In this section, we take a short sharp look at important aspects of American business etiquette, and what we have chosen to call “workplace correctness”. Etiquette is a matter of politeness and common practice. Correctness concerns itself with social politics, corporate policy, and even the law.

We have in previous chapters made a number of observations concerning common and accepted American practice with respect to home and business hospitality, and the proper forms of address for men and women. We will re-emphasize a number of those here and propose others in describing what is and is not accepted as appropriate workplace behavior. Some aspects of that behavior can have legal implications, which we will point out. We will not try to summarize American employment law, however, which is constantly evolving. It also varies from state to state, since much employment law is set by the individual states.

Whether your contact with Americans is as customer, supplier, colleague, or manager, in small companies or large, it will be helpful to be familiar with these principles and guidelines if you wish to avoid offending people, or even worse, finding yourself the subject of a harassment or discrimination complaint.

DRESS

In America and elsewhere, there is a trend toward greater informality of dress in the workplace. The extent of this, however, will depend both on the “culture” of the particular organization or industry sector and on the situation (customer meetings or more formal occasions).

Men: If you are a supplier, wear your tie and jacket, and look sharp. In the American business environment, making a fast positive first impression is vital, and people do judge by appearances. Go easy on the dark gray suit, however, unless you are a stockbroker. While this costume is much loved by our British friends, in America it is regarded as more appropriate for very senior executives, lawyers, and funeral directors.

Women: Starting in the 1980s, American women in business were advised to “dress for success”. Reflecting both American “get ahead” ambition and the equality of the sexes, this advice set the tone for female dress at work – a generally conservative and understated suit or other ensemble, cut and accessorized to look both serious and fashionable. Here again there is considerable variation, depending on the industry sector, but American women, from senior management level to administrative assistant, will always aim for a professional look. If you are going to be working for an American corporation, take your cue from them, unless you truly wish to express your individuality by not conforming.

There are some mild regional differences in the USA with respect to business attire. In the northeast – New York, Boston, and nearby areas – people may more often dress with greater formality. In the South, the heat and humidity in the summer months invite a somewhat looser style; while on the west coast, people are generally more informal altogether.

The best policy for both men and women is a safe one – follow the lead of your co-workers. Otherwise (men), start with the basic tie and jacket, and then you can dress more informally according to the situation.

BUSINESS HOSPITALITY AND GIFT GIVING

This is an area of sensitivity for large American organizations, which normally have stated policies on what can or cannot be offered to or accepted from customers and suppliers.

Do not expect extensive gift giving for business purposes in America – policies of many companies severely restrict both giving and receiving. On a social level, as suggested in Chapter 4, it can create a sense of obligation that makes many Americans uncomfortable.

As part of your company’s marketing, image, advertising, or branding, low-value give-away items are common, but count for very little. After you have a solid relationship with an American partner, then small gifts from your country or company are appropriate, though not essential, as goodwill gestures.

If you are a vendor/supplier, and invite an American client or prospective client to lunch or dinner, it is generally understood that you will pay. (See Chapter 4.)

Large-scale business hospitality in the USA, involving many guests, will, as in most other countries, be conducted as corporate marketing events. Contrary to custom in other places, however, alcoholic refreshments may not be offered. This owes less to the moral values of the company, and more to the fear of liability if someone drinks to excess and then does something stupid or criminal, or has a road accident on the way home.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

If I were asked . . . to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people [the Americans] ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply: To the superiority of their women.

Alexis de Tocqueville(1)

In the USA you are far more likely than elsewhere to meet women, superior or not, in middle and upper management positions.

As with men, you can in conversation and correspondence move quickly to first names. (See Chapter 4.) American women regard themselves as absolutely equal (or even superior) to men, fully capable of performing the same tasks and carrying out the same responsibilities. To call attention to the fact that someone is a woman is to set her apart. Do not refer to them, regardless of position, as “girls” or “ladies”, however polite and flattering this may seem to you.

It is a good idea to use more inclusive language, as well, especially in the presence of women. If you are speaking of an unnamed indefinite person, use “he or she” or “him or her” together.

For example:

“Our new Marketing Communications Manager, whoever he or she may be, will be required to manage a budget of one million dollars.”

Sometimes you will find this same usage in writing. We have not used it in this book, however, as explained in our introductory note. Over the course of a long document, such as a book or report, it interferes with smooth reading. In shorter documents such as letters or articles, however, using the pair of pronouns causes less difficulty. Americans will be expecting it. There is a growing if not quite correct, tendency in American business English to use “they” or “them” as the neutral third person singular pronoun.

With female customer or supplier representatives and colleagues alike, stay on a friendly professional level of conversation. Avoid commenting on or referring to someone’s appearance, dress, or attractiveness. To many non-Americans, this would seem to inhibit relaxed communication between the sexes. In the highly sensitive American workplace, such comments may make a woman very uncomfortable.

HUMOR

Humor does not travel well, culturally speaking.

Be mindful of extreme sensitivity in the USA to attempts to show humor with jokes or clever comments that refer to someone’s gender, religion, sexual lifestyle, or racial/national origin. These may or may not be funny, but they are very likely to cause embarrassment or offence in a business setting.

Do not joke, or appear to joke about your business, your organization, or your products/services, or any proposal that a colleague may put forth. It is likely to make a very bad impression on Americans, especially if one of them happens to be your boss!

