british culture quiz

I chose to test myself with a British culture quiz after six years in the UK, then immediately felt a little clammy about being put on the spot. My own idea, obviously. The questions I most enjoyed were about situations: what a manager meant, how to respond to colleagues, or whether a casual suggestion of coffee was likely to become a plan. I finished with 15 out of 20, which I thought was not bad, if not great.

When a suggestion meant something stronger

One question put me at a six-month review. The imaginary boss gently suggested considering a development plan to improve sales, while the employee thought sales were already improving. Should I ignore the suggestion, wait, or make the plan a priority? I picked the plan. To me, that polite, roundabout wording meant the boss thought it needed doing, rather than that it was an optional idea to forget about.

The quiz marked that answer correct and explained that softer language could be used for instructions or negative feedback. I agreed. Another question asked what to do when a manager wanted a moment while I was in the middle of something important. I chose to say yes. I read the question as a politely phrased instruction: the manager needed my attention then. I liked that these questions were about real-life situations rather than only facts about the UK.

Being new didn’t mean having nothing to say

In another scenario, I’d just joined a job and the manager emailed the team asking for opinions about a big decision. I chose to respond with what I thought. Even as a new hire, I reckoned I’d been hired for a reason. Saying nothing seemed a bit rude to me, while simply assuring the manager they’d make the right decision seemed like sucking up. Giving an honest opinion was my answer, and the quiz accepted it.

First names were an easier question to connect to my own experience. In the businesses where I’d worked in the UK, people had been on a first-name basis, with mutual respect. I chose that as the way to address senior managers, and got it right. I hadn’t worked an enormous number of jobs here, though. I was pleased to find my experience matched the quiz’s answer without pretending I’d seen every kind of workplace.

The question about a Friday pub invitation also felt familiar. After the first week in a new job, the imaginary employee was exhausted and colleagues invited them out. I’d felt that tiredness before. My answer was to go and use it as a chance to get to know them better. It was a hypothetical response, but I thought a pub trip could be a good way to spend time with colleagues outside work.

Humour, coffee and a few wrong answers

A heated argument between two colleagues in a meeting made me hesitate. I didn’t like conflict. I considered asking them to continue elsewhere, but realistically my knee-jerk reaction would probably be to make a joke and break the tension. The quiz’s explanation favoured humour as a way to ease conflict. I told myself I should go with my gut.

For a business acquaintance casually suggesting coffee sometime, I didn’t expect a definite arrangement to follow. I thought it was likely to be a polite, throwaway line, and the quiz agreed. I liked those questions because they made me think about what somebody meant, beyond the literal words they’d used.

I got caught out by the eye-contact question. I’d pictured strong eye contact as an unblinking, creepy stare, so I picked that as something to avoid in a meeting. The quiz meant ordinary attentive eye contact and favoured avoiding folded arms instead. I could see what it meant once it explained the answer.

Then came dinner at a colleague’s house at seven. I didn’t want to be rude by being early or late, so I chose seven on the dot. The quiz preferred around seven-fifteen and said a little lateness was acceptable for a social engagement. Fair enough. Those were the quiz’s answers, even when my first instinct went another way.

Fifteen out of twenty didn’t mean I understood British culture completely. I did feel I had a pretty good handle on it. I thought time here had helped, along with working in business and office environments. The everyday interactions I’d had at work had been some of the most helpful experiences for understanding the culture around me.

Watch me take the British culture quiz.