Building trust in service sector jobs
”In order to understand different backgrounds, you need empathy, but also knowledge of the differences in nuances between cultures", says Laurent Tran-Nguyen. Photo: Jaakko Lukumaa
PAM employees will be trained during the fall to better identify work-related exploitation and solve problems in multicultural workplaces.
To be understood and accepted as one's own self is one of the basic needs of every human being, regardless of country of birth. In more and more service sector workplaces, everyday life is enriched by a variety of cultures.
“However, challenges easily arise when different worlds of values and ways of communicating meet,” explains educator Laurent Tran-Nguyen, who has trained staff at many international companies and universities and served as a special adviser to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
“And when unfamiliar values are constantly put to the test, conflicts can seriously damage the work community as well.”
Using a foreign language can also be a challenge when you cannot describe everything in words.
“When you don’t understand or you can't find the words.”
By communicating correctly - with a genuine understanding of the other - it is possible to build a foundation of trust so that immigrants can tell their stories, Tran-Nguyen continues.
”In order to understand different backgrounds, you need empathy, but also knowledge of the differences in nuances between cultures."
All people are individuals. There are different ways to approach and comprehend the same thing. The nuances of cultures vary and every situation is different.
During the autumn, Tran-Nguyen will train PAM employees to better understand people originating from different cultures to make it easier to deal with problem situations in multicultural service workplaces.