Adapting to Dutch work culture: Wian’s journey from South Africa to the Netherlands

Samantha, our colleague responsible for recruiting South African employees, knows the process inside and out—she’s been through it herself. In 2022, her husband, Wian, was recruited for an engineering job in Twente. Just a few weeks later, they arrived in the Netherlands for the first time. From the very beginning, adjusting to Dutch work culture wasn’t a challenge for him: “As long as you show up on time and do your job well, you’re good.” In fact, he sees many similarities between working in both countries: “We use comparable tools and follow a similar approach.”

“Back home, I was used to working mostly on my own. Here, I’ve learned how important communication and collaboration are to successfully completing a project.” 

Nevertheless, one major difference he has noticed is the level of freedom employees have in their work. “In South Africa, there’s a lot more micromanagement,” he explains. Working in the Netherlands has helped him grow as a technical professional, allowing him to take on projects he had never tackled before and work with unfamiliar tools. His work went smoothly — sometimes even better than expected — because Wian kept asking questions and learning from his colleagues. He also discovered the value of teamwork: “Back home, I was used to working mostly on my own. Here, I’ve learned how important communication and collaboration are to successfully completing a project.” 

To communicate with colleagues and clients, Wian makes an effort to speak Dutch as much as possible. When he doesn’t understand something, he simply asks: “This way, I keep improving my language skills. It’s also really useful since most drawings and schematics are in Dutch, so it’s good to keep learning.” 

Looking back, this whole journey has taught him a lot—especially how to adapt. By building on the technical skills he brought with him from South Africa, he’s become even more flexible and confident in his work. It just goes to show: with the right attitude, new challenges can lead to big personal growth.