Scilight Press

In many global cities, interaction among people from different cultural backgrounds has become a routine part of everyday life. Dubai represents a particularly striking example of this phenomenon. Due to extensive international migration, workplaces in the city are highly diverse, and employees regularly interact with colleagues from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. While previous research has examined intercultural competence mainly in educational contexts such as study abroad programs, less attention has been given to how intercultural awareness develops through everyday workplace experience. This study examines how employees working in Dubai’s hospitality industry describe their experiences of communication in multicultural workplaces. Drawing on qualitative data collected through an anonymous survey, the study explores how participants perceive intercultural interaction, how they adjust their communication practices when working with colleagues from different cultural backgrounds, and how these experiences influence their awareness of cultural differences. The findings suggest that intercultural awareness often develops gradually through routine workplace interaction rather than through formal training. Participants described becoming increasingly attentive to differences in communication styles and expectations as part of their daily work. The study highlights the role of multicultural workplaces as environments in which intercultural understanding can emerge through everyday professional interaction.