Dominican Work Ethic?

[Mr. Lu]

My question goes for those board members who have employed or have worked with Dominicans: Do Dominicans have a good work ethic? Are they good employees? Are they the type of employees you would like to have attending your company/business or is the work ethic here not comparable to other developed/developing countries?

I know some posters will take an opportunity to make some silly comments and just belittle or demean Dominicans because they have had bad experiences. Please just post personal experiences. If the experiences have been bad please explain why (don't just Dominicans are lazy, bad etc.) and like wise if the experiences have been good explain why. Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be a "domincan bashing thread."

As for personal experiences I feel that the ethic here is lacking. Not to be rude or mean. But at the same time I compare it to the work ethic Americans have so obviously its not comparable. What do y'all think.

 

[CFA123]

I've worked in manufacturing/administration in DR & in U.S. In general I've found little difference in the work ethic. Maybe 5% very good employees, 80% fair, and 15% who have little intent to do much more than collect a check each week.

The challenges here in DR in my experience are

• poorly designed procedures and work flow (management's fault)
• inadequate training (management's fault)
• lack of discipline in following defined procedures (employee)

I don't think North Americans work any harder (in fact I think their work day is generally shorter and easier), but they accomplish more through efficiencies (doesn't matter if you're talking bank tellers, drive-thru at McDonald's, administration, manufacturing, or whatever).

I guess in general my time working here could be summed up as spending time teaching/convincing people to 1) define better work-flow so they could work smarter, not harder and 2) follow set procedures day after day.

Over time, I could definitely see improvements... but what could be implemented in a month in the U.S. could take a year here due to lack of discipline. Breakdowns in process are more readily identified and repaired in U.S. Here people consider it 'normal' and find work arounds on their own that ultimately hurt productivity. [Example: Printer goes down & you can't create barcode labels while packing? In U.S. things would stop for a fix. Here, they'll go on packing and writing cryptic content information on the boxes. No one will mention anything until it's time to load a truck and you can't scan cartons onto the container. You end up missing a shipment which could've been avoided & spend the next week unpacking boxes & repacking putting you behind on other orders]

 

[SKY]

If you pay a Dominican salary do not expect much productivity. You get what you pay for. Pay anywhere near what you would pay in the US and you will get excellent help here.

 

[Mr. Lu]

CFA123 good post! Anyone else? and I agree with SKY about getting what you pay for, but what if pay were the same would the work ethic be the same?

 

[bob saunders]

It has been my observation through 30+ years of supervising people that people that have a good work ethic work hard regardless of the wage. My wife has found that the biggest problem she has with finding good competent help in the DR is personal initiative is lacking and following directions is problematic. I think it's pretty hard to generalize in regards to the work ethic of a nation or ethenicity. Mexicans are always though of being lazy, but I couldn't keep up with most of them, and many times I've received compliments on my work ethic.

 

[Mr. Lu]

Bob Saunders, what does your wife work in may I ask?

 

[CFA123]

Another thing I want to mention... even the worst actions in the workplace were generally backed by the absolute best of intentions.

When properly directed, you can move mountains with the Dominican workforce. Just don't expect to do it exactly as you would have planned. And, you can learn a thing or ten yourself along the way

 

[Nyeden]

CFA123 good post! Anyone else? and I agree with SKY about getting what you pay for, but what if pay were the same would the work ethic be the same?

I some what agree with sky.. but I do agree with OP comments about a "lack of discipline" SOME workers there have no sense of urgency of what so ever.(at least in the D.R) If you go to get something done let say at 11;30 most likely you won't because they complain is close to lunch.. If you go at 2:30 they complain is too close to going home.

 

[El_Uruguayo]

Depending on the upbringing of the person, if they are given incentive (i.e. good salary, or a chance of advancement) you'll find a good work ethic, domincans or not. If somebody is barely scraping by, and doesn't really see much chance for improvement, they won't be motivated. I think this is what happens in poorer countries, work ethic, and ethics in general take a hit when what is earned doesn't allow them to live a good life. My girlfriend for instance works close to 70hrs a week, and is constantly busy, she has a stronger work ethic than most North Americans I know - she does have good incentives though. But there are many examples to the contrary - most aren't making much. However, those on the bottom of the pole - hatians, many seem to have a strong work ethic. They work hard, don't slack too much, don't take breaks, and do what they are told. I guess in their situation, even if they might be earning less than most dominicans, they are still making a lot more than they would at home - which is an incentive for them.

(I know you weren't asking for experience, but one thing I found funny is that I was told in a round-about way not to put me feet on the desk (in my office), yet people would fall asleep at the office, and there was no problem, hehe)

 

[bob saunders]

Bob Saunders, what does your wife work in may I ask?

My wife owns a private school where she employs teachers, assistants, cleaners, accountant, computer techs, secretary, lawyer, administrator, handymen...etc.

 

[Matilda]

I employ Dominicans and Haitians in my colmado and in my house. Without exception they have a great work ethic. In the colmado they work 6.30am to 10pm but take it in turns to have a few hours off in the afternoon. But when you talk to Dominicans what motivates them is not the job nor the money...it is the boss. If you are someone they can talk to, who understands them and their problems and issues, who treats them as a friend, then I guarantee they will move mountains for you. Treat them badly and you will get nothing in return.

