Working for Chinese 'is rewarding'

It's obvious from the infrastructure development projects undertaken by Chinese companies in Africa that Chinese are very hardworking, sometimes sacrificing sleep to work day and night to complete projects on schedule.

They are also committed to producing quality work, as evidenced by some of the projects they have completed in Africa, such as railways, ports and roads.

Nonetheless, a key challenge affecting Chinese who work in Africa is the language barrier.

Most only speak Mandarin, while the few who can speak English are not quite fluent. This makes communication with the local people a bit challenging.

Against that backdrop, while some Africans might hold the notion that Chinese may be difficult to work with, some local people who work for Chinese companies say they would like to work forever with the Chinese.

The employees say they are grateful that their employers have instilled in them a focus on hard work, performance, efficiency, quality and concentrating on end results.

Tom Nyaoke, who works at China Wu Yi Co, says he has worked with Chinese for the past 20 years and is grateful for the opportunity.

He says that several times he has been approached by local companies that promise a higher salary to work for them, but he has always declined.

"The local employers come tome with the notion that I could be suffering silently working in a Chinese company," he says.

"They always ask me how I manage to deal with my employers, because (they say) Chinese are difficult to work with. My answer to them is always that I enjoy working with the Chinese and, more so, I have peace of mind, which I'm sure they won't give me."

Nyaoke says a culture of approaching all activities with a positive attitude has ensured that projects go smoothly and are finished on time.

"Whenever I have a construction project at home, I always ensure that it's done (in a timely manner). That is one basic thing I have learned from my Chinese colleagues," he says.

Eric Mwirigi, an engineer at Shanxi Dikuang Overseas Engineering Construction (Kenya), says his project design and leadership skills have been sharpened at the company.

Mwirigi has been working for the company for six years, rising through the ranks - from site engineer to projects coordinator.

"My Chinese employers have inculcated in me a culture of being diligent in my job and focusing on the end result. Today, I'm a better engineer because of working with a Chinese company, and I'm grateful to my employer," he says.

Likewise, Joyce Mutua counts her blessings for having tapped into the hardworking culture of her Chinese employer. Mutua has been working at ZTE Kenya as logistics manager for six years.

"The Chinese are hardworking in nature and focus on effectiveness and efficiency. Learning and embracing those characteristics has helped me greatly," she says.

Mutua says her company has fostered cohesiveness among employees through team-building activities. "We usually have staff who have worked in the company share their experiences with us. We also adapt to each other's way of life," she says.

Alex Mwaura, who has worked at Star Times Media (Kenya) Co for five years, says it has been exciting working for a Chinese company, and he has learned a lot.

"I have learned to be efficient in my work as well as appreciating and rewarding talent," he says.

According to World Bank statistics, Chinese enterprises in Kenya on average employ 360 local workers, compared with the average of 147 local people employed by other foreign enterprises in the country.

By the end of 2016, the average rate of local employees on the staff of Kenya-China Economic and Trade Association member enterprises was 87 percent, the association says.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/30/2017 page27)