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POWER DISTANCE
How do UK people treat authority? Do they reverence leadership positions as much as they seem to do their much-publicized monarchy? Or do they consider them first among equals to be tolerated where necessary and listened to when felt like? We asked two native respondents to give us their take on power distance in UK family dynamics and work environment.
Hofstede on Power Distance in the UK
Hofstede on Power Distance in the UK
The concept of power distance in Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory can be used to understand the family values and work culture of the UK. According to Hofstede (2001), the United Kingdom has a score of 35 (out of a maximum 100) on the power distance index. This is a low score, which indicates that relative to other cultures, people in UK prefer a more even distribution of power and less hierarchical relationships within family and work institutions.
So what do our two respondents have to say about power distance in their own lived experiences?
So what do our two respondents have to say about power distance in their own lived experiences?
Family Culture: Amy and George
Family Culture: Amy and George
Our respondents Amy and George (*names changed) are a married couple in York whose children have reached adulthood. The husband-and-wife team said that they adopted quite an ‘open’ parenting style when raising their children. Rules were set, but in their opinion never too strict and always accompanied with explanations. They were trusting with their children, and quoted their guiding parenting principle as "Trust them until they let you down". On the issue of going out, for example, they couched their rules using the language ‘you may go out, but…’ instead of ‘you can’t go out…’.
On family decisions, Amy and George would usually take their children's opinions into account. For instance, when deciding a location for a family trip, they would ask each family member to write down three locations and rank the locations in order of preference. The duo then selected the destination based on the expressed preferences of all family members. Additionally, they gave their children the freedom to pick their own extra-curricular activities. If a child chose an activity that they found unsuitable, they negotiated with him/her and aimed to resolve the matter through a give-and-take approach.
When it came to their children’s education, Amy and George said they had hopes but not expectations as they believe that their children need to be who they are. They did not feel a need to pressure their children to do well in school or to hire private tutors for their children to boost their academic performance. However, they expressed the view that private tutors could be helpful for getting children from where they are to where they need to be in order to reach their own academic and professional goals.
Their description of their parenting style and family dynamics aligns with Hofstede’s analysis of power distance in the UK family. Parents treat their children as equals and see them as individuals with their own goals, preferences and personalities (Hofstede, 2011). In resolving differences with their children, they do not simply assert their power arising from their status as parents, but appeal to reason and objective standards of right and wrong (Hofstede, 2011). Children are consulted for their views and are involved in the decision-making process when it comes to family affairs or matters affecting them (Hofstede, 2011).
Work Culture: Amy
Work Culture: Amy
Our first respondent Amy is a healthcare professional who works with outgoing patients to ensure they have the necessary medicine and self-care knowledge to stay healthy after leaving the hospital. Amy described her workplace as "open" and "easygoing", and her longtime former chief officer as "friendly" and "very approachable". She considered the CO open to ideas, compromises, and even contradictions from lower-level employees, and said that if she disagreed with any decision she would feel comfortable raising the issue directly with the CO, and would expect to be heard out fairly and reasonably. This equitable relationship between Amy and her supervisor aligns with the UK’s low power distance score.
Interestingly, Amy described her new CO as much more authoritarian and less open to discussion or disagreement, and noted that this was a likely consequence of the new CO’s youth (in real terms and relative to Amy and her colleagues) and desire to prove her competence. This would appear to be the influence of UK’s high individualism score, which may apparently serve to counteract the low power distance score of the UK.
Work Culture: George
Work Culture: George
Our second respondent George was a worker at a chocolate factory, answering to a shift officer. Having worked with multiple shift officers over his career, George described his supervisors as consistently easygoing and approachable both in and out of the workplace. At work, they were firm but friendly and were always at home to suggestions for improving productivity; outside of work, they were jovial pals to share a meal or a drink with. In fact, it wasn't unknown at his workplace for workers to correct the shift officer if the officer was making a mistake, such as incorrect safety wear. George’s experience is again in line with the UK’s low power distance score, and provides further evidence for a general trend of equitable relationships in UK working culture.
National Tendencies
National Tendencies
The descriptions of work and family culture given by our two respondents appear to conform to wider trends in UK society. In one study of British and French hotel managers, the researchers found that the British hotel managers preferred a "personal approach" toward work and work relationships, would give employees a balanced mix of positive and negative feedback, and favoured reasoned and analytical decision-making over unilateral spontaneity (Groschl & Doherty, 2006). In another study of British and Egyptian technical education managers, British managers were found to highly value work relationships and compromise, while less prioritising employee conformity and conflict elimination (Brown & Humphreys, 1995). Current academic literature also suggests that families in the UK value self-direction more than obedience when it comes to raising their children (Stopes-Roe & Cochrane, 1990). The reported experiences of Amy and George thus corroborate with the patterns of family and work culture captured in academic research.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The above evidence has shown how family and workplace dynamics are affected by cultural values of power distance. Yet culture is always changing, always in motion, and the passage of a single generation may see existing values entrenched, eroded, or reversed. With tectonic changes such as the COVID pandemic and Brexit shifting the landscape of UK society, the evolution of UK’s cultural and values will remain a subject of interest for the foreseeable future.
References
Brown, A. D., & Humphreys, M. (1995). International cultural differences in public sector management. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 8(3), 5–23. doi:10.1108/09513559510088533
Groschl, S., & Doherty, L. (2006). The complexity of culture: Using the appraisal process to compare French and British managers in a UK-based international hotel organisation. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 25(2), 313–334. doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2005.04.002
Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1014
Stopes-Roe, M. & Cochrane, R. (1990). The child-rearing values of Asian and British parents and young people: An inter-ethnic and inter-generational comparison in the evaluation of Kohn's 13 qualities. British Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 149-160.
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