'Our personalities are deeply influenced by our environment'. A Chinese man who was born and brought up in the USA was assigned a project in China. In spite of being Chinese, he did not speak the language. When he went to China as an Expatriate manager, he was baffled to notice that the country of his origin seemed so alien to him. His Chinese counterparts referred to him as a 'Banana' because they said that he was a yellow man on the exterior but had the soul of a white man.
Many NRIs face a similar situation. While the Indian lifestyle and society at large is changing at a very rapid pace however for many Indians, who have been born and brought up overseas, making the cultural transformation is not an easy ride. Apart from this, they have to adapt themselves to the work culture, the infrastructure, the food habits and the climatic differences. It requires a degree of adjustment and realignment which is often underestimated by the NRIs.
Some of the hurdles faced by NRIs when they come back home:
Adapting to the social environment
One of the first challenges that NRIs face when they come back home is to re-establish relationships and networks from scratch. It is human nature to try to look for yourself in the people around you. And when this is not possible it could be emotionally draining for some as they feel disconnected from their social environment. This is even more pronounced in case an individual who has lived all his life in a highly individualistic country moves base to India which is a highly collectivist society.
Adapting to the work environment
The work culture in India depends on the organization. Usually Indian companies tend to be more hierarchical than multinational companies. In general, ours is a rapidly growing and a very competitive market. Therefore working on weekends and long hours is common; something that can surprise Europeans who do not work weekends and are usually accustomed to long vacations.
Challenges for the family
NRIs who move to India along with their families find it challenging to find the right schools for their children. This is very important for them because they want to create a comfortable environment for their children in their formative years and hence they do not want their children to feel left out or different from their peers.
In addition to making new friends and adapting to a new education system, in some cases these children do not speak the local languages and have to make an effort to pick up these languages. It is observed that teenagers find it tougher to adapt in case of relocation in comparison to young children. Spouses of NRIs who are of foreign origin can experience some major culture shocks and grapple with communication issues.
Housing
Housing is a major challenge for NRIs who return. They are particular about the kind of house that they want to live in and also the area or location in which they would want to stay. Normally the areas in which majority of the NRIs settle down have exorbitant rates when in comes to housing. So returnees feel that there is hardly any difference in the rents in the US or UK and in India. Though real estate developers have developed various ‘state of the art’ properties specifically for the NRIs, finding a decent house and appropriate location with the right infrastructure is a challenge. |
