As Canada becomes a multi-cultural society, it is increasingly important to be sensitive to cross cultural issues that may arise in the workplace. 

When we encounter someone who acts outside of one of our cultural norms, we often assume the problem is one of ignorance. If the behaviour persists, we may suspect that person has a personal issue. Eventually, we entertain the possibility that the person is operating from a different set of rules. For example, in North America, we place a lot of importance on time and punctuality is revered. We rely heavily on day planners and electronic schedulers; the retirement watch is often the parting gift to symbolize the end of a successful career. Common expressions in our language include "spend time," "kill time," "waste time," "do time," "time is money," "one thing at a time," etc. Consider then the example of an employee new to Canada who routinely arrives late for work. Initially, we may assume that he or she is not aware of the expectation of starting on time. If the lateness persists, we may begin to suspect that a personal failing is responsible for the tardiness such as laziness, disregard for rules, or even an addiction. When the employee is finally confronted about the issue of being late, it only then becomes clear that for that person, their concern for supporting relationships is more important than their concern about "time."