The work culture in Dominican Republic

This will be interesting! 

Let's start by saying most expats come here to retire. This was even more the case 10 and 20 years ago.

Now we have a few more coming and working remotely! 

In the DR the law is territorial. If you are here you are subject to the law.  In order to work her legally, you must have either residencia or a work visa!  Showing up and working remotely is illegal.   Right now there is very little interest in tracking those people down or doing anything about it.

It's best to have a job offer before moving here.  Many think, oh I will just move there and find something!  Not so much.

The DR has two major issues: high unemployment and very low wages.

In some age groups and some areas, the unemployment rate is over 30%.

Very few skill sets are treated here like they are at home.  A highly skilled nurse is well paid in many areas. Here, they will get maybe US 400 a mont.

Most businesses run in Spanish so you will need to be fairly proficient!

The work week here is 44 hours a week. Normal schedule is 5 1/2 days a week. Personally I hate it so in my companies we work a 5 day week

As an employee here everyone knows their rights! As an employer you better respect them.

The culture here is still pretty classist. There isn't a lot of interaction across the various levels in larger companies.

Let's talk about being on time!  A personal pet peeve!  Get your ass to work on time!  Grrrrrrrr.  Late is just so normal here!

Lunch or meal time is one thing you do not mess with!  Most here have an automatic alarm clock in their stomachs! 

For those unaware this is based on almost 20 years of working and running businesses here across many different sectors!  Currently I manage 70' employees, none are expats.

Good info Planner, and that is just the tip of the iceburg.  Accountants, bookkeepers, ITBIS, DGII, Infotep, Social Security, Liquidation, 13th salary, vacations, the many public holidays, Registro Mercanitil if you are a registered business, lawyers, employment contracts, termination and severance pay, being their primary lender for everything.  And then you start with the vendors and suppliers.  It is not an easy task running or owning a business here, all while trying to figure out the culture and laws as you go.  And good luck if you are not here legally and you upset one of your workers!  They will hang you out to dry so fast!  I count myself very lucky with my small crew of employees.  I treat them well, respect them and pay them very well, and they in turn respect me, care about the business, and work very well for their salary. 

But they still can't show up on time...

Some battles are best left alone.

Thanks UncleBuck. I am thinking we will start another thread about the joys of owning a business!!  That is a whole other topic for sure!!!!

Yes very valid point, some battle to step away from and some to take on!

Interesting exercise - I reviewed the logs of my office staff.  From 3 to 4 people at any given time.  In 52 weeks last year NOT once did we go a week without someone being late or staying a full day!!!!

I would love to hear your comments about how women are treated differently at work, the kind of jobs they can get in cities and elsewhere, pay differences, etc.

Are women bosses accepted in a machista society?

Women are still second class here in many regards. Women are paid less. Women rarely rise to higher management.  Women are in most service type jobs, receptionists etc. 

We are seeing more women getting higher education.  We are seeing more doctors, engineers etc.  But that does not translate into good wages.

Women bosses are  not automatically respected. If I, a woman say something vs my GM, a man saying something, its treated very differently. He is listened to and I may not be.

Men are preferred in a position then  women,  because of the old standard that men have to support a family.  Also  women have more reasons to miss work, they are responsible for any children and have different health needs.  And its assumed that men can work longer hours!

And women will earn less than a man.

work culture?

hmmm...

let me ponder that one awhile..

I noticed if you make an appointment, they dont really understand what is the reason, ie, that you want to meet and conduct business at a specific time.  Once I went into the bank and requested we do that, and they said just come on in when your ready.  We will help you as soon as possible.

Even if an appointment is made it will rarely be honored or kept!  They will tell you that it just doesn't work!  Bull dingleberries!

and none/mnay has professionalism, they don' t respext if you are talking with someone performing business.

my wife lbeing dominican and now more american cause of me lol, she lets them have it all the time. lol

it is a comedy for me going out with her lol

totally agree  Darlene, they don' t share house chores like we do! lol

cooking, washing dishes, clesning the house, washing clothes, ironing etc lol, maybe we were raised different lol

I a personally advacate women's advancement and education.

