Should you hug people at the office? Canadians don't
Jim Dunning is a hugger.
Arms extended wide, he's always looking to wrap his arms around somebody — even his clients.“I have been in many situations where I feel it is appropriate to hug,” said Dunning, a national sales manager for Exclusive Educational Products, a company based in Barrie. His clients are all kinds of people: teachers, principals, consultants, bureaucrats and premiers.
If he's known them long enough, and is certain they like to be hugged, Dunning greets his clients with a two-armed squeeze. Sometimes they even hug him first. “But that's not the norm I recommend,” Dunning said. “Theoretically, I disagree with the practice of hugging the people you work with.”
Results from a new survey show the majority of marketing and advertising executives across Canada discourage full-body contact displays of affection. The survey results were released by employee placement firm The Creative Group. The firm found 58 per cent of Canadian executives surveyed believe hugging co-workers in a business setting is inappropriate; 72 per cent per cent said they hardly ever hug their clients or business contacts.
The survey results draw from interview responses from 200 marketing executives from companies with more than 100 employees, and 50 advertising executives from agencies with more than 20 employees. Hugs, even brief ones, could be misconstrued as harassment, said Lara Dodo, The Creative Group's regional vice-president in Toronto.
Body parts can bump by accident. The recipient may not feel comfortable rejecting the hug. It can very easily get awkward.
“No one wants a problem when they don't intend one,” she said. “Personality styles differ, too. For some people, it's out of their comfort zone.”
Dunning gives his office manager a loose, one-arm hug about once a year, to show his gratitude for all that she does for the company, but even that makes him somewhat uneasy.
“Hugging really is a communication style. Err on the side of caution, particularly for first-time encounters.” Dodo said. “Don't hug right away. Extend the hand.”
Corporate image consultant Diane Craig doesn't see a place for hugging in any business environment.
“In business etiquette ... we discourage people from hugging,” said Craig, the president of Corporate Class Inc. in Toronto. “Demonstrating familiarity like that can put some ill at ease.” If executives are already uneasy about personal space within Canada's borders, they may need to modify their behaviour when conducting business in a foreign country, Dodo said.
“If you know your audience, prepare,” she said. “If you happen to be going on a business meeting in Italy, know the customs of Italy.” Cheek kisses are customary in offices in Italy, as they are in Russia. In Japan and Korea, it's more common to bow when attending a business meeting. Handshakes are commonplace in Canada, the U.S. and Britain.
Welcoming international business contacts to Canada comes with homework, too.
“If someone reaches forward to give you a kiss on the cheek, (and) you know the custom, (you) won't be taken aback and end up insulting your business colleagues,” Dodo said. If there's still any doubt, a firm handshake and eye contact can assuage the awkwardness of a badly-timed bear hug. “A nice warm smile and eye contact is still going to make people feel very welcome,” Dodo said.
https://www.thestar.com/business/article/939602--should-you-hug-people-at-the-office-canadians-don-t
Jim Dunning is a hugger.
Arms extended wide, he's always looking to wrap his arms around somebody — even his clients.“I have been in many situations where I feel it is appropriate to hug,” said Dunning, a national sales manager for Exclusive Educational Products, a company based in Barrie. His clients are all kinds of people: teachers, principals, consultants, bureaucrats and premiers.
If he's known them long enough, and is certain they like to be hugged, Dunning greets his clients with a two-armed squeeze. Sometimes they even hug him first. “But that's not the norm I recommend,” Dunning said. “Theoretically, I disagree with the practice of hugging the people you work with.”
Results from a new survey show the majority of marketing and advertising executives across Canada discourage full-body contact displays of affection. The survey results were released by employee placement firm The Creative Group. The firm found 58 per cent of Canadian executives surveyed believe hugging co-workers in a business setting is inappropriate; 72 per cent per cent said they hardly ever hug their clients or business contacts.
The survey results draw from interview responses from 200 marketing executives from companies with more than 100 employees, and 50 advertising executives from agencies with more than 20 employees. Hugs, even brief ones, could be misconstrued as harassment, said Lara Dodo, The Creative Group's regional vice-president in Toronto.
Body parts can bump by accident. The recipient may not feel comfortable rejecting the hug. It can very easily get awkward.
“No one wants a problem when they don't intend one,” she said. “Personality styles differ, too. For some people, it's out of their comfort zone.”
Dunning gives his office manager a loose, one-arm hug about once a year, to show his gratitude for all that she does for the company, but even that makes him somewhat uneasy.
“Hugging really is a communication style. Err on the side of caution, particularly for first-time encounters.” Dodo said. “Don't hug right away. Extend the hand.”
Corporate image consultant Diane Craig doesn't see a place for hugging in any business environment.
“In business etiquette ... we discourage people from hugging,” said Craig, the president of Corporate Class Inc. in Toronto. “Demonstrating familiarity like that can put some ill at ease.” If executives are already uneasy about personal space within Canada's borders, they may need to modify their behaviour when conducting business in a foreign country, Dodo said.
“If you know your audience, prepare,” she said. “If you happen to be going on a business meeting in Italy, know the customs of Italy.” Cheek kisses are customary in offices in Italy, as they are in Russia. In Japan and Korea, it's more common to bow when attending a business meeting. Handshakes are commonplace in Canada, the U.S. and Britain.
Welcoming international business contacts to Canada comes with homework, too.
“If someone reaches forward to give you a kiss on the cheek, (and) you know the custom, (you) won't be taken aback and end up insulting your business colleagues,” Dodo said. If there's still any doubt, a firm handshake and eye contact can assuage the awkwardness of a badly-timed bear hug. “A nice warm smile and eye contact is still going to make people feel very welcome,” Dodo said.
https://www.thestar.com/business/article/939602--should-you-hug-people-at-the-office-canadians-don-t
No hugs for tboy maybe a spanking......
