Austria

Greetings

Man greeting Man - Men shake hands when greeting one another while maintaining direct eye contact. A firm but fairly brief handshake is the norm. With friends, a simple hello will often suffice.

Woman greeting Woman- At a first meeting, women generally shake hands while maintaining direct eye contact. Between good friends and family a light hug and exchanging kisses on one or both cheeks is common. The kisses are more like air kisses, touching cheeks instead of kissing with the lips.

Greeting between Men & Women - At a first meeting a regular handshake will do. It is usually best to wait for the women to initiate. Between good friends and family a light hug and exchanging kisses on one or both cheeks is common. The kisses are more like air kisses, touching cheeks instead of kissing with the lips.

Note: Austrians tend to say “Gruss Gott” in formal circumstances and “Gruss Dich” in more casual situations. The latter is like saying hello when you walk into a shop or pass someone you know on the way.

Communication Style

• Austrians tend to be quite direct but polite. There is often very little context surrounding communication.
• Most people will be somewhat reserved during initial conversations. They tend to warm up after a relationship has been established.
• Austrians tend to tell it like it is. Honesty is appreciated and expected.

• Austrians are fairly straight talkers, but they tend to avoid asking personal questions until you know them quite well. They are reluctant to express controversial opinions openly.

• In business situations, they don’t get sidelined into personal issues. It means things get done, but it may make it hard to get to know as people.

Personal Space & Touch

• An arm’s length of personal space or more is expected during conversations.
• Unless you are having an intimate conversation, any closer than arm’s length may be considered an infringement of personal space.
• Austrians do not generally touch very often when speaking as it can be seen as an invasion of privacy. This is not always the case with friends and family.
• Between friends and family, hand holding, walking arm in arm and hugging are commonplace.

• Austrians aren’t exactly touchy-feely and they don’t tend to get in your space. This is true regardless of gender. Family members and good friends will be closer, but it’s rare you’ll have more contact than a handshake in business contexts.

Eye Contact

• It is polite to look others in the eye during conversation, however one avoid staring.
• Direct eye contact is considered a sign of respect and interest during conversation.

Gestures

• When gesturing or beckoning for someone to come, you should face your palm downwards and make a scratching motion with the fingers.
• Waving the hand back and forth with the palm up usually signifies “no”.

Views of Time

• Punctuality is highly valued. Being on time for meetings, appointments, and services is expected.
• Deadlines are expected to be met and agendas are almost always followed strictly.
• Buses, trains, and other services almost always run on time.
• In social situations it is best to not be more than 10-15 minutes late.

• A little delay isn’t a social disaster, but when you arrive at an Austrian event, typically the hosts are good to go immediately upon your appearance. Dinner will show up on the table right away, the meeting will start, people are ready to go. In

• Business and social situation are typically arranged – you don’t just drop in on an Austrian, you’re invited.

Gender Roles

• Women hold the same professions as men in most all arenas. There are many who still take to the traditional homemaker role, but opportunities are open and available for all.

Taboos

• Screwing the forefinger into the temple of the head is a rude gesture that means, "You‘re crazy".

Law & Order

• One can buy low alcohol content beverages, such as beer and wine, at the age of 16. Stronger alcohol can be bought legally when 18 years old.
• Underage persons in possession of alcohol are not usually punished, however, people who make alcohol available to them are. The legal drinking age does not tend to apply when drinking in private.

• Austrians are big on their tobacco and finding a smoke free environment can be a challenge. This is a real inconvenience to non-smokers. New laws are supposed to mitigate this, but they are not yet widely enforced. Those with sensitivity to cigarette smoke will most likely find themselves uncomfortable in many, many places.

• Drinking and driving is strongly discouraged at any age, as is possession of illegal drugs.

• Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines.

Dress

• Business attire varies by industry, but in general, comes under the heading of “business casual.” Suits and ties are common for men, women in formal work environments will be wearing stockings and dress shoes. This is changing a little bit in the newer tech industries, but managers will still dress the part.

• For Men: Conservative, dark or medium colored suits with shirt and tie are common in corporate settings.

• For Women: stylish yet classic business suits or dresses/pants and blouses are in corporate settings. Avoid wearing overly expensive and/or elaborate accessories.
• Business casual and other informal attire may be appropriate depending on the industry.
• Make sure shoes and boots are always cleaned and polished.

Titles & Business Cards

• Titles are very important at initial meetings. Use Herr (Mr.) or Frau (Mrs., Ms.) followed by the person's title and their surname.

• If you’re introduced using first names, go ahead and use them, if you’re introduced using titles, use those until instructed otherwise. Austrians are fond of their titles and don’t tend to give them up easily.

• There is no specific protocol surrounding the giving and receiving of business cards. It is always best to treat the card with respect.

Meetings

• For meetings, one must be on time. Being late is looked down upon heavily.
• There is usually little to no time allotted for small talk. Austrians tend to get down to business rather quickly.
• Agendas and schedules are adhered to tightly.

Negotiations

• Austrians tend to be extremely detail-oriented and will need to be sure of every part of a potential business deal before coming to an agreement.
• Business is hierarchical and decisions tend to come from the top down.
• Avoid hard selling and any sort of conflict or confrontation.

Gift Giving

• Simple gifts such as souvenirs from one’s country or company are appropriate for initial business meetings, but are not expected.
• If invited to a German’s house, it is appropriate to bring good quality chocolates/sweets or imported liquor or wine.

• It’s a good idea to have gifts nicely wrapped and they are usually opened right away.

Other Observations

• Vegetarians and other who avoid meat for religious reasons –specifically pork – may find themselves flustered by the meat heavy diet. It’s possible to find excellent vegetarian food, but it’s also possible that you’ll be stuck with a salad. “It’s just a little ham” is a typical Austrian attitude to the request for a meatless dish.

• If the issue is pressing, pick up the phone. People do a lot of business by email in many countries, but Austrians won’t always respond in a timely manner to email requests. This can be frustrating, especially in long distance transactions, but it’s worth the bother because you’ll get a response rather than leaving an issue to languish until your Austrian contact has bothered to answer his or her email.