- High uncertainty cultures value structure rules, laws and regulations. They use these mechanisms to manage the uncertainty they face every day.
- Low uncertainty cultures feel more comfortable in unstructured situations. When possible they prefer fewer rules and regulations. These people are generally also more willing to take risks and try new ideas.
Steps you should take to ensure you can manage or work
with differing types of uncertainty avoidance people
- Identify what type of culture you’re dealing with. Just because a person is from China doesn’t mean they dislike structure. Although this is mainly cultural, it’s still on an individual basis.
- For a high uncertainty culture person, help them adapt to the situation. You can do this by laying out some ground rules to get them acclimated with the group. You can also encourage the group to plan more meetings or ideas out so that the person can feel like they have more structure around them.
- For a low uncertainty avoidance culture person, you just have to make them feel like they’re more attached to the group. After all, it’s all about making the person feel comfortable in the group so they can open up and hopefully contribute more to the group. You can do this by doing group bonding activities outside of the work setting. Anything like getting a drink/food or just talking about anything non-work related could help.