The Brazilian Way: 5 traits that stand out at work
*Original article on andersonmatias.co
You know, I am proud of being Brazilian. There’s so much value we add on so many aspects that even with all the problems our country has faced, has been facing and will face, I’m pretty sure that we will always find our way forward. But, so does any other country. Each place has its own benefits, disadvantages, and appeal. The world, in general, is so interesting in so many ways, that it is really hard to understand why anyone speaks (or fights) in detriment of any other country or people. That being said, this article is not a comparison between any culture or nation, nor a statement of who’s better or worse or anything of the kind. The reason I decided to write about that is, as I’m a Brazilian expat living and working in Germany for the past 3 years, I’ve realized that there are specific characteristics of my fellow countrymen that get the attention of our international colleagues and break through the barriers of prejudice we still seem to face. Of course, speaking of an entire country, especially one so big like Brazil, only works if we talk about averages, so no generalization intended here. Each individual and mind is a whole different world and such characteristics can be found in every country, the same way that not every Brazilian behave the same. Now let’s get to business. Based on the feedback from several foreign colleagues and friends, here I list 5 traits that make Brazilians stand out in the workplace:
We smile often: several times I have heard about how we always seem to be happy and laughing no matter what, making jokes and enjoying ourselves and that they wish they were more like that. The implications and the positive impact of our sense of humor on personal life are likely obvious, but when it comes to the work environment, such behavior is actually a key player in a series of crucial aspects that increment the business success and the ability to achieve goals, such as individual and team performance, team spirit, and cross-functional integration. A positive approach always wins.
We are very resilient: maybe this comes from the normally under-structured teams we tend to work on in Brazil. Even on big corporations, we often work on understaffed teams, which gives us plenty of opportunities to exercise our ability to perform under pressure. We already expect to have more work than we can handle, so it is a matter of mindset, not just to embrace, but to find more efficient ways to deliver. We are on a mission and mission given is mission accomplished. The rocks blocking the way won’t normally prevent us from doing a task. The way I see it, it has never been a conscious choice, but a necessity coming from the circumstances. This eventually takes its toll on health and life balance (like any other human being), we just tend to have the bar set higher before we start to feel stressed.
We are used to diversity: with 8.516 million km² of area, 207.7 million people (2016), 26 states and a federal district, Brazil is knowingly huge (5th in the world). We have virtually every kind of weather and we have contributions to our culture from everywhere. From Portugal and Africa, obviously, but also from the native Indians that have been living there since way before our colonizers arrived, we’ve got a lot of interaction with the Spanish; the Italians, that went looking for work on the coffee plantations; the Germans, that since the 19th century settled mainly on the south; The Japanese, that concentrated in São Paulo area; The Arabs, mainly from Lebanon and Syria, which started to immigrate on the late 19th century. The French and the Dutch have also their portion in Brazilian History when they briefly took over some of the main cities in the Northeast Region a couple of centuries ago. We are probably the most mixed people in the World, and although this, unfortunately, does not eliminate racism, we do know how it is to be surrounded by different people, with completely different backgrounds. Given the trend worldwide is to have more and more Multicultural work environments, this is a great asset to any company. We adapt fast and we are normally capable to adhere to absolutely any company culture.
We are born entrepreneurs: you see, most Brazilians simply struggle to keep up the pace of life. The difficulties are limitless, we are more familiar with political and economic turbulence than with stability. For one to provide to oneself and his/her family, one must find alternative ways to subsistence. When combined with the refined creativity coming from our mixed background and evidenced through our music, food, and way of conducting life, it provides a “combo” on ways to earn a living through entrepreneurship that is unbelievable. We can be significant contributors to innovation and creative-based roles when needed. The biggest issue is that when compared to countries like the US, UK, Germany etc, in Brazil people often take up work on ventures as a means to survive more than due to ideology, passion or vision. It comes as a response, not as a source. It is really hard to grow a business in the country but despite all the downsides of it, people still do it and we are slowly migrating from less added-value initiatives to more impacting and meaningful ones.
We integrate people: Brazilians won’t be normally comfortable to see people set aside into a corner. Brazilians like to host events and to be welcoming. We often have no problem to talk to strangers and often would describe as a friend someone who for anyone else would be considered an acquaintance. We are social “monsters”, normally growing large networks of contacts just by genuinely being nice to people. Imagine now the implications of it at work. If you got a Brazilian senior colleague or subordinate on your team, it is very likely that he will be glad to help newcomers and even train them, for the sake of what’s best for the company. Not all people have this profile, of course, but we tend to at least try to help.
Wrapping it up
I really feel that the world needs to know more from Brazil beyond Samba, Caipirinha, Soccer, and Carnival. There is still a lot of prejudice in the work environment towards us and many other developing countries. We are hard-workers and have a lot of positive things to offer workwise. We have also things to improve, but this is a discussion for another day.
What about you? Have you ever worked with a Brazilian before? Do you agree with the list? Do you think there are other positive points I did not mention? What positive characteristics do you relate to your home country? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with us!
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