I have worked for a crypto trading exchange that was born in China. Later, when the crypto services got banned in China, they decided to change their headquarters to Dubai, which is a global hub for any kind of business to flourish. Now comes the fun part of a Chinese company trying to have a grip on the Dubai market. Just like the cheap products manufactured in China, the Chinese believe in selling their cheap ideas to the world.
There are some interesting observations I'd like to share with you:
- Organizational structure
If you're to join a typical Chinese company, make sure that you sell your backbone before you join. Don't be surprised if you see kids as managers and experienced professionals as executives under them. This is how it works here. Thus, your experience has nothing to do with your caliber. Another interesting nature of the structure is that, all the main heads would be Chinese. If you happen to see any non-Chinese in a managerial position, be sure that the person is going to be an ex employee. The Chinese management has a way of knocking out managers who don't belong to their community. Also, all the major corporate decisions will be made only by the Chinese.
- Peanut brains and sky-high dreams
Dreaming big is no sin, but you need to have an average level of IQ to be eligible to dream big. The fun part about the Chinese is that they have the audacity to dream big even with their molecular brains. Even with old-fashioned ideas and their frog-in-the-well attitude, they dream of conquering the world by competing with big brands that rule the industry. (Once when I gave some placeholder text "Lorem ipsum" for designing a template, a Chinese guy came to me saying "This is not in English, I don't understand this.". To my wonder, he was a Content Writer himself, that too a bilingual writer!
- Work till you die
The Chinese are never tired of work. Despite being a workaholic, I've not understood the way they work. I see my Chinese colleagues always active at work, both online and offline. Whether it's a weekend or in the middle of the night, I see them awake and working, making me curious about their sleep patterns. Smart work is something unheard of in the Chinese circle, they believe in drying for work.
- Budget vs Expectations
I belonged to the marketing department of the company. When it comes to marketing, or work in general, you either spend more to get better returns, or you set realistic expectations on your cheap budget. Here with this Chinese company, they expect to be displayed on Burj Khalifa without really spending anything worthy.
So these are my personal observations about the Chinese work culture. If you, as a reader, have anything to say/comment on this, or if you have other observations to share, let me hear you in the comments. :)
