'There is a widespread assumption for many of us born and raised in Canada that we don’t really have a culture'
When skilled immigrants arrive in Canada, they are told the country needs their expertise to solve a growing productivity crisis and looming labour shortages.
However, Canadian employers are often overlooking these workers, according to multicultural workplace expert John Edward McGraw tells Canadian HR Reporter.
McGraw says the problem starts as soon as newcomers arrive in Canadian workplaces: “They’re afraid to speak up,” he says, adding that the reasons are twofold – the shock of adapting to a new country and deep cultural differences around hierarchy and self‑promotion.
Coming into a new environment where things operate differently leaves many immigrants just “trying to find their grounding” while also dealing with housing, services and daily life in “a completely different place,” he says.
Why newcomers to Canada stay quiet
Beyond that initial disorientation, many newcomers arrive with workplace norms that clash directly with Canadian expectations, says McGraw, founder of Hiyaku Coaching.
“Canada focuses a lot on self‑advocacy. If you want opportunities, you’re expected to speak up for them,” he says, noting that local workers learn this early through participation mark systems in school and university.
“However, many newcomers come from cultures where the opposite is true,” he says. “There’s a much greater sense of hierarchy involved where you show respect to your elders, to those who are in higher positions than you. And part of that is waiting to be invited to speak.”
In those environments, he says, you work hard and expect that your excellent work is going to be noticed at some point, and when the time is right, “your supervisor will come, tap you on the shoulder, and tell you that, 'Hey, now it’s your time.'”
Newcomers’ networking hurdles
The same cultural friction appears in networking, which McGraw called a much larger factor in advancing careers in Canada than in many other countries.
“Canada, like much of Western society, we’re a lot more individualistic. So a lot of those connections you have to build yourself,” he says. That means talking to people you don’t know, reaching out to them, taking that initiative.
For many newcomers from more collective or hierarchical cultures, approaching senior strangers can feel inappropriate. McGraw says immigrants have told him they followed him on LinkedIn but did not send a connection request because “you seem very important and very busy”.
“I didn’t want to upset you or get you angry,” they say, McGraw shares.
To suddenly shift to "This is important for my career to connect with people" can be daunting for someone taught not to contact higher‑status people outside their close network, says McGraw.
Cost to employers and Canada
McGraw says the impact is felt in turnover, morale and national output.
“You have people who are not happy in the positions because they’re overqualified and they can’t seem to get opportunities to advance. They’re not going to stick around,” he says. Even if they stay, that’s going to impact morale and performance.
He pointed to research showing that underused immigrant talent costs Canada billions annually: “If they feel they don’t have those opportunities here, then that’s a big loss for the businesses and for Canada as a whole,” he says.
The surge in immigration to Canada has contributed to labour shortages rather than alleviating them, according to a previous report. Meanwhile, “in Canada, our productivity output per capita has been shrinking in relative terms to a lot of other countries around the world,” one expert previously told Canadian HR Reporter.
Best practices for employers
McGraw says employers do not need a rulebook for every culture represented in their workforce, but they do need to start with their own.
“I think that there is a widespread assumption for many of us born and raised in Canada that we don’t really have a culture,” he says. In reality, invisible norms around the beliefs, assumptions and values that affect the behaviour shape how managers judge who is engaged and who has leadership potential.
He urged HR leaders to make those norms explicit for newcomers. “In Canada, we see speaking up as self‑advocacy. It’s a way to generate opportunities. And it’s assumed it’s natural to have a conversation with your supervisor,” he says.
Rather than labelling quiet employees as disengaged, he says managers should pause and ask, “What else could be true in this case? Maybe for this person, this is their way of showing respect.” From there, McGraw says that leaders can ask, “How do you prefer to share your ideas?” and offer options such as one‑to‑one meetings or written submissions.
“It doesn’t necessarily require knowing every culture,” McGraw says. “It’s about curiosity, and it’s about awareness,” and creating a “learning opportunity for everyone” where employees’ experiences are valued rather than told to “check your identity at the door.”
Here’s how employers can elevate the employee experience in the workplace to boost engagement.
