Why Lunchtime in Paris Can Make or Break Your Relocation Success

“It’s 12:30 and the office is empty. Where did everyone go?”

That wasn’t the start of a bad joke, it was the real experience of an American expat during their first week working in Paris.

Coming from the United States, this professional was used to grabbing a sandwich at their desk while continuing to work. But in France? Lunch is sacred. It’s a ritual that often lasts an hour (or more), and most employees leave the office entirely. Returning with a salad box and eating in front of your computer is rare, and often frowned upon.

For this expat, the empty office was confusing. Did colleagues not like them? Were they being excluded? Was something wrong?

The reality was simpler: it wasn’t personal. It was culture shock.

And this is where many relocations stumble. Small cultural differences, left unaddressed, grow into misunderstandings, disengagement, and in the worst cases, failed assignments.

In this article, we’ll explore why workplace culture shock is one of the most overlooked challenges in global mobility, how cultural misalignment affects both expats and the HR teams that send them abroad, and practical steps for navigating these gaps successfully.

Photo by Tony Schnagl

What Exactly Is Workplace Culture Shock?

When people hear the term culture shock, they often think about food, language, or adjusting to a new city. But in reality, culture shock shows up most strongly at work, the very place expats spend most of their time.

It can mean different attitudes toward time and punctuality, unspoken rules about hierarchy and communication, contrasting views on work-life balance, or unique rituals like the French lunch break or the Spanish siesta mindset.

For an American in France, skipping lunch to appear “productive” might backfire, colleagues could see it as antisocial, unhealthy, or even disrespectful of team culture. On the other hand, for a French professional relocating to the U.S., the expectation of “quick lunches at the desk” might feel isolating and rushed.

The point is simple: it’s not about right or wrong. It’s about different cultural codes that need to be understood, not ignored.

Why Cultural Gaps Undermine Relocations

Most companies assume their expats will “just adapt.” But adaptation doesn’t happen automatically. Here’s why workplace culture shock is such a critical, yet overlooked, factor in relocation success:

Misinterpretation of behaviors: An empty office at 12:30 isn’t abandonment, it’s French culture. But without context, the expat may misinterpret it as rejection. These misinterpretations chip away at confidence, belonging, and trust.

Hidden stress: Many expats feel pressure to “just deal with it” and hide their struggles. They don’t want to appear ungrateful for the opportunity. But beneath the surface, stress builds.

HR blind spots: From headquarters, HR teams may only notice a problem when performance drops, conflicts arise, or the expat terminates the assignment early. By then, the damage is already done.

Financial impact: Failed relocations are expensive. According to industry research, the cost of one failed international assignment can easily exceed $300K USD, considering relocation costs, lost productivity, and replacement hiring.

In other words, ignoring culture shock is not just a human problem, it’s a business problem.

Real Stories of Cultural Misalignment

At Smoozitive, we’ve worked with expats and HR leaders across Europe, and we see the same patterns repeat.

One American in Spain was shocked by colleagues leaving at 10:30 for coffee breaks and not returning until after 11. In their mind, this was wasted time. For the Spanish team, it was essential relationship-building.

A German manager in Brazil grew frustrated by what seemed like last-minute decisions and lack of structure. For the Brazilian team, flexibility and improvisation were part of the workplace DNA.

And a British expat in France struggled with direct feedback styles. What they perceived as rude, their French colleagues saw as honest and efficient.

Each of these cases illustrates how small misunderstandings, if left unsupported, can spiral into bigger issues.

Why Googling “Working in France” Isn’t Enough

Some companies try to address these challenges by giving expats a relocation handbook or recommending they “read up on the culture.” But cultural navigation isn’t about memorizing etiquette rules.

Context matters. A blog post can tell you “French value long lunches,” but it won’t help you handle the awkwardness of sitting alone when the office empties.

Emotions matter. Culture shock is not just intellectual - it’s emotional. Feeling excluded, judged, or out of sync impacts mental health and performance.

Support matters. Without a safe space to ask questions, process experiences, and adjust behaviors, expats are left to figure it out alone.

That’s why cultural support needs to be integrated into relocation programs, not treated as an optional “nice-to-have.” If you are now sitting alone at your desk, eating salad, wondering what else are you missing in the local culture, join our Inner Circle, where we meet twice a month for a group coaching session, answering all your questions regarding life abroad.

Cultural Navigation as a Retention Strategy

Let’s be clear: cultural support isn’t about pampering expats. It’s about protecting the company’s investment and ensuring talent thrives abroad.

Effective cultural navigation often includes:

• Pre-departure preparation: Briefings on workplace norms in the destination country and realistic expectations about challenges.

• On-the-ground support: Access to coaching or cultural mentors who can help expats process situations like “the empty office at 12:30.”

• HR awareness: Training for HR directors and global mobility managers to recognize cultural friction early, and systems to track not just logistics but the human experience during relocation.

• Ongoing check-ins: Regular conversations with expats to uncover hidden stress before it escalates, with support not only for the employee but also for trailing spouses and families.

When companies invest in this kind of support, the results are clear: higher retention, better engagement, and fewer failed relocations.

How Expats and HR Managers Look for Support

When cultural challenges surface, most people do what feels natural, they turn to the internet for answers. An expat who suddenly finds themselves alone in a Paris office at lunchtime might type a question like “Why do French people take such long lunch breaks?” into Google. An HR manager, worried about sending yet another employee abroad after two failed relocations, might search for “how to support expats in Europe” or “preventing failed international assignments.”

Behind these searches is the same underlying need: reassurance, guidance, and a sense that they are not alone in facing these issues. What they’re really looking for is more than a quick answer, they want context that makes sense of their experience and practical advice they can apply immediately.

This is why accessible, human-centered resources are so critical. When an expat realizes that the empty office isn’t rejection but a cultural norm, or when an HR director discovers that culture shock can be tracked and supported just like logistics, they can shift from confusion to clarity. And that shift is often the difference between a relocation that quietly unravels and one that becomes a success story.

Final Thoughts

The difference between thinking “Why did everyone leave me?” and “Oh, this is how we do things here” is the difference between thriving abroad and quietly burning out.

If your company sends people abroad, don’t leave culture to chance. Provide the tools, resources, and human support they need to succeed.

At Smoozitive, we partner with HR and global mobility teams to help expats adjust, adapt, and thrive, from the first lunch break to long-term retention.