What the pandemic reveals about culture
COVID-19 is a global crisis, but it has not impacted all nations equally. This discrepancy is a source of great interest to researchers who want to understand the variables which contribute to better and worse outcomes. According to a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health, one influential factor is culture.
Researchers used work by cross-cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand into how tightly or loosely a country follows and enforces social norms and compared it to coronavirus data. They found that "loose" nations had 5x more cases and more than 8x more deaths than “tight” nations. (For more on this story, see NPR Goats and Soda’s piece, Why 'Tight' Cultures May Fare Better Than 'Loose' Cultures In A Pandemic by Fran Krtiz, February 23, 2021).
Those of us in the intercultural field had suspected that culture played a role and had our own anecdotal evidence to support this theory, but this study provides quantitative data linking cultural difference and real-world outcomes on a global scale. The moral of the story is of course not that culture is the only thing that matters, but that it does matter a great deal.
Why this matters for the rest of us
This has implications beyond global health. It stands to reason that if countries followed different courses of action when facing an identical (or nearly identical) problem, the same would also be true in the full gamut of everyday situations. This begs the question: are we considering the role that culture plays in other contexts where we live and work? If not, we may be missing out on valuable data about what motivates people, how they interpret events and create meaning from them, what their priorities and assumptions are, why they are responding the way that they are, and what psychological obstacles may be blocking their willingness and ability to change. Moreover, we may not just misunderstand others, but may even be blind to the way that our culture influences us, and this can leave us on autopilot when we would be better served by mindful, “manual” decision-making.
As Peter Drucker is said to have opined, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This doesn’t mean that culture is big and scary, but it does mean that when we overlook it, we can’t work with it. Here at Hahn Cultural Consulting, we want to be your partners in helping you work with culture successfully. While we do partner with clients in health care, we also address culture in education, global business, and many other sectors. Let’s start a conversation!
Disclaimer: This post is for general information purposes only. You should not rely on it as a basis for making business, legal or other decisions. Melissa Hahn and Hahn Cultural Consulting are not responsible or liable for any loss or damage that arises from your use of this content.