The affective other: Finnish executives adapting in India

Description

Because of its skilled labor force and low costs, India is a lucrative destination for many international companies to do business. Hence, also many Finland-based companies have branched out, established, founded factories, created joint ventures with India-based companies etc., and many Finns have moved to India permanently or temporarily to work as an executive in India. However, India is not a particularly desired location for Finnish executive level professionals looking for assignments abroad, because many associate it with negative affective elements such as dirtiness, diseases, smell, noise, crowds, heat, insects, violence, and general insecurity. On the other hand, some find such matters rewarding challenges to experience, and appreciate India’s other “colorful” stimuli that are largely absent in Finland. Moreover, to work as an executive in a company with Indian co-workers is to navigate different understandings of workplace hierarchy, time-use, monitoring, work ethic, initiative and so on. Cultural and social adaptation of Finnish executives in India is also an affective adaptation process in that being in charge in an Indian working environment means one experiences and comes across frustration, anger, joy, fear, sorrow, exhaustion etc. in working relations in a way that requires special affect management. This paper is based on 12 thematically structured interviews conducted in India and Finland about the experiences and adaptation processes of Finns living in India and working as executives in companies located in India. The aim of the paper is to describe and understand what working as a Finnish executive means as an affective experience.

Period	21 Mar 2023
Event title	The Biennal Conference of the Finnish Anthropological Society 2023: Relations and beyond
Event type	Conference
Location	Rovaniemi, FinlandShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International