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Home » Opinion » Foreign Views
Expat merry-go-round: Some get on, others off
By Sean Maguire |
March 20, 2009, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THOUGH Shanghai is a megalopolis, it is not far from the truth to characterize the Western expat community here as constituting a village - extended, fragmentary, perhaps, but a community unto itself nonetheless.
And as with any village community there are loci of association ?? the church, the gym, the bars, the restaurants, the coffee shops ?? which foster the illusion that we are somewhere other than in the frenetic, driven, crazy city that is Shanghai, that we are at home.
It is difficult even for the most determined of misanthropes to wholly exclude themselves from the loop. The most impoverished of English-language teachers, the shyest of internees and the most henpecked of spouses are time and time again drawn into the orbit of the expat community by the inexorable pull of familiar comforts and dependable routines.
For all but the most embedded of foreign sinophiles, functioning within a culture so different from that which we, as Westerners, have grown up with presents a myriad of challenges.
These are challenges that we must and do rise to if we are to cut it in China. In fact, the more sensitive the visitor to the subtleties of Chinese cultural mores, the more demanding life can become as he or she attempts to extract themselves from the Western mind set and negotiate a way through the minutiae of those elements that constitute the Chinese world view.
This is not easy work, but then again nobody said it was going to be. We each of us recognize these cultural differences and are bound to make the choice to celebrate them, blithely adjust to them or stoically endure them.
Needless to say, those who try to ride roughshod over such differences simply do not last.
China is not a country among countries, but rather a world unto itself. As visitors to the country, we are obliged to recognize and respect the qualities that constitute the uniqueness of the Middle Kingdom.
The enormous popularity of expat bars, sports clubs and other recreational groups are evidence enough of the wholly natural human desire to seek out the familiar, the recognizable, the reassuring.
It is inevitable that in our dealings with the local community we are constantly called upon to re-evaluate and adjust motives, assumptions, strategies and goals. In short, one is required to step it up a notch.
It is this need to alter the gearing of our cognitive and communication skills that throws into relief what we as Westerners so often take for granted when dealing with people from a cultural background similar to our own - the existence of a deep reservoir of shared cultural references that shape the backdrop to any communicative encounter.
Humor is the most obvious example of this: satire, irony, sarcasm, the double entendre, caricature and pastiche are made possible through the presumption of an existing frame of reference held in common by those who participate in it.
Being in on the joke often means being in on the culture. It is this opportunity to move between the ranks of the local and the expat communities that gives Shanghai its own unique charm, but Shanghai is a city in flux.
Given the prevailing economic climate, it is inevitable that there will be a change in the make up of the expat community in Shanghai.
Difficult to leave
As the prospect of economic recovery becomes ever more diluted and vague, head offices in the US, Europe and Australia are looking at the cost of retaining a China office and the expat personnel that typically staff the upper ranks.
Enhanced salaries and accommodation allowances have served to ratchet up the cost of expat employees, and with their local counterparts becoming more commercially sophisticated and in-tune with head office operational and corporate sensibilities, many expats are feeling increasingly vulnerable as CFOs at home look hard and long at their cost bases.
But it is unlikely that this type of cost-cutting strategy will result in an overall reduction in the size of the expat community in Shanghai. This is a difficult city to leave and many expats are electing to sever connection with their existing foreign employers rather than return to the bleak economic climate currently enveloping home base.
Some are motivated by the recognition that they possess valuable China experience wedded to their own particular skill set and are placing their bets on the view that, while economies around the world are catching a cold, China is comparatively well insulated.
Others are seeking employment with Chinese companies.
There was a time not so long ago when local business could not hope to attract or retain foreign professionals. Salary expectation was the key deal breaker, but other factors played a part: corporate culture, security of tenure and communication issues were all disincentives.
However, the significance of these factors has much diminished and local companies are reaching levels of corporate maturity hat make them attractive to foreign talent.
Moreover, one of the singular aspects of the current global recession is the extent to which it has hurt those in the professions: bankers, lawyers, accountants and finance professionals.
As they grimly survey the employment prospects in their home countries it is likely that a significant number will decide to gamble a slice of their redundancy checks on a fact-finding trip to Shanghai. So though some hop off the Shanghai merry-go-round, there are always those eager to jump on.
This is one of the enduring dynamics of village life in Shanghai, and though the old China hands remain largely unchanged, there is a constant influx of neophytes to replenish depleted ranks .
