean time was 1855 hours in Turkey.
Language Problem
It is given great importance to the English training in Turkey. However, many people are having difficulty speaking English fluently because they do not have enough practice in speaking English. However, if you work for an international company, you will see that people can speak English very fluently. That’s why the communication problem can change depending on where you work and where you work. Our recommendation is that you attend Turkish courses from basic period you begin to live in Turkey. Because even if you are agreed in English with your colleagues in daily life, on the street, in the café and in the bus, you need to communicate with people in Turkish. For this reason, we recommend you to start learning Turkish.
Personality Conflict
It might work in an international company working because you are a foreigner in Turkey is obviously higher. International companies may have employees with very different personalities. It is a normal situation that you can not agree with some of these people and it is a situation that can be seen everywhere in the world. By talking directly to the people you are in conflict with, you can get rid of the problem in the middle. We suggest that the Turks do not have personality traits such as enmity and discrimination against strangers, but we still recommend that you try to speak clearly and clearly with your potential problems. In addition, you can tell the experts in your company’s human resources department about the problems you are experiencing. The experts will make the necessary arrangements for your company and your interests.
Harassment and Mobbing
Unfortunately, exposure to sexual or psychological abuse in the workplace is a worldwide problem. If you suffer from sexual or verbal abuse at work, or if you are exposed to mobbing by your colleagues or your employer, you should know that measures are in place to combat this situation in Turkish law. For example, a worker who suffers from legal mobbing or sexual harassment recognizes “right to terminate immediately upon just cause”.
Private Area and Individuality
Turkish people generally make friends quickly and friendship is based on sincerity. In short, the Turks are as emotional and warm-blooded as you can imagine. For example, a friend at your workplace may be curious about your religious, political, and sexual ideas and may want to talk to you about these issues. They may, however, ask you to talk about your personal life. In other words, the concept of private space and individuality are not as advanced concepts in Western countries, in Turkey. We can say that you have the right not to speak in such situations. No one can force you to talk about your private life. Also at the bottom of the particular needs to be stressed: “This is the case everywhere in Turkey. And all the Turks are like this. ” sentences are exactly not true as make generalization. Depending on where you work, the sector, the position and the city in which you live, it may vary.
