06 Dec 2022
Adjusting to a new culture is always challenging while moving abroad and it’s the same for Nigerian diasporas. With more than 1.24 million diasporas in developing world, Nigeria is one of the prominent African countries, which is world’s 30th largest economy holding $440.8 billion GDP. It ranks 10th among the top remittance recipients worldwide receiving over $14.2 billion in remittance in September 2021. These records reflect Nigeria’s migration trends that millions of its people work abroad and send money to Nigeria to support their households back home and aid economic development of the country. In doing so, they face countless challenges while living overseas.
When you move abroad for work, the need to adapt to the new culture is critical. Particularly, if you migrate to the UK for better education or work opportunities, you have to understand, learn, and adapt to life here. Having good working relationships with your coworkers and good neighbour relationships becomes crucial. In reality, nothing is that easy. There are several stages to the complex process of cultural adjustment. Let’s provide you with some helpful strategies to settle in the UK’s culture as a Nigerian expatriate.
Moving from Nigeria to the UK is a significant life event. It comes with all the excitement, stress, exhilaration, and exhaustion you might experience during other times of considerable change. It typically is, and it can burden the body, the mind, and the spirit.
Inconvenient symptoms of cultural stress typically in acclimating to a new civilisation include fatigue, a craving for things from home, the need to criticise everything, feelings of loneliness, and concern over minor health issues. Implementing the following advice will help a Nigerian expat adjust to UK culture.
Knowing how you react to cultural differences is crucial, as is distinguishing between genuine negative situations and cultural shock symptoms. For instance, you get very upset about the occasional cooking smell coming from your neighbours because you can't stand it. Is it a sign of a challenging cultural adjustment or just a sign that you are extremely sensitive to cooking smells?
British people have a reputation for keeping their cool and exhibiting Blitz spirit during World War I. In the face of difficulty and adversity, people still occasionally exhibit this grin-and-bear-it attitude. Nigerian expatriates might also observe that British people are more distant and reserved than those from North America and other regions of Europe.
They respect their privacy and prefer to maintain distance from the person they are speaking to. Nigerian expats shouldn't anticipate a home tour when they visit a British friend because the British value their privacy.
They anticipate that others will respect their privacy when asked about personal matters. Nigerian expats should be cautious when asking British people where they are from. This could be interpreted as an attempt to place the person on the social or class scale and avoid discussions on that person's financial situation or relationships.
Always remember that your primary goal for coming to the UK is to earn better and support your family’s financial needs. At your workplace, you’ll need to interact with multicultural people including the UK’s locals and foreigners simultaneously. Try your best to be respectful and maintain an amicable attitude with everyone. You might need help from co-workers in handling different things like finding the best market for economical goods, clinic near to your residence, finding affordable transport, nearby places for weekend entertainment, the best solution to transfer funds, etc. If you make an online money transfer to Nigieria via credible services like ACE Money Transfer, you won’t need to look for different ways since you can enjoy several benefits in a digital money transfer.
In the UK, there are many different ethnic communities, each of which has its own set of social norms and cultural customs. However, there are some things that expatriates from Nigeria who interact with the British might find helpful.
It is preferable to shake hands when you meet someone for the first time. Only those one is more familiar with should receive hugs. It is a good idea to bring something like wine, chocolates, or fresh flowers when visiting a British friend or coworker at home. The British value punctuality not only in business but also at social events.
When you have an appointment of any kind, it is best to try your hardest to be on time. Due to the negative perceptions of delay among expats, they should call ahead to let someone know they will be late for a meeting.
If you change how you think about making mistakes and accept them as inevitable byproducts of moving and working across cultures, you'll feel much better about yourself. It is much more beneficial and enjoyable to adopt a growth mindset, in which cultural mistakes are seen as opportunities for improvement.
It is challenging, particularly for those who strive for perfection and those whose lives are at stake, such as a global sales team member attempting to close a deal. A performance-driven, perfectionist mentality can also exaggerate a situation's seriousness and cause unfounded and counterproductive assumptions.
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Research is essential when it comes to multicultural marketing. Coming to study in the UK is exciting. It is a friendly, multicultural society full of history and culture. However, where 7% of residents identify as Nigerian, Peckham has the largest proportion of Nigerians born in the UK. So, don't be upset; everything is fine! The feelings you are experiencing should pass with time and adjustment to your new culture. Furthermore, you'll gain a great deal of knowledge.
Adjusting to a new culture might be challenging but not impossible at all. With a slight effort and ensuring the best tips like the ones explained above, you can quickly adapt to the new culture in a developed country such as the UK. Once you are settled here as a Nigerian expatriate, choose ACE Money Transfer to send money to Nigeria online if you want the lowest transfer fees, the best exchange rates, the most secure transfers, and 24x7 availability of the service.