(The author is counsel of AllBright Law Offices in Shanghai. His e-mail: sbmaguire@allbrightlaw.com.)
And as with any village community there are loci of association ?? the church, the gym, the bars, the restaurants, the coffee shops ?? which foster the illusion that we are somewhere other than in the frenetic, driven, crazy city that is Shanghai, that we are at home.
It is difficult even for the most determined of misanthropes to wholly exclude themselves from the loop. The most impoverished of English-language teachers, the shyest of internees and the most henpecked of spouses are time and time again drawn into the orbit of the expat community by the inexorable pull of familiar comforts and dependable routines.
For all but the most embedded of foreign sinophiles, functioning within a culture so different from that which we, as Westerners, have grown up with presents a myriad of challenges.
These are challenges that we must and do rise to if we are to cut it in China. In fact, the more sensitive the visitor to the subtleties of Chinese cultural mores, the more demanding life can become as he or she attempts to extract themselves from the Western mind set and negotiate a way through the minutiae of those elements that constitute the Chinese world view.
This is not easy work, but then again nobody said it was going to be. We each of us recognize these cultural differences and are bound to make the choice to celebrate them, blithely adjust to them or stoically endure them.
Needless to say, those who try to ride roughshod over such differences simply do not last.
China is not a country among countries, but rather a world unto itself. As visitors to the country, we are obliged to recognize and respect the qualities that constitute the uniqueness of the Middle Kingdom.
The enormous popularity of expat bars, sports clubs and other recreational groups are evidence enough of the wholly natural human desire to seek out the familiar, the recognizable, the reassuring.
It is inevitable that in our dealings with the local community we are constantly called upon to re-evaluate and adjust motives, assumptions, strategies and goals. In short, one is required to step it up a notch.
It is this need to alter the gearing of our cognitive and communication skills that throws into relief what we as Westerners so often take for granted when dealing with people from a cultural background similar to our own - the existence of a deep reservoir of shared cultural references that shape the backdrop to any communicative encounter.
Humor is the most obvious example of this: satire, irony, sarcasm, the double entendre, caricature and pastiche are made possible through the presumption of an existing frame of reference held in common by those who participate in it.
Being in on the joke often means being in on the culture. It is this opportunity to move between the ranks of the local and the expat communities that gives Shanghai its own unique charm, but Shanghai is a city in flux.
Given the prevailing economic climate, it is inevitable that there will be a change in the make up of the expat community in Shanghai.
Difficult to leave
As the prospect of economic recovery becomes ever more diluted and vague, head offices in the US, Europe and Australia are looking at the cost of retaining a China office and the expat personnel that typically staff the upper ranks.
Enhanced salaries and accommodation allowances have served to ratchet up the cost of expat employees, and with their local counterparts becoming more commercially sophisticated and in-tune with head office operational and corporate sensibilities, many expats are feeling increasingly vulnerable as CFOs at home look hard and long at their cost bases.
But it is unlikely that this type of cost-cutting strategy will result in an overall reduction in the size of the expat community in Shanghai. This is a difficult city to leave and many expats are electing to sever connection with their existing foreign employers rather than return to the bleak economic climate currently enveloping home base.
Some are motivated by the recognition that they possess valuable China experience wedded to their own particular skill set and are placing their bets on the view that, while economies around the world are catching a cold, China is comparatively well insulated.
Others are seeking employment with Chinese companies.
There was a time not so long ago when local business could not hope to attract or retain foreign professionals. Salary expectation was the key deal breaker, but other factors played a part: corporate culture, security of tenure and communication issues were all disincentives.
However, the significance of these factors has much diminished and local companies are reaching levels of corporate maturity hat make them attractive to foreign talent.
Moreover, one of the singular aspects of the current global recession is the extent to which it has hurt those in the professions: bankers, lawyers, accountants and finance professionals.
As they grimly survey the employment prospects in their home countries it is likely that a significant number will decide to gamble a slice of their redundancy checks on a fact-finding trip to Shanghai. So though some hop off the Shanghai merry-go-round, there are always those eager to jump on.
This is one of the enduring dynamics of village life in Shanghai, and though the old China hands remain largely unchanged, there is a constant influx of neophytes to replenish depleted ranks .
(The author is counsel of AllBright Law Offices in Shanghai. His e-mail: sbmaguire@allbrightlaw.com.)
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