Cracking cultural codes
How does a newcomer to a country or a workplace tap into the undercurrent of cultural codes and unwritten rules that run things? Getting together to discuss with “fellow travellers” and co-workers may be a good starting point.
So, one day you find a note from your “borettslag” board in your mailbox with a friendly invite to a spring “dugnad” to clean the common areas and paint the hallways. Everyone is encouraged to participate, and there’s a promise of coffee, waffles and good company.
But is the “dugnad,” this non-paid piece of (usually) physical labour, voluntary or mandatory? What will your native Norwegian neighbours think of you if you decline? And why don’t they just hire someone to do the job?
Working together across cultures
These and other large and small dilemmas from both inside and outside the workplace set the direction for discussions during the BELONG project workshop Working together across cultures.
The BELONG project is run by Eva Gavrilova-Zoutman, Malin Arve and Aruna Divya Tatavarthy and aims to enhance the benefits from diversity at NHH through mentor-networks, training programmes, and increased opportunities for talent-recognition.
The mentioned workshop brought together both Norwegian and international NHH employees to discuss and reflect on differences and similarities between workplaces in Norway and other countries.
'The main objectives were to help people have smoother working lives and to understand cultural nuances of working in teams with internationally diverse members. Specifically for all "new" employees at NHH it is basically about unpacking the hidden codes of working in NHH,' explains organiser Aruna Divya Tatavarthy.
A frog in the fjord
Facilitator for the workshop was French native Lorelou Desjardins. She is trained as a lawyer and has lived in seven countries. The last 15 years she has lived in Norway where she has worked both in the public and private sector.
Desjardin now works as an author, newspaper columnist, speaker and workshop facilitator, and uses her own experience to help foreigners to crack the codes of working with Norwegians. Her books include A frog in the Fjord: One year in Norway, How to be Norwegian and the upcoming Coffee and Compromise.
She took the participants through some quintessential Norwegian dichotomies, like the one between autonomy and collective responsibility, pointed to traits where Norwegians score high internationally, like trust, and discussed where Norwegians are on the direct-indirect communications scale, compared to other countries.
A space for reflection, curiosity, and understanding
Workshop participant Arnoud Monster is Dutch and works at the Section for Admissions. Before joining NHH, he worked at RSM in Rotterdam.
'Initiatives like the BELONG Workshop are truly valuable in an international environment such as ours. It was great to see both colleagues with Norwegian and international backgrounds participating,' he says.
'These kinds of initiatives create space for honest reflection, mutual curiosity, and understanding – all essential elements in a diverse academic community. They remind us that even though we share an institutional culture and common goals, we each carry our own cultural frameworks that shape how we communicate, collaborate, and interpret the world around us,' he adds.
What did you take away from the workshop?
'Having lived in Norway for about two and a half years now, the workshop offered me both recognition and new insights. Recognition – in the sense that many of the cultural nuances I’ve observed myself were shared by others too. It was reassuring to learn that some of my “Norwegian discoveries” were not just my own interpretations. And insights — as Lorelou Desjardins provided helpful background and context on the origins of certain cultural behaviours and aspects of Norwegian society. Of course, with a wink of the eye, as not everything applies to all Norwegians!'
'The session also reminded me how easily we can assume that coming from another Northern European country means cultural similarity – while in practice, the unwritten codes, indirect communication, and what is not said often matter most. I left the workshop feeling I understand better how to “read” those silent layers that are so central in everyday Norwegian communication,' says Arnoud.
'The small-group discussions were another highlight. Talking with both Norwegian and international colleagues about how we perceive and interpret verbal and non-verbal communication gave me a deeper appreciation of how culture shapes our everyday interactions.'
'Working at a truly Norwegian business school with colleagues and students from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, initiatives like BELONG are more than just workshops – they help us strengthen the “together” in our mission. They encourage us to be more aware, empathetic, and curious about one another – essential ingredients for genuine collaboration and sustainable value creation,' he concludes.
And what is the answer to the dilemma concerning “dugnad” participation? Well, maybe there isn’t one correct conclusion. But, Desjardins pointed out as consolation: It might be good to know that Norwegians don’t necessarily want to go either.