Last year around the holidays, we put together a gift-giving etiquette quiz, which tested your knowledge of gift-giving customs in several countries. This year, we’re focusing on the business traveler and how gift-giving customs differ across cultures in a professional context.
We asked our language experts to share some tips for their respective countries. Here’s a short list of what we found out for Israel, Germany, Egypt, China and France.
Israel
* Gifts are typically not given in an office context. If you visit someone’s home, however, the best bet is flowers. Food and wine can be tricky due to the dietary laws that many people observe.
* Holiday cards in Israel are exchanged on Rosh Hashana- the Jewish New Year. People will mail out cards and greetings to friends and family over the New Year season (which takes place in the fall around September). Hanukkah cards are a North American phenomenon, because of the tradition of Christmas card exchanges, people in North America exchange “holiday cards” here. It is not a custom to do so in Israel.
Germany
* It is not advisable to bring a gift when visiting an office in Germany. In fact, there are even possible legal ramifications, due to the so called Compliance Rules, which are very strict in Germany.
* Of course, if a colleague of yours is also a friend, a small gift delivered personally, perhaps out of the office context, is still fine, but in short, the less you know someone, the less flexible this ban on gift-giving is.
* Gifts between business partners, for instance for Christmas, do occur. Companies that do allow gifts, tend to assume that all gifts under 35 Euros, sometimes 25 Euros, are permissible. If the business traveler does go this route, the gift should be personal and needs to be delivered in person.
France
* While not as strictly limited as in Germany, gifts from visitors to an office seem not to be de rigueur in France. It is more likely that a client of a business may send a gift, especially around holiday times. If your French is up to it, check out this list of guidelines for cadeaux d’affaires between collaborators, clients and businesses.
* If you visit a business associate’s home, of course, don’t show up les main vides (empty-handed). Flowers, wine, chocolates or macaroons are all good choices.
* Our source says of exchanging holidays cards: C’est has-been. An email or text sending holiday greetings is more current.
* If you happen to be working with colleagues in France on your birthday, the birthday honoree will often bring croissants or another treat to the office to share.
Egypt
* Bringing a gift is appropriate when visiting a colleague/professional contact as well as when visiting someone at their home. Something related to their work (an electronic gadget, for example) is a good option. Bringing something typically American is also a possibility. Avoid bringing alcoholic beverages as these are considered inappropriate.
* Some colleagues may exchange holiday cards (digital or paper) and gifts around the time of Coptic Christmas and Easter and also during Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
China
* Gifts from a business contact may make some feel uncomfortable if the two parties do not know each other well. That said, small gifts from your region of origin are generally well-received, such as a regional delicacy or a small souvenir from a well-known touristic destination.
* The major holiday in China is Chinese New Year. Adults will often give children hongbao (lucky money) as a gift. This is usually given in a red envelope (red is the color of prosperity in China). Between colleagues, however, these types of gifts may be viewed negatively as bribes. A safer option is to invite colleagues to have a dinner in a restaurant to celebrate the holiday.
* If you happen to be visiting a business colleague on a birthday, you might be invited to participate in some karaoke at a KTV (karaoke bar). Don’t worry, though. Differently from karaoke in the United States, which is often a show for strangers, KTV provides private rooms for karaoke among friends only, so you will only have to embarrass yourself in front of your co-workers.
Photo credit: “I love you” by Thomas Hawk via Flickr licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
