Have you ever wondered why people from certain regions of the world share a similar outlook on time? If you’re like me and love to hang out with people from different cultures, you know it’s very helpful to understand their perspective on time. More importantly, if you’re planning to enter the business world in the future, 3 minutes could mean anything from “I’m sorry for being late” to “I lost my job.”
Here’s a breakdown of what “on time” means to the people of the cultures listed below.
United States of America, Switzerland, Germany, Britain, and other Anglo-Saxon nations
Scheduled meeting: 2:00 PM
What it means: You better be here by 2:00 PM or 2:10 PM at the latest
Time is money here. Time is expensive. Time is a scarce resource in western cultures. Have you ever found yourself feeling irritated from a flight that is half an hour late? Or when your employee missed a deadline? Or even when you lost a job opportunity because you were fifteen minutes late to an interview? Punctuality is extremely important in western cultures and being on time will help you with your endeavors in nations with a linear view on time.
Latin America, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Arab nations
Scheduled meeting: 2:00 PM
What it means: Starting anytime from 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Time is flexible in these multi-active, time-oriented nations. A meeting ends when everything is discussed completely. Human interaction, feelings of closeness and trust is important here–if both parties have not established a mutual trust, don’t expect to be leaving the meeting anytime soon.
Madagascar (more specifically) and other rural African nations
Scheduled meeting: 2:00 PM
What it means: Whenever I get to it
A bus, for example, does not depart at the time it is scheduled to. In fact, it departs when the bus is full, whether or not that takes five minutes or even five hours.
East Asian nations
Scheduled meeting: 2:00 PM
What it means: Anytime from 1:30 PM to 2:10 PM
Countries with a cyclic view of time, like China, are not extremely cautious of every minute as the Americans, but favor making an efficient use of time. For example, it is common for a business meeting to begin a few minutes early so the parties can accomplish a task earlier. Depending on the region, arriving on time might actually be rude.
South Asian nations, such as India
Scheduled meeting: 2:00 PM
What it means: 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
It’s okay to be a little late in south Asian cultures. It’s actually expected that the other party will be a few minutes late. If you’re on time at a south Asian event, you might be the first one there.
Now that you are time-savvy about other cultures, you can spare a few extra minutes to arrive early at an interview in the United States, or even spend a few minutes relaxing before heading out to hang out with a Sri Lankan friend.
"NYC: Hilton Times Square - 'Time and Money'" by Wally Gobetz, used under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
