Austria

A Federal Republic, located in Europe. Official languages include German (official

nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland),
Hungarian (official in Burgenland). Major religion(s) are Roman Catholic 73.6%,
Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12%. Major
ethnic groups involve Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians,
Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified
2.4%.
Greeting between men and women involve shaking hands while maintaining direct
eye contact and a light hug and exchanging kisses on one or both cheeks is
common between good friends and family. The kisses are more like air kisses,
touching cheeks instead of kissing with the lips, which is similar to the greeting
situation in Bulgaria. However, when speaking about greeting between men and
women, in Austria it is usually best to wait for the women to initiate.
Austrians tend to be quite direct, but polite and like to tell it like it is unlike
Bulgarians who prefer mostly indirect communication. Most people will be
somewhat reserved during initial conversations. They tend to warm up after a
relationship has been established. Austrians are fairly straight talkers, but they tend
to avoid asking personal questions until you know them quite well. In business
situations, they don’t get sidelined into personal issues.
An arm’s length of personal space or more is expected during conversations. Any
closer than arm’s length may be considered an infringement of personal space,
unless you are having an intimate conversation. 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. Family members and good friends will be
closer, but it’s rare you’ll have more contact than a handshake in business contexts.
Between friends and family, hand holding, walking arm in arm and hugging are
commonplace, which is similar to the situation in Bulgaria where there is little
personal space between family and friends.
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 show immediately upon your appearance. In Bulgaria, for
business, punctuality is expected for meetings, arriving to the workplace and
deadlines. However for social situations and engagements time is much more fluid
and negotiable. For buses and trains it is hard to predict in most rural areas. Most
of the bus stations have timetables for all the buses, but when the schedule was last
updated is unknown.
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”. Screwing the forefinger into the
temple of the head is a rude gesture that means, "You‘re crazy".
For men: Suits are the norm. Dark colors are the way to go. For women: Standard
business attire. Stylish, yet conservative. Jeans are usually not appropriate but this
may vary depending on the industry one is working in.
If you are asked to visit a business associates house it is expected that you bring a
gift. A typical gift would be a box of chocolates, dessert of some sort, a bottle of
wine or fruit. They do not have to be wrapped because the host will usually serve
the gift right after it is given. Gifts to avoid include lilies and chrysanthemums
(used at funerals), overly expensive/lavish gifts, and even (odd numbers are lucky)
sets of gifts. Odd/Even only applies to flowers not other objects. Gifts are usually
opened right away.