This Post Sucks (and Explains Idiosyncrasy)

I wrote this post in Spanish in 2022 and adapted it to English in 2026.

I'll start by talking about what it's been like working with people from different cultures and countries.

To date, and since 2015, I've worked with people from the United States, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia and, above all, Spain.

And I've noticed something: even though we all speak Spanish, it's not the same Spanish.

Why?

Because there's something called idiosyncrasy.

What Is Idiosyncrasy? #

Here's a copy-paste from (Spanish) Wikipedia, translated:

Idiosyncrasy is the set of ideas, behaviors and attitudes particular to an individual, group or human collective, usually toward another individual or human group.

• Behaviors, or ways of thinking and acting, that are characteristic of a person.
• Language, behaviors or attitudes that are particular to a certain individual or group.

It identifies similarities in behavior in social customs, professional performance and cultural aspects. The relationships formed between human groups according to their idiosyncrasy can influence people's individual behavior, even when they aren't convinced the ideas they absorb en masse are true.

By extension, the term is used to identify large groups of people, grouping them by similar attitudes toward the reality that binds and connects them. It's also used to emphasize the differences between people of different origins, customs and social classes.

Give or take a few words, we can sum it up as the set of phrases, expressions, conduct and behaviors that are part of a culture.

This means an idiosyncrasy that includes certain words or expressions typical of its culture can sound offensive, or cause communication problems with someone who doesn't share that idiosyncrasy.

Okay.

And this... what's it got to do with me?

How Does This Affect Me at Work? #

It affects you more than you might think. First, because when you work at a multicultural company, with people from different countries, effective communication tends to get cut short a bit because of idiosyncrasy.

What may be a perfectly normal thing for you to say can sound bad, or be flat out offensive, to other people.

Here's an example. With the team in Spain, at one of my first jobs, one of the bosses once said something like this:

"This thing we made is crap, but it works."

If you're reading this post with a Spanish idiosyncrasy, you won't understand what's going on here.

If you're reading this post with a Latin American idiosyncrasy (and you've never dealt with people from Spain), you'll say "he went too far", "he crossed the line", or whatever expression your country uses for someone who's gotten out of line.

The truth is that in Spain words like mierda, coño and culo (crap, a stronger swear and ass) aren't a big deal, while in Latin America they're straight up a problem, or an insult.

Another time, working with people from the Dominican Republic, I remember the team lead told me on the first day something like: "Don't take the things I say the wrong way. Because of the way we talk in the Dominican Republic, people think I'm always angry or arguing, but I'm not. It's just how I talk."

Working with a team in Mexico, everything I said got taken as a joke, because what they call albur (for the uninitiated, I'll tell you it means "double meaning") is their daily bread and the paradigm of all communication.

This even happened to me in my native Venezuela, working with people from different regions who, despite being from the same country, had different idiosyncrasies.

So how can you deal with this if you work at a multicultural company?

How Do You Handle Relationships on a Multicultural Team with Different Idiosyncrasies? #

The way to deal with it is to detach from your identity.

Let me explain: it's not that you're going to stop being you, or stop doing and saying things. It's trying to flatten your expressions, conduct and behaviors as much as possible when you talk to other team members, and at the same time detaching from those same conduct, behaviors and expressions when someone talks to you, so you stop taking things personally.

This will help you communicate better, make progress and work better as a team.

Maybe even live a better life, because if your work environment improves, your whole life improves. You spend more time with your coworkers than with your family, even if you work remotely. Let's face it, that's reality, and it's because we spend most of our day, well, working.

So, to have better relationships at a multicultural company, the best thing you can do is set your idiosyncrasy aside and pay more attention to the message people are trying to give you than to the way they're giving it to you.

Later on, once you've interacted more with your coworkers, you might even start mastering their idiosyncrasy and try using their words and expressions.

That way you'll avoid taking personally any word that, from your idiosyncrasy, would be offensive.

For now, I'll sign off hoping this post brought your anxiety down a notch. And if it didn't, keep reading my blog, because I'm sure you'll find a joke somewhere that might end up brightening your day. Until next time!