Comparing the Spanish and American etiquette in the work environment

When I first got my internship at the Fundación Málaga, I thought it was going to be a great opportunity for me to get a hands-on experience in the working world in Spain. It turns out, it wasn’t anything that I had expected. What would be considered the norm for Spanish etiquette during business negotiations, would be regarded as unprofessional behavior. My observations of a meeting that took place at my internship have somewhat shaped my opinions about Spanish work life.

The meeting.
The members of this meeting were creative thinkers and representatives of advertising firms. The objective of this meeting was to discuss innovative ideas for the next cultural event.

1. Almost everyone arrived late. According to the Spanish conduct of doing business, you cannot arrive more than 30 minutes late. Otherwise, it is considered rude.
American rule: You either arrive early or on time. No if ‘s, and’s, or but’s.

2. 1 person out of the whole meeting was carrying the conversation. It was almost a painful struggle to get other people to volunteer and share their ideas. Also, no one expressed any interest whatsoever. When I talked to my boss after the meeting, I asked him if he considered this meeting a success. He said, “Fue normal.” I was completely shocked. He explained to me that the Spanish people don’t like to work together and that there is almost no concept of teamwork in their business world.
Normally, during a meeting like this in America, people would be exchanging thoughts and be more open to different ideas and opportunities that other businesses would have to offer. I believe that American business thrives off of teamwork.

3. Texting and doodling. I understand having this habit in high school. But in a business meeting, this would be considered unprofessional and extremely rude. In the U.S., it would give you ticket/invitation straight to the door. Even though Elena and I did not call for this meeting, we were appalled and offended.

4. Pessimism. Sitting through that 3 hour meeting was almost unbearable. Crisis this and crisis that. Everyone understands and knows that we are all in an economic crisis. The point of this meeting was to simply discuss ideas for a cultural event. Instead, most of the people were thinking about their business’s financial situations even though nobody made a decision about a cultural event yet. La Fundación Málaga didn’t call this meeting to talk about financial support only.

Although all of this is all shocking and new to me, this is the Spanish way of conducting business. It’s only been a little over a month since I started this internship and I have yet to learn and experience more in the Spanish working environment.