Dealing with the Dutch
Jacob Vossestein

This book is meant for readers from other countries who have dealings with the Netherlands through work or business. Foreigners working with Dutch people seldom experience problems related to sloth or inefficiency. If their work brings them to Holland itself, it is rarely inadequate infrastructure that bothers them, or other problems involving logistics and ‘hardware’. Expatriates residing in the Netherlands hardly ever suffer from inadequate housing, insecurity or lack of facilities for the accompanying family. Few people have to worry about such aspects, after the phase of settling in, which always produces some uneasiness. Rather, they keep telling me it is the underlying values and norms of their Dutch colleagues (or counterparts, or subordinates) that puzzle them and sometimes cause irritation. What this book intends to do, therefore, is to focus on this system of values and norms. Using quotations from foreigners who have already dealt with the Dutch, I shall put these observations into the wider context of Dutch culture and society. One shall concentrate on the level of everyday contacts in work and business, informing you about what is likely to happen in Holland and advising you on how to overcome misunderstandings and prevent irritation. Norms and values are not stable, but in recent years, Dutch society has been changing rather rapidly. Old structures like religion, ideologies and family life seem to be breaking up, while ‘the hot breath of the market’ has now, after affecting Dutch companies, also touched government policies. The younger generations have a different, at times even sharply contrasting, view of life and the world than their elders. However, cultural characteristics and ‘typical behaviour’ do not change overnight. They may re-appear in other forms. | have tried to take this into account by, on the one hand, sketching present-day Dutch culture with its underlying, historical roots, while on the other, embellishing the picture with examples of changes that appear crucial. One widespread misunderstanding should be cleared up. So far, the names ‘Holland’ and ‘the Netherlands’ have been used as if they are identical…..