Ich bin auf Twitter/X auf einen wirklich interessanten Beitrag gestoßen, der mich an meinen ersten Firmenjob erinnerte, bei dem ich in einem Team mit deutschen und niederländischen Kollegen gearbeitet habe. Eines Tages rief mich ein Kunde an und schrie mich an, weil seine Lieferung nicht pünktlich eingetroffen sei. Er verlangte, mit „jemandem kompetenteren“ zu sprechen. Ich leitete den Anruf an meinen niederländischen Kollegen weiter, der ihm genau das Gleiche erzählte, was ich gerade gesagt hatte, und plötzlich wurde der Kunde ruhig, freundlich und völlig verständnisvoll. Es war, als würde man zusehen, wie ein Schalter umgelegt wurde.
Trotzdem bevorzuge ich immer noch die westliche Arbeitskultur und sogar diese leicht künstliche Höflichkeit gegenüber dem typischen „Januszex“-Stil, den man in Polen oft sieht. Es kommt natürlich immer auf die Menschen an und man kann überall auf alle Arten treffen.
Ich bin gespannt auf Ihre Erfahrungen mit dieser „Kompetenzvermutungs“-Dynamik und dem Umgang mit mittelosteuropäischen Mitarbeitern. Ist Ihnen etwas Ähnliches aufgefallen oder sind Ihre Beobachtungen völlig anders?
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1rmaiz5
Von WineTerminator
10 Kommentare
Idk, as an IT professional and a Pole in Sweden I got nothing but respect and politeness:) okay, and an occasional joke about buying cheap vodka from Polish truck drivers
I am a Polish guy working in academia in the so called west (Europe) and I have never experienced this. In fact I feel like I was always very appreciated. My experience is limited to Germany and France though.
Dunno about academia, but Poles in IT have a pretty strong rep from my experience
One dude projecting his own insecurities. Not worth going much deeper into that.
>One day, a client called, shouting at me because his delivery hadn’t arrived on time. He demanded to speak with “someone more competent.” I transferred the call to my Dutch colleague, who told him exactly the same thing I had just said and suddenly the customer became calm, friendly and completely understanding. It was like watching a switch flip.
Was the conversation in English or Dutch? The customer’s bias could have more to do with your accent sounding generally foreign than with you being Polish specifically. Of course, that doesn’t make the situation any better, but xenophobia can easily be confused with xenophobia against a certain nationality.
In my field, poles are considered one of the most competent (automotive)
As someone who lived and worked in the scientific sector all over the world, I would say it is very difficult to work with Western Europeans, their arrogance and sense of superiority are all over the place. No place is perfect, every system has its own quirks, but ah… the Western European arrogance!
As was spoken centuries ago… For some we are still the „Blacks of Europe“ 😞
I don’t think I have a relevant experience to compare. But I don’t doubt that it’s true based on casual conversations with Western Europeans and following the media. Which is why I believe we should embrace being part of Eastern Europe and stop associating it with backwardness. I support panslavism and I will die on this hill 🙃
I never felt overly discriminated as a Pole like this, working internationally. Plus, honestly, Japan may not be the best example here. It’s probably mostly an effect of distance. To the Japanese, a German, a Pole and an Englishman are all equally „foreign“. Japan is also generally known for being xenophobic (while polite), so it might be that to them, they all fall into a single „not-Japanese“ category. The Japanese can also have stronger opinions on foreigners from countries they had more direct past dealings with, like the Chinese or South Koreans.
In other words – no shit, he went to a place that barely ever heard of Poland and was surprised to find they aren’t overly prejudiced.