Intercultural Communication in the Burmese Workers Employment of Local Businesses in Southern Thailand

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the intercultural communication between Thai employers and Burmese workers in the south of Thailand and compare Burmese employees’ attitude towards Thai and their own culture. In addition, the relationship between personal and organizational factors and the ability to adjust themselves to their work were examined. This study applied a mixed-method design using both the qualitative and the quantitative methods of data collection. The findings were as follows: 1) Thai employers and Burmese employees had dissimilar intercultural communication. 2) Burmese employees perceived the four aspects of the attitude towards Thai and their own culture in the same direction; however, high power distance was the only aspect that was perceived differently. 3) The ethnographic attitude was the most effective factor in predicting Burmese workers’ ability to adjust to their work, but it was in reverse direction. Next, other factors affecting the ability to adjust to their work were age, education, power distance, and Thai cultural knowledge, respectively. These 5 factors were able to explain 12.3 percent of the Burmese workers’ ability to adjust to their work. Thus, Burmese identitie and equity in workplace should be promoted. Meanwhile, education sectors should provide cultural knowledge, which could lessen racial bias and provide both Thai employers and Burmese employees public-relation channels to enhance the knowledge and understanding of law on immigrant workers.