Cultural differences with Mexico can be huge and sometimes confusing. This applies to every area of life. These differences appear while making friends, going to school, ordering food, paying the check at a restaurant, greeting someone and, of course, working.
So, if you’re doing business in Mexico, you must learn the different ways they work and all the cultural differences it has with your hometown. This will make the process of adapting a little bit easier and a lot less confusing. You might also end up loving some of these things.
To guide you, here are some cultural differences when working in Mexico or with Mexican employees.
Greeting
You might’ve heard already that Mexicans are very effusive when it comes to greeting people. They like to show their warm nature. They tend to hug and kiss on the cheek.
If you’re not used to this type of behavior, you’ll probably feel weird and out of place at first. But, imagine how awkward it would’ve been if you went to Mexico without knowing this! Have you ever lived a moment like this?
Here’s the important question: Do they also greet like this in the workplace?
Well, not really. Or not everybody.
If you’re greeting your boss or a figure of authority, then you should greet them with a handshake. You can also say a kind but formal:
- Buen día (good day)
- Buenos días (good morning)
- Buenas tardes (good afternoon)
- Buenas noches (good night)
That’s how people usually greet others in business. They don’t tend to hug or kiss there. The same applies for your coworkers. Especially men and women, or men and men.
If you’re a woman who is friends with another female colleague, then you may kiss her on the cheek. These kisses are mostly just cheek to cheek and making the sound of a kiss, like sending the kiss to the air. They don’t really give you a kiss.
In some companies, the women that are bosses may also greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. Especially if they have a good business relationship. But it’s not common for them to kiss their employees.
Goodbyes
The same thing happens when Mexicans say goodbye: They tend to be super warm and hug and kiss each other on the cheek. But, this isn’t the case in the workplace.
You can simply wave goodbye and say:
- Adiós (goodbye)
- Hasta luego (see you later)
- Hasta mañana (see you tomorrow)
- Hasta luego, buenas tardes (see you later, good afternoon)
When a meeting is over, you might see some businessmen give each other a hug. That’s just a kind way of saying goodbye and it’s usually a sign that the meeting went well. But it’s not necessary to do this.
Punctuality
Mexicans don’t have the best sense of punctuality. They tend to arrive late everywhere, sometimes even to work. So, don’t be surprised if somebody arrives after the beginning of their work shift or a meeting starts late. Of course, we can’t generalize; it’s not everybody.
Some companies have an approximate ten-minute tolerance.
That being said, you shouldn’t do this. Just because some Mexicans arrive late, doesn’t mean it’s well seen in the workplace. It actually is not. Some companies even have penalties for not being punctual. So, you better stick to being a punctual person.
This punctuality is especially well seen when you have a business meeting with your boss or an important partner. Because it means you respect them and their time.
But if you’re meeting a friend after work or on a weekend, they might arrive later. Or if you’re going to a party, then expect people to arrive a bit later than the scheduled hour.
Work Shift
The work shift in Mexico starts very early. For most corporate jobs, it can vary from 8:00 am to 9:00 am. And it usually ends at 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm. Basically, it is scheduled to last eight hours a day. At least it should be that way. But, sadly, not many people (bosses) respect the end of the shift.
Some hate to see an employee leave at their scheduled hour. And it’s expected for them to stay longer.
Some workers also stay extra hours if they haven’t finished their work yet. Of course, the company should pay for extra hours, but this is not always the case.
If you’re a boss, it’s up to you to tell them it’s okay to leave at their agreed schedule.
The normal 8-hour workday includes one hour of lunch break. Sadly, not many employees take the whole hour, because of the workload.
We don’t mean to say this is the best way to do it. In fact, many Mexicans don’t think so either. We’re also not saying you should do it this way. But you might see this happening when working in Mexico or with Mexican employees.
By the way, in some companies, they only work half a day on Fridays. But it depends on the company.
Formal Attire
Are you wondering how you should dress when meeting a Mexican business partner or going to work? Good question! You don’t want to look out of place.
In Mexico, people tend to dress formally at work; that’s the way it’s expected.
So, for women it would be formal dresses or skirts not too short, and it’s better if you use tights underneath. It can also be formal pants and suits. No crop tops.
And for men it would be the classic suit, shirt and tie. No shorts.
The shoes should also be more formal, no flip flops at all.
Some companies allow the employees to wear more casual or informal clothes, like jeans, on Fridays.
Celebrate the Employees
This is not how everyone does it, but some companies celebrate the employees that reach a certain amount of time or years working in the company. It’s usually done with those that achieve 5, 10, 15, 20… years in the company.
How do they celebrate them? Simply by giving them a gift! That’s a nice thing to do.
It’s common for companies, bosses and especially coworkers, to celebrate the birthday of an employee. They all cooperate with some money to buy a cake and sometimes food, like a pizza. During lunch break, they sing “las mañanitas”, a Mexican song for birthdays, and eat the cake and the food.
Meetings
Mexicans love to do meetings while eating at restaurants, a hotel’s restaurant, or maybe a nice cafe.
These meetings are usually with clients; they want to impress them. But they can also be among business partners and high executives. These meetings don’t usually involve employees with lower roles.
The meetings that involve employees are hosted at the workplace, in the offices’ boardrooms.
You have to know how to engage in small talks, because that’s how all meetings tend to begin. As we said, Mexicans have a warm attitude and like to feel like they know others a bit better before doing serious business. That’s why they do small talk before starting the business’ topic and discussions.
It’s almost like a warm up.
If at the meeting there’s a new person or someone that you’re interested in doing business with, you can exchange business cards.
New Year’s Eve Dinner
Should we keep up with the celebrations? Some companies host a New Year’s Eve meal to celebrate the holidays. At this celebration, bosses and high executives do tend to hang out with employees.
Sometimes, they raffle prizes.
Of course, these celebrations aren’t exactly on December 31st. They can be any day of December.
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