Work culture .?LOL  ……. When someone tells me they are coming to give an estimate 😂

at 9  it could be between 9 -12 , it could b 2 days from now if they show at all , I had one guy showed up 2-1/2 hours later and was mad at me because I left and didn't wait for him ..🤣 , and he looked puzzled when I asked why didn't he call me to tell me he was going to be late… so I told him he wouldn't get the job , very irresponsible here , and if you hire someone 4 out of 5 days there late to start…. No gas , dropped the kids off , I needed coffee , bike wouldn't start , always an excuse ,

It takes only a minute to call you and to place a call and say, hello, I am on my way but I cant make it on time.  I think it depends who they are working for.  If you work at a hotel and you keep coming in late, you will lose your job quickly.  Those people understand what it means to be on time.  Others, unless there are immediate consequences, they still have to learn how satisfied customers give you more business and pass the news on.

the culture is not formatted for any kind of serious conduct...it is just caribbean laissez faire.

i have called car dealers on 3 different listed numbers and nobody answers the call.  in the USA if you work in an office and the phone rings the person nearest to it had better answer it before it rings 3 times, or prepare to see a reprimand in their personnel file. in the DR someone will eventually get to it...maybe.

I'm sure it's more in the blue collar field , I noticed in the utility companies or banks they open on time and everyone is at their desk , I've had people start a job and then not show for a week without a call , and when they did I had a replacement just to show them I'm not waiting for them ….

DR is not a consumer culture. In the USA consumerism IS the culture. Relentless advertising, pushy salespeople, metrics, sales goals, "you're fired", go go go, etc. It is this "rat race" culture many of us are trying to remove ourselves from.

Conversely, folks here act like they just don't care. They simply want to clock out, collect their pay, and go home and party. And many ex-pat businesses here, at least in Las Terrenas, are run like a "hobby". They don't care about your time, or their business reputation. It's just some extra cash. I am generalizing here. There are some good businesses. But my overall observations are not positive.

It is an odd adjustment but it's just how it is. Lower your expectations I guess.

Not sure Rocky.

Y'day in Nagua I needed gas - as I pulled into the station the attendants started waving me to their pump

There must be some incentive for them...... all very eager to serve

Try and get an attendant's attention some days in the US

I did say I was generalizing. The overall motivations are simply different here. Try walking into a restaurant here and have the server welcome you and start rattling off their specials for the day. Not going to happen.

Not to say you are not going to have some good experiences here. I've had some.

I think this thread is all about generalizing just based on the questions asked.  Hard not to when asked about the "work culture". 

I have had some good experiences. I have had lots of bad experiences.  Some from Dominican owned and run businesses, some from expat owned and run businesses! 

Its definitely NOT a customer service oriented culture. PERIOD. 

I agree Planner it depends on the business and the owners. Sometimes it feels like they just want to do enough for today and leave tomorrow for another day! I have had a few projects put on hold because the crew has disappeared but then I have had some very eager and very hard working looking to keep busy everyday with more work! Like any place you have go getters and no getters! All I can say is if you find  good one hang on to them! lol

And when you find the good ones,  dont tell too many people!  They will become too busy to do your projects! 

I am considering DomRep as a second home ideally with resident status - I am retired. This why I am here.

So a few Informations were really helpful, thanks.

I can not resist a comment on some "descriptions" regarding work in DomRep.

I would relate many of these "bad experiences" to - "special" time management there (smile), and "NO company first" thinking - which is coming just from "different cultural values" for instance the "family first". Its not a specific DomRep issue. By the way acc. to my observation - they know the "company first" and customer care, but in there own businesses / family business (Restaurants, Cab Drivers, little shops etc).

I am German and I have been working more than 15 years abroad as expat in 2nd world / emerging countries eg. Malaysia, China, Spain in the 80ties. Our "company first, or punctuality requirements" were / are just not compatible standards overthere.

In a one week multicult. training for an Asia-Assignement we were told - like a mantra - "one has to adapt, get used to the "mode of operation" / working culture in the relevant country, otherwise the fights are endless, exhausting, and the assignements more than unproductive!" And we were told "no assimilation" , keep your standards, since this is expected fromyou (German in my case) - but... :-)

I had to overcome those problems (e.g. time management) for instance in Malaysia (even with educated people from the military!) "2 hours late is more the rule than exception". And no sense of impropriety whatsoever. By the way - Thailand is different in this context - more to our standards. Central Africa is by far worse :-) The worse area acc. to my knowledge is India (blue collars). This is why 20 years ago the most modern & most automated Car Production in the world was built in India (by Ford, if am not mistaken) - at that time the lowest wages in Asia.

Message: To those who seem annoyed - better to adopt and find work arounds. I blocked my meeting room for 2-3 hours even for a planned "short" visit of my customers, or I took work with me to the meetings rooms outside my Office. But the most important thing - like a mantra say to yourself - they don't mean me, it's not disrespect... smile!

@polo1club Totally agree!!! There are always two sides to the coin, and many possible perspectives!

PS. I am wondering which standards many of the comment writers here are applying... Customer orientation? Probably invented in US... and certainly on the rise in ROW :-) but....

