An Open Letter

Dear Chinese work colleague/cube neighbor,

I know that I am in the minority as one of the few Caucasians in the Biostatistics/Programming department, however since we are in America and working for an American company in an American office then I have some mildly racist observations and advice to pass on.  You’re welcome.

-          Typing quickly and loudly does not make you seem as busy and important as you want people to think

-          Clicking your pen all the time is incredibly annoying

-          Communicating in mangled English (“Chinglish” if you will), in both written and verbal form, is not helpful

-          Leading teleconferences on your headset from your desk is not considerate

-          Greeting, let alone conversing, with your non-Chinese cube neighbors would be polite

-          Talking extremely loudly in Chinese on the phone or to a fellow Chinese colleague is remarkably inconsiderate

-          A Chinese group mentality where you commute together, lunch together, talk only to each other in Chinese, only award bonuses, pay rises and promotions to each other, is not cool

-          Don’t use cultural differences as an excuse to not socialize or interact with other people

-          Don’t be naive about things like meeting etiquette, giving and taking credit where it is deserved, and blatant sucking up to management

-          Your food absolutely stinks so don’t eat it in your cube

Regards,

Your token Caucasian work colleague/cube neighbor

PS This also applies to my Indian colleagues.