Matilda

 

[SKY]

I employ Dominicans and Haitians in my colmado and in my house. Without exception they have a great work ethic. In the colmado they work 6.30am to 10pm but take it in turns to have a few hours off in the afternoon. But when you talk to Dominicans what motivates them is not the job nor the money...it is the boss. If you are someone they can talk to, who understands them and their problems and issues, who treats them as a friend, then I guarantee they will move mountains for you. Treat them badly and you will get nothing in return.

Matilda

I could not agree more with you. They hate to be looked down on. Treat them as equals and they will do wonders for you.

One thing they hate is a female Dominican boss that has money or is married to a rich gringo and thinks she is way above the help.

 

[Criss Colon]

No Comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!

My Mom told me that if you have "
NOTHING good to say,DON"T!
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[cobraboy]

My recent experience in getting things done in the DR is that a sense of urgency is missing.

When a commitment is made to produce a document, contract, proposal or something similar, a day becomes 3 weeks, and there is always a reason why it couldn't get done on a deadline.

Of course, it's always done with a smile...:classic:

 

[Lambada]

Overall I have found a tremendous willingness to work but sometimes an inability to work out the steps required to logically tackle the issue and I attribute this to the Dominican public education system which does not teach children to problem solve from an early age.

My recent experience in getting things done in the DR is that a sense of urgency is missing. When a commitment is made to produce a document, contract, proposal or something similar, a day becomes 3 weeks, and there is always a reason why it couldn't get done on a deadline.

Of course, it's always done with a smile...:classic:

Small hint on this one if I may, cobraboy, since you're moving here very soon? Work out in your own mind first what is a reasonable time frame: then when the suggestion comes back 'one day' smile knowingly and outline all the reasons why this is not possible (including Grandma's funeral, the cat having kittens etc all with a huge smile on your face) and ask for a more realistic time frame, particularly if you build in remuneration penalties (again with a big smile, you won't actually be applying them but you're making out you are). I've found that once you have arrived at an agreed realistic time frame, people won't want to let you down because you have already outlined all the excuses you will be likely to hear and to repeat those in 4 days time would make the other person loose face and that they definitely wouldn't want to do. It's like a game of chess; predict what you're likely to hear back and blow it out of the water in a friendly, fond fashion; that way the effort becomes joint and not adversarial.

Many Dominicans think we foreigners want 'it' (the job) done yesterday and they're right; mostly we operate on first world timescales. So if we can loose some of that frenetic aura whilst letting it be known that we already know all the reasons why it'll be 'late'..........there is a happy median which can be achieved & which makes both parties happy. Just don't ever believe the first deadline you are offered; it isn't really a deadline, it's to see whether you're aplatanado or not.

 

[Chip]

My recent experience in getting things done in the DR is that a sense of urgency is missing.

When a commitment is made to produce a document, contract, proposal or something similar, a day becomes 3 weeks, and there is always a reason why it couldn't get done on a deadline.

Of course, it's always done with a smile...:classic:

Robert, Robert, Robert ... buddy - this is the tropics - we don't hurry or worry about anything. :glasses: It won't be long before we have you converted too, haha!

Look forward to seeing you soon.

ciao

 

[cobraboy]

I understand it's the tropics, I understand the sense of urgency is different, we're dealing with it.

When I'm told "tommorow", I assume three weeks MOL. But when three weeks turns into two+ months, one has to scratch their head.

Keep in mind that Alida is fully aware of the curtural attitudes of the Dominican "timeline". So when a Dominican begins to get frustrated, you know something is up.

We're only a month behind schedule. Not a huge crisis.

The OP's question was about work ethic. My response is an anecdote on just that...

 

[Chip]

The fact is my response is almost toungue in cheek. At times the responses of the locals to get or do things on time has been quite frustrating. I have tried to minimize the amount of "time constrained" needs in my life or had to adapt to not implode from the frustration. However, there are times when I don't budge, but fortunately they are few and far between. Communication is the key as I have found. There are certain idosyncracies to what Dominicans consider "normal" and "important" when it comes to businesses - once one figures out how they are thinking and the expectations they have for a successful outcome(often different from ours), it isn't that difficult to explain to them the difference of the more or less Western business expectations.

 

[dv8]

story with a moral

wedding was supposed to be on friday, we told modista to have it ready on wednesday. fabric delivered four days in advance same with measurements.
we had: headache, bad weather, working late and now tired, come tomorrow. i ended up picking a dress 5 hours before the ceremony.
now, we lied to her about deadline because we knew she will not finish on time. she lied about having it ready on our imaginary deadline because she knew we lied to her too.:bunny:
she did a great job but she was very slow with it. dominicans will do things their own way but in most cases they will do the job. eventually. almost.
i won't complain much about that because i lack work ethics myself, my motto is: "how to do things so that i do not get tired but i DO get paid" :cheeky:
if you have dominican workers keep the leash short but give credit when credit's due. i would not exactly agree with matilda and her "be good to dominican and dominican will be good to you" - some will abuse your kindness.

 

[49erman]

"Dominican Work Ethic" is up there with "Military Intellignce" and "Egyptian Maintenance" for oxymorons!!!!