When employing foreign staff, a key point is preventing repeated gaps from quietly widening over time. That requires everyday communication guided by shared, consistent rules.

This article focuses on points that help when employing Nepalese staff. We have summarized key considerations for managing Nepalese employees. We hope you find it useful.

“Namaste”: A Greeting You Can Use Anytime

“Namaste” is a Nepalese greeting that can be used morning, noon, or night.

Unlike Japanese greetings, you do not need to change the words by time of day, so it is casual Nepali you can use anytime.

It is common to say “Namaste” while pressing the palms together in front of the chest.

Toward someone senior, people use “Namaskar”, which has the same meaning.

A Nepalese Greeting: “Have You Eaten?”

A phrase used often in daily life in Nepal is “Khana khanu bhayo?” It means “Have you already eaten?”.

Nepalese people often use it with one another in place of a greeting. With neighbors and people close to them, they use “Khana khanu bhayo?” more often than “Namaste.”

Asking whether someone has eaten or not expresses concern for the other person’s health and well-being, and it is a meaningful way to speak with a sense of closeness.

Incidentally, a similar custom exists in China as well, suggesting a shared cultural pattern.

Talking Frankly About Private Matters

A characteristic of Nepalese people is that they become friendly quickly even with someone they have just met. They typically start by casually sharing their background and life story, find common ground, and close the distance—this is how Nepalese people communicate with one another.

Few Nepalese people carefully gauge the other person or shyly hide details about themselves. Even private matters they might prefer to keep quiet, they often discuss openly and matter-of-factly.

A strength of Japanese communication is speaking with consideration for the other person, but from a Nepalese perspective this can come across as distant and make it hard to feel closeness.

Differences in Handling Taboos and Right and Wrong

Many Nepalese people appear relatively tolerant toward breaking laws or other rules. In Nepal, even someone with a criminal record can often continue living normally without being shut out of the local community.

People who have committed crimes or wrongdoing are not necessarily treated as special and avoided; Nepal has a society in which people can live side by side. Such behavior can be seen either as a dull sense of right and wrong, or as a generous attitude toward right and wrong.

In Japan, a Nepalese approach to right and wrong does not apply, so Nepalese staff need to be guided again in line with Japanese rules.

At the same time, Nepalese tolerance is also something worth recognizing as a strength.

Boundaries with Other People

When Nepalese people who have worked or lived abroad talk about what is good about Nepal, they often say it is nice that you can visit one another’s homes at any time, without an appointment.

Nepalese custom is to welcome unexpected visitors rather than turn them away, and nearby neighbors may enter the house freely without much concern. In suburban areas, front doors are often left open, and neighbors come and go inside like family. Overseas, that kind of free interaction is not possible, so many feel constrained when they cannot express that Nepalese way of relating.

By contrast, Japanese people tend to set a time before acting and to place importance on private space—values that differ from what many Nepalese people seek.

A major feature of being Nepalese is not drawing firm boundaries with others. To fit into Japanese society, Nepalese people need to act in ways that match Japan while still keeping their own character and values, and Japanese colleagues need to understand differences in interpersonal distance.

About Gaps Between Rich and Poor

In Nepalese society, gaps between rich and poor are visible and felt close at hand. What poverty means is something Nepalese people—and foreigners who have lived in Nepal for a long time—need a firm sense of in order to live there.

Responding to people in poverty purely in a spirit of service may be possible in short-term relationships, but to live together in Nepalese society you also sometimes need more pragmatic ways of relating, beyond service alone.

When employing and managing Nepalese staff, it is important to understand poverty and the caste system in Nepalese society.

Earning Comes Before Building One’s Own Career

Nepalese people working in Japan aim to earn for their families in Nepal before building their own careers. Ideas centered on oneself or self-development differ from the values many Nepalese people prioritize.

When it comes to earning money, they tend to engage actively without being bound by means or methods. Whether or not they come from poverty, most Nepalese people see Japan as a country where one can earn.

One reason career orientation is weaker is that relatively few Nepalese people live affluent enough lives to pursue careers, and within Nepal there is little social structure that lets people build careers through sustained experience. As a result, the direction young people in Nepal aim for tends to lean heavily toward earning.

Stepping Away Before Mental Health Breaks Down

Foreigners working in Japan face many kinds of mental strain. With Nepalese people, the pattern often is to give up or leave the environment before mental health problems fully develop. Endurance that lets stress build up, or a strong sense of loyalty of that kind, is less commonly seen.

Because Nepal’s social infrastructure is still underdeveloped, living and working require practical wisdom under tough conditions. A common mindset is how to live in a way that works for oneself, and many are not especially good at persisting until stress piles up in order to see something through.

To keep Nepalese staff engaged in their work over time, it is necessary to guide them fundamentally with an understanding of these tendencies.

Summary

The above assumes individual differences, but these are habits and traits common to a large share of Nepalese people.

We hope this offers some useful hints when employing Nepalese staff.