Time in different cultures

ways. For example, being late for an appointment, or taking a long time to get down to business, is the accepted norm in most Mediterranean and Arab countries, as well as in much of less-developed Asia. Such habits, though, would be anathema in punctuality-conscious USA, Japan, England, Switzerland, etc. In the Japanese train system, for example, “on time” refers to expected delays of less than one minute, while in many other countries, up to fifteen minutes leeway is still considered “on-time”.

Attitudes to time in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries is very different from that in time-conscious cultures like North America and Northern Europe

model which puts attitudes to time into two general categories

There are so many components of time that need to be understood when working across cultures that it can become quite confusing.
Dutch interculturalist Fons Trompenaars suggests a simple model which puts attitudes to time into two general categories:
Sequential
Synchronic
With these terms, Trompenaars attempts to describe how people around the world manage their time and how time impacts on their behaviour and mindset.

WEST WORLD

Australia and Switzerland
Time tends to control and influence what people do in sequential cultures

Trompenaars argues that time is dealt with in a specific logical order.
For example, people from a sequential culture may prefer to have a detailed agenda for meetings and regular milestones throughout the life cycle of a project. They rely on this structure and can find a more flexible approach to time frustrating.
Time tends to control and influence what people do in sequential cultures, and many will find value in the expression ‘time is money’.

SEQUENTIAL CULTURES

tasks in a much more open way and not be as beholden to deadlines and timeframes

People tend to manage their time quite differently than those from sequential cultures.
In synchronic cultures, people will have a much broader and more flexible perception of time. As such time is adaptable and allows much more freedom for tasks to be achieved.
People from synchronic cultures don’t tend to be slaves to time, but rather they use time as guidance for how they structure their day and life.
In synchronic cultures, people will approach tasks in a much more open way and not be as beholden to deadlines and timeframes.
Rescheduling a meeting at the last minute,
Showing up a few minutes after the meeting start time
Missing an agreed deadline

SYNCHRONIC CULTURES

this approach may frustrate those from a sequential culture, their more rigid and structured approach to time can seem inflexible and too strict to those from synchronic cultures.
Here are a few additional different attitudes you may find in sequential and synchronic cultures. As you read through the list ask yourself what you agree with the most. Then think about how someone with the opposite approach may perceive you.