HARASSMENT

Employees of American companies are considered to have the right to a workplace free from “harassment”. Whether racial or sexual, harassment is defined as behavior at work – verbal, or physical – that is perceived by one or more persons as contributing to an intimidating or hostile work environment.(2) The exact legal definition does not concern us here, but the practical perception of it does.

Sexual harassment was originally described as behavior whereby a more powerful individual (usually a male manager) expected favors (usually of a sexual nature) from a less powerful person (usually a female) in exchange for special consideration or treatment. It has since acquired a much wider scope (same-sex harassment is possible) and definition. Sexual harassment may now include any persistent behavior of a sexual nature – words, gestures, repeated approaches, flirtations, jokes – which another person may regard as presumptuous, offensive, or simply inappropriate.

Apparently innocent comments you may make, or behavior towards others that in your country would be entirely permissible, may in America be regarded as offensive. Complaints about your behavior may follow, with great potential damage to your reputation.

Racial harassment is an offence that is analogous to sexual harassment, though largely limited to verbal expressions. Racist terms are the worst examples, but even terms that may be more teasing than abusive fall into this category. You should also avoid expressions that contain an implied racial stereotype, such as “Chinese whispers”.

Keep in mind the following:

• Even if your contact with Americans is as representative of an external organization, you run the risk of ruining your business relationship or provoking complaints if you allow yourself, in dealing with people of the opposite sex, to go beyond the friendly professional approach mentioned before.
• As we noted in our comments on humor, avoid telling jokes that may poke fun, however affectionately, at other groups.
• If you are an employee of an American organization, especially in a managerial position, speak with your Human Resources person as soon as you can. Find out about company policies in this area. Whether you think that this matter of harassment is a contribution to a fairer workplace, or an over-reaction that makes relationships more difficult, do not ignore it. American companies are very anxious to avoid problems in this area. Being a foreigner, or someone for whom English is not the first language, will not protect you.

EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES AND LAW

This section will be particularly relevant if you will be taking a management position in an American company.

Interviewing

Another area in which American organizations are sensitive is that of illegal discrimination in hiring. If you recall the resume of our friend Lenore Madison, you may remember that it contained no reference to her age, race, religion, or marital status. In fact, she did not even mention the year of her BA degree, which would permit a reader to estimate her age (based the normal age of achieving this degree).

Why? There are two reasons.

First, as you might expect from what you now know about the American way of business, Lenore considers that these other items of data are completely irrelevant to her fitness for the job. Secondly, Lenore does not wish to make it easy for someone to reject her resume on the basis of age (“This job requires a young person”), marital status (“A married person is going to want to spend too much time at home” or conversely, “A married person would be better for the job, since she will be more stable and responsible”), race (so she sends no picture), or any other irrelevant factor. She will, of course, have difficulty concealing the fact that she is female.

This has implications for interviewing. Much of this personal data cannot be explicitly requested during an interview. (Some of it is, of course, visible.) If a factor such as age might affect a prospective employee’s ability to do a job, then questions must be framed to focus on the job requirement, not on the age.

These remarks are merely signposts indicating where there may be pitfalls in American employment practices. These are hard enough for Americans to master, let alone non-Americans.

Again, your Human Resources specialist can advise you on the correct way of getting the information you need when interviewing American candidates for positions in your firm.

Conditions of employment

Americans such as Lenore Madison, working at the professional/ managerial levels, do not always sign an actual contract of employment. Senior executives are the usual exception. It is common practice for such employees to sign an “offer letter”, which states the position and starting compensation, but that may be the only formal signed document. Until that written agreement is made, the person you want to hire is not committed to your firm, even though you may have offered the job verbally. Lenore’s apparent acceptance of the job does not bind her, and she keeps looking elsewhere (alternative b).

Alfredo should have tried to prevent this by keeping in direct contact with Lenore after the interview, in order to remind her of how much he and the company were looking forward to her joining them, and to respond in case she was thinking of changing her mind.

Once the person has “come on board”, their conditions of employment consist of the company policies, procedures, benefits, and similar provisions that are specified in various documents, whether electronic or paper. They also include the job descriptions, stated performance expectations, and assessments of performance that are prepared by their management.

Consider the following exchange:

Finally, as seen here, conditions of employment can include verbal statements made by an employee’s manager on the subject of career development, new responsibilities, the possibility of promotion, and so on. In this example, Jim’s manager has failed to understand this. His apparent promises to Jim of greater responsibility might have been intended as no more than expressions of encouragement and praise, but under American employment law in many states, these can in fact be considered “contractual” commitments made by the company.

You must therefore be very careful in what you say, orally and in writing, to the employees who report to you.

A question of rights

Our explanation of harassment and these examples of managers’ mistakes in employment practice are not intended to frighten, but to warn.

American companies, as we noted in Chapter 6, are able to make reductions in staff relatively quickly and easily, in response to changing business conditions. But the individual employee has “rights” and protections that can make it difficult to dismiss him for anything other than misconduct or extremely poor performance.

In the private sector, at professional level, trade unions are relatively weak. As of 2001, less than 10 percent of workers employed in the private sector belonged to unions. There is no American equivalent to, for example, the German engineering union I G Metall. An American employee’s rights and protections are primarily guaranteed not by union agreements, but by company policies, state and federal employment laws and, in the case of civil rights, by the US Constitution. You can’t be much more American than that.