Work Culture

I’ve been here a little bit now, and I have no idea how many people we have dropped in on at work, unannounced. But it's a lot of people. We have in every single case been welcomed with smiles, hugs, offers of coffee, and a seat. We are always happily received and made welcome, and introduced to further people.

What's wrong with this picture? 
1. You don't call to say you're late. 
2. If you're having breakfast, you're already at work

I always get the impression the host would be happy to talk to us all day, and the talk is usually just chit chat, catching up, small talk. It’s rarely work related, and much more rarely is it productive. We are met at desks and in corridors and talk extensively. It’s a great way to pass the time, and it’s hugely different to the British work environment, where you wouldn’t even get past security, nor would your boss allow you to receive visitors on company time.

Some of this is down to the culture, which forbids you from not receiving a visitor warmly. But it's also that Brazilians do seem genuinely happy to receive visitors and work is not a priority. The down side is that nothing seems to get done as work is not a apriority. If I was a customer, or the company owner, I would not be happy.

Report on Brazil's unproductive economy, from The Economist

Office hours are almost always 8am – 12pm, and 2pm – 6pm. However this seems to be commonly interpreted as “we expect you to leave your home at some point after 8am”. On arrival, you do the rounds catching up with several colleagues before making a coffee or having some breakfast. Work can start at some point after all this has been achieved, and can be interrupted at any point and for any reason.

One day we arrived at the Federal Police Station at 8.30am. The one agent we needed to see, before 9am, had popped back home as he’d forgotten his mobile. He arrived just before 9am. No eyelids were registered as having been battered.

A friend who works as a civil servant tells me that his highest boss arrives at 9.30, lunches from noon until after 3 and goes home around 5. My friend's immediate bosses arrive after 8.30, so he is on a winner arriving at 8.30, only half an hour late and always before his superiors. He is led by example.

Almost everyone we visit has their personal phone on their desk, and no-one has their phone on silent, regardless of the work environment. I have been sat in various meetings, interviews or fairly professional situations when a horrendous ringtone has gone off. No-one says anything.

I would love to see an accurate assessment of the actual number working hours the average Brazilian is productive. It’s hard to see how any work gets done.

I understand that the causes are several, longstanding and complex. They are also beyond the scope of this entry, if not this blog. But it’s clear that there is a lot of room for improvement, and also an opportunity for those with vision and a hardworking ethic to actually progress in this environment.