I enjoyed the friendliness there - was there only 2 months - traveled around the country. Many nice very friendly contacts (stores, cab drivers, hotel staff, hairdresser and so on). But I also made two three crass experiences. And which still serve me as anecdotes...

I was recently working for a "large scale" dive company, to gain experience.

Most of my co-workers were great, friendly and helpful.

Agree with most:

no orientation.  no introduction to supervisors/ boss/ chain of company

no explanation of how payment works.  Short pay every check (last one 50% less).

no real schedule.  short notice of where I'd be working.

lacking standards for PADI instruction basics

poor equipment.  lack of proper gear.

small theft of personal items from my bag.

That being said, it doesn't dissuade me from the industry.  I'm old and wise enough not to continue long term with a "red flag" operation.

More concerning for me now (as mentioned in other posts) is the mysterious banking practices, horrendous smoke conditions which reflect to development business practices, lack of enforcement (or ability to).

All of this is making me reconsider long term residence here.  Glad I'm still renting and able to mobilize.

Looking into other areas first before making the big call.

Thanks to everyone for the variety of perspective.  Not everything is bad, but you need to pay attention to the signals when you're making your own future.

Wishing you all success.  Hahahaha, look me up if you want to "safely" go diving

I read some experiences here that did not match my experience at all (2 months DomRep in 2021, just to see if DomRep could be a residency for my retirement).

I thought a bit about what could be an explanation? I approached people in fairly decent Spanish.

And... . Last year I traveled through south/southeast Europe. Traditionally quite some hospitality, friendliness there! One observation: If I addressed people directly in English, without e.g. friendly, apologetic "sorry, do you speak English, I do not speak xyz etc - and possibly with a demanding undertone, I could be pretty sure to get at least a rude reaction in many cases.

It seems to be intimidating or at least making insecure!

PS. This effect I then used as a "weapon" against rude Officials (Customs, Airport etc) e.g. in Spain. What then in 9 of 10 led to a minimum politeness of the officials...

Just my thoughts may be worthwhile a consideration..? Cheers Martin

@plannerHello,

Your view of the way women are treated as professionals in the DR is the same way as the rest of our continent, so why are you pointing it out like is just a Dominican issue? You need to rectify your comment.

I commented on here, as I see it.  No idea what "the rest of our continent is" and no I will not "rectify" my comment. Seriously your first post on the forums and this is what you want to say?

    @plannerHello,
Your view of the way women are treated as professionals in the DR is the same way as the rest of our continent, so why are you pointing it out like is just a Dominican issue? You need to rectify your comment.
   

    -@joyfreedom775

I don't know about Canada, but the US is lightyears ahead of DR in regards to women's equality. What Planner pointed out about the lack of respect for women is very real, and much more significant here than in the US.

@planner

yep , that late thing is a pet peeve of mine. in the DR , they show the kids its ok to be late. In my world, on time is 15 minutes late. My first date in the DR the woman was an hour and a half late! And the guys I met while in the DR just laughed and told me not to leave, she will show up and she did.

I am learning to just leave my USA mentality for some things back in the USA.

I will disagree.  Being late like that is disrespectful and sets a tone.  I will never accept that behavior.

@UncleBuck

i agree , we are in their world. its a part of the culture I do not understand and THEY do not understand why I dont understand. When I question tardiness , they just give me a whimsical look. The being late thing is not some of the time , its ALL THE TIME. Its everywhere.

I went on xmas vaca 2023  with some wonderful Dominican people, there were 3 adult women, 3 young children and a 5 month baby ( he cant walk but if he could....he would have been late. )

It was announced that "santa" would be rowing ashore in full costume and would pass out gifts to the children. My friends were 30 min late and missed the entire proceeding's. they casually strolled to the beach and did not care that santa came and left. They were late for every single function for that vaca, it was my first extended time with them and it drove me nuts. In the end, I just shrugged my shoulders and fell in lock step. I was on vaca and I let it go.

If I ran a business there, I would make the policy clear, have them sign that they understand. and then verbal warning , first time, 2 written warnings the second and third time. And the fourth time, send them packing.

I have 85 employees and every single one understands we do not run on Dominican time!

My social life does not run on Dominican time either.

@planner

ok I can dig it, so all 85 are always on time and never late? What is your work policy , if I may ask. I am considering starting a tech school in the DR and I am doing research as to feasability. My plan is to line up technical companies that have facilities in the DR or are planning to.

I was involved with a program similar to this in Los Angeles ,where the students repaired electrincs while they acheived a certificate in electronics.

I am just exploring at this point. But I would like to learn more about what is the business that you run and how well it is doing? Or is that a conversation best held on PM? thanks, I appreiacte you experiance and wisdom.

I own and run several different businesses and happy to discuss privately. I will message you!