The Girl's Guide to Surviving a Czech Office

But there were a few things that took some getting used to. “The first week, I had lunch with the office director and he told me not to be offended if no one spoke to me for awhile.” Sure enough, Laura´s colleagues offered little more than perfunctory greetings at first, but a couple months later started dropping by her desk to chat. This perceived unfriendliness is certainly something that all newcomers to the Czech Republic experience. But women should be prepared for a few other cultural “quirks.”

Come-hither career girls
For Laura, one of the most noticeable differences has been some of her female co-worker´s sexy style of dress. “The dress code presented as ‘business casual´ on my first day was interpreted differently than in the U.S. office, at least for women,” she says. “Spaghetti-strap shirts and short skirts are completely acceptable here, as is some cleavage.” For women like Laura, who come from a corporate society that views inappropriate business dress as unprofessional, not to mention demeaning, such fashion choices can be puzzling.

In this situation, it’s useful to shift cultural perceptions. Feminist scholars agree that historically, Czechs come from a society that suppressed femininity in the labor force while the sexual objectification of women was more of an American feminist concern. “During the communist era, there was no discussion of the objectification of women because there was no woman’s movement. Simply put, it was not a hot topic,” says Lucie Biderová, project manager for Gender Studies, a non-profit group that educates the public about gender-relevant issues. No better evidence of these varying ideologies exists than the controversial 2011 calendar featuring prominent female politicians in sultry poses.

Anna*, a poet and former English instructor at one of Prague´s top language schools, actually believes that her safe clothing choices worked against her. “I was wearing corduroy blazers and long skirts to teach business English and some of my students complained to the director who in turn questioned me about my ‘too independent´ style of dress,” she says. “Once the class was over I wasn´t asked to take that section again. The teacher who replaced me was blonde and wore low-cut tops. My students were all men.”

The final word on appropriate office dress? Andrea Fialova, a representative for Grafton Recruitment in Prague, tells us, “there can be some confusion, especially for women, over business casual and what it means on an international level. The trend we’re seeing right now is toward more formal office dress.” No matter where you work, she says, clothes should always be ironed and neat, as people in the Czech Republic tend to be fussy about these things. When in doubt, observe your superiors and follow their lead. (It´s also worth noting that scantily clad Czech colleagues may just be dressing for the weather. After three years in an office without central air, I´m now the first one to go sleeveless come July.)

Interoffice comedians
As Laura got to know her colleagues better, she was soon privy to one particular male co-worker´s occasional sexist jokes. “I’ve noticed that people are a bit less politically correct in the Czech Republic than they are in the States, in terms of sexism, racism, etc.,” she says. Indeed so-called “mild” instances of sexual harassment are still very much tolerated in the Czech Republic. According to 2005 research conducted by the Social Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, in fields that are predominantly male, such as agriculture and manufacturing, nearly half of the women interviewed said that they´d either personally or indirectly experienced harassing behavior from male colleagues, almost always supervisors.