Cultural Differences Concerning Time

 


October 13, 2020 Week 5 Cultural Differences Concerning Time

 

“Run!” is often my first conscious thought when I wake up.  There are tasks to complete and places I must go and I mustn’t be late to arrive. Time flies by so fast and there is much to be accomplished.  My husband has worked for a Japanese company for the last 30 years. His working environment is extremely time and task disciplined.  The Japanese culture is dominated by time.  On a recent trip to Japan, our train was one minute late arriving.  For this, the train company was extremely apologetic over the announcements and even apologized on the evening news.  We live in a monochronic culture. A monochronic culture is ruled by time and schedules.  Task must to be completed orderly and on time.  Relationships are less important than keeping a schedule.

In contrast a polychronic culture is less about time or getting things done and more about relationships and building them.   Things aren’t measured by a “to do” list but by “what did you get to do today”.  One YouTube example I watched showed a monochronic worker who is upset that his polychronic coworker is late for work. The polychronic worker met an old friend on his way to work and stopped to chat with him.  The polychronic worker is happy to be able to build his friendship and knows he will get his work done later.  The monochronic worker thinks his coworker is rude and delays the work for all.  Both have a different perspective on the work environment.  Neither is totally correct in their thinking. This will require communicating to work it out.

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVagWOytmW0

 
As a future ESL teacher, this kind of situation will probably occur.  Students will be late or not show up because of family relationships.  It happens.  A schedule of when class starts and stops is helpful for all to accomplish our goals.  Learning a new language requires a lot of time and practice.  Good communication will help us be effective in class across cultural time differences.   Adding time in lesson to build relationships will be helpful for the students from a polychronic culture.   It’s important to make those connections and it’s polite.

I truly don’t see that either a monochronic or a polychronic culture is incorrect.  Both have good qualities, to me it’s important to have a schedule and to putting relationships first.  The trick may be to find the balance between the two.  As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I value my family relationships.  I have an eternal perspective on it and often work to balance family, work, and everything else that happens in life.  I also value my ability to accomplish my goals for the day.  In my culture it’s not always easy, but I’ve found its worth trying to do.


 

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