Somali Culture and the American Workplace: Key Challenges
This paper examines the cultural, religious, and social factors that shape the experience of Somali immigrants in the American workplace. Beginning with background on Somalia and the Somali diaspora, it explores how most Americans perceive Somalis through the lens of popular culture and negative media coverage, and how those perceptions create challenges. The paper analyzes organizational behavior considerations under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, covering religious accommodation, dietary practices, communication styles, tribal dynamics, language barriers, and the impact of Somalia's reputation for corruption. It concludes with practical observations on how businesses — particularly in areas with established Somali communities — have made progress integrating Somali workers, and what gaps remain.
- Country Background and the Somali Diaspora: Somalia's strife drives emigration and US challenges
- Somali Dealings with Americans: Somali-Americans navigate racism and Islamophobia daily
- American Perceptions of Somalia: Popular culture shapes largely negative American views
- Stereotypes and Intra-Community Dynamics: Tribal ties create both unity and internal tension
- Organizational Behavior and Legal Considerations: Civil Rights Act requires meaningful religious accommodation
- How Somali Culture Affects the Workplace: Religion, diet, communication, and language shape work life
- Conclusions: Integration progressing but cultural knowledge gaps persist
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Moves logically from macro context (Somalia, diaspora history) to micro context (specific workplace accommodations), giving the reader a well-scaffolded understanding.
- Balances sociocultural description with practical organizational implications, making it useful for both academic and applied audiences.
- Acknowledges complexity honestly — for example, noting that corruption perceptions affect Somali employees even when individuals are blameless, and that well-meaning managers can still discriminate through ignorance.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied cultural analysis: it takes general ethnographic and sociological observations about a diaspora community and maps them directly onto a specific institutional setting (the American workplace). This technique — bridging descriptive cultural knowledge and prescriptive organizational guidance — is characteristic of cross-cultural management writing and diversity studies.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with country and diaspora background, then addresses bilateral perceptions (Somali views of Americans and American views of Somalis), before examining intra-community tribal dynamics. The core analytical section covers specific workplace variables — religion, diet, work style, communication, language, and corruption perceptions — followed by a conclusion synthesizing findings and identifying remaining gaps in integration. Each section builds directly on the one before it.
Country Background and the Somali Diaspora
The country examined in this study is Somalia, located in the Horn of Africa. Somalia has faced a significant amount of strife over the past few decades, which has led to substantial emigration. Somalis have settled in many countries, the United States included, where they face considerable challenges upon arrival. Most Somalis are Muslim, which creates a degree of cultural friction with other communities in America. As Black Africans, they are also subject to racism. Somalis do not enjoy the advantages that some other immigrant groups have, and as a consequence find it harder to secure employment. Additionally, there is significant negative baggage associated with the country itself — rooted in widespread misconceptions stemming from media coverage of the civil war. All of these factors combine to create many challenges for Somalis living in America and for Somalis doing business with Americans.
Somali Dealings with Americans
Americans typically deal with Somali-Americans rather than with Somalis in Somalia, as there are few if any significant business interests operating inside Somalia itself. The expatriate community has varying degrees of familiarity with American cultural norms, depending on education level and occupation. Most interactions with Americans are positive, but Somalis are nonetheless subject to racism and Islamophobia. Many Americans know little about Somalia beyond warlords and pirates, and therefore know next to nothing about Somali culture. The Somali-American community more or less accepts this reality and seeks to interact with other Americans by leveraging its own knowledge of American cultural norms.
The challenges of racism and Islamophobia typically arise in random incidents of varying severity. These pose real difficulties for Somalis when they are confronted with such individuals, whether in a business setting or elsewhere.
The business environment is typically American in its framing. Somali business norms are generally not observed in interactions with Americans from other backgrounds, largely because very few Americans are familiar with Somali business, social, or political culture and are therefore ill-equipped to engage on those terms. Most Americans default to U.S. cultural norms, and Somalis must adapt accordingly — an adjustment that usually works better for Somalis anyway.
References
Bates College. (2008). Perceived barriers to Somali immigrant employment in Lewiston. Bates College. Retrieved July 7, 2018, from
Clayton, C. (2016). A crisis of faith for Muslims in the workforce. Twin Cities Business. Retrieved July 7, 2018, from http://tcbmag.com/news/articles/2016/a-crisis-of-faith-for-muslims-in-the-workforce
EthnoMed. (2018). Somali culture profile. EthnoMed. Retrieved July 7, 2018, from https://ethnomed.org/culture/somali/somali-cultural-profile
Gitaa, T. (2005). Somali contributions in the workplace. Mshale. Retrieved July 7, 2018, from https://mshale.com/2005/12/01/somali-contributions-in-the-workplace/
Marohn, K. (2016). Somali workers, employers finding common ground. St. Cloud Times. Retrieved July 7, 2018, from https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2016/08/06/finding-common-ground/87538246/
Transparency International. (2017). Corruption perceptions index 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2018, from https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2017
Already a member? Log in
Unlock the rest of this paper
135,000+ research papers · AI writing tools · Plagiarism & AI detection
7-Day Pass
Does not renew
Get 7-Day PassMonthly
Renews at $12.99/month until canceled
Start MonthlyAnnual
Renews at $99/year until canceled
Start Annual- Unlimited AI writing tools
- Plagiarism and AI text detection tool
Plan details
Unlimited AI writing tools are for individual, non-automated use and are subject to our Terms of Service and abuse-prevention measures.
TextChecker scans: 3 during the 7-Day Pass, or 5 per month with Monthly and Annual.
Prices exclude applicable tax.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.