Spain

Did you know...? Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world.

It is common to greet each other with a handshake. To start a personal conversation, Spanish people are doing a lot of small talk about family and friends, travelling and sports. It is unusual to start talking about personal issues or problems.

At work, it is common to address each other by their first names. Anyway, it is important to react on the actual situation. If your co-workers insist of using surnames, you should do the same.

Due to the hot summer months, the lunch breaks are usually starting at 2pm and can last until 4pm. Consequently, the work day can be longer than in your home country and dinner will be hold very late.

Spanish communication is quite subtle, especially regarding critique. Therefore you should explain an upcoming problem and be as polite as possible. Also, your Spanish co-workers will not criticise you as directly as you might know it from home.

The Spanish day structure steadily swaps between work and leisure time that includes numerous coffee breaks, small talk and lunch breaks over the day. Time management is quite flexible, too, especially regarding punctuality. But you shouldn’t always be late for work.