Cultural roots of Thai behaviour
The basis behind certain work habits
KRIENGSAK NIRATPATTANASAI
Last week, in the first of our two-part series on orientation for expats new to
Thailand, we discussed how history and social aspects influenced Thai people.
Today we conclude our discussion.
Though about 95% of the population is Buddhist, most Thais adhere to the
dictates of Brahminism and animism. A lot of them do not differentiate among
Buddhism and the other two beliefs. Buddhism is more of a philosophy while the
other two ways deal more with customs and practices. Buddhists believe in the
karma; what goes around, will come around. The mai pen rai (it doesn't matter)
attitude is influenced by this belief. It helps to calm down a situation with a
lot of flexibility and forgiveness. However, foreigners might perceive that
Thais lack ambition.
Thai parents raise and sponsor their children till they finish the highest level
of education desired. It is rare to find Thai students who work while studying.
This creates a strong bonding with the family. Thai children also have an
obligation or Boon-koon (repaying gratitude) to their parents by taking care of
them until they die. That is why there are not many nursing homes in the
country.
This also creates the poo yai system (seniority). In families, Thais educate
their children to listen to poo-yai regardless of whether they are right or
wrong. Children must be sam-ruam (polite, passive, modest) in front of poo yai.
For example, you have to bend down a little bit when a poo-yai walks by.
Kreng-jai is a core value of Thais. We have a sombat poo dee (the etiquette
manual). The manual says kreng jai is the core characteristic for civilised
people. Kreng-jai means you should not criticise someone if he says something
wrong in order to save face (hai kiat) for the speaker. You should be sam ruam
(self-controlled) when sitting in public.
The Thai economy is heavily agricultural, with rice being by far the leading
crop. The country has only become industrialised in the past 30 years.
Foreigners from countries that have been industrialised for more than 200 years
are often disappointed by the Thai mentality if they expect to use their own
standards here. It's not because Thais are not smart. It's more a reflection of
the different stages of development.
In an agricultural-based society, people rely a lot on nature. When Thai farmers
grow rice, they do not work under a particular timeframe. Time is in a broad
sense like seasons. With less emphasis placed on specific time, Thais may not be
serious about punctuality to the hour or minute.
In the old days, the planting of rice was very labour intensive which required a
lot of help from neighbours. They would gather groups of people to work together
called long-kag. With this kind of work, Thais needed to rely on their
relationships with friends. They tried to avoid conflict and confrontation in
order to preserve relationships.
After the work was done, most Thais would gather together and have some sanook
(fun). The whole group might sing, dance and laugh together. Work is translated
in the Thai language as ngan. The word is associated with a lot of activities;
ngan boon (merit), ngan pee mai (new year celebration), ngan sob (funeral), ngan
kathin (a kind of group merit-making), ngan tang ngan (marriage) etc. Most of
ngan would be associated with fun. You will see Thais work very hard but also
laugh and smile at the same time. However, many foreigners take the view that
Thais are not serious or concentrated and were careless about their work.
The Thai education system has traditionally stressed copying. For undergraduate
students, there is a lack of career planning and advice from teachers. Most
teachers teach by one way _ lecturing. The lack of participation in classroom is
a behavior that most students take with them in the work environment.
Analytical skills have not been taught much in school and creativity has been
considered a talent. In most schools there is not much emphasis on creativity,
unless it is a vocational school specialising in the arts.
- Kriengsak Niratpattanasai is the founder of The Coach, specialising in
training and consulting in sales and leadership. He can be reached at
02-517-3126 or knirat@ksc.th.com.
