Stay cool and build up your network – a quick and honest guide for
business travelers to Hungary
Hungary is a special country and the biggest pain of Hungarians is that the rest of the world
doesn’t seem to be aware of this fact.

You plan a short business trip to Budapest? You are just about to start a project in Hungary?
You are thinking about making business in Hungary? Great! Just keep your eyes and ears
open and stay relaxed. Staying relaxed might be the most difficult part. People in Hungary are
overwhelming, emotional, unsure, over reacting, surprisingly open, timid but extremely
proud, thankful and pessimistic. And they are always in a hurry. If you try to keep up with the
speed and with the emotions you will set yourself up for failure. Better you stay cool and
relaxed and Hungarians will love you because you are different.

Here’s a short introduction for beginners about Hungary and Hungarians concerning the main
areas of human interaction.

Making Business

If you walk and travel around big cities, you will realize that at least every second person is
involved in a lively discussion with someone on the phone regardless if they stand in a queue
at the bank, sit in the tram or shop in a supermarket. It is obvious that Hungarians are a
communication loving nation, where relationships are extremely important.

If a Hungarian person wants to buy goods or services he/she will first browse his/her contacts
and the contacts of the contacts, ask friends and the friends of friends before calling an
unknown person without any personal references. Contacts and networks are extremely
important in this country. If you plan to do business never refuse an offer to make contacts,
otherwise you might lose future partners.

Politics

Remember one thing: never ever ask anybody about his/her political views unless you want to
get involved in a lengthy, extremely emotional, hopeless monologue. Hungarians are deeply
frustrated about their politicians and sharply divided in pro and contra whatever topic you
mention. Hungarians have difficulties to digest, that once being the most developed and
wealthy country in the eastern-European region, now the economy got weak and most
economic figures are behind those of the neighboring countries. Decreasing tolerance is a well
known side effect of frustration. This is the reason why you will be often confronted with
politically incorrect statements from colleagues and friends. Ignore them or contradict them.
If you decide for the latter, be prepared for an emotional discussion and again: stay cool.

 
 

Men and Women

In Hungary two worlds collide concerning the role of women. Behind the iron curtain
Hungarian women were “equal” as the so called socialist idea required. Equal meant that men
and women were both working full time regardless if they had children or not, but the
traditional roles existed after work - meaning, that family and house-keeping were still
women’s jobs, imposing a double burden on women. The situation changed after the
disappearance of the iron curtain. Lots of women dropped half of the burden and stayed at
home to be there for the family. Conservative politicians use this change to present it as the
one and only right way for women to find their meaning of life. This means for women a very
ambivalent existence. They feel they should be there for husband and family and at the same
time they think they should use their talent in the professional world. Concerning this aspect
Hungary seems to be quite outdated. In Hungary you will be confronted with more distinctive
gender roles, women being more feminine and men being more masculine than you might be
used to from many western European countries. Gender specific problems like the gender pay
gap, the number of women in management positions and political roles mirror this situation.
Consider this while you observe your colleagues in your new Hungarian company and while
interacting with your business partners.

The Language

Hungarians call themselves – regarding the national language - a Finno-ugric island in the
Slavic see. But Hungary has not only Slavic (Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Ukraine) but
Latin (Romania) and Germanic (Austria) neighbors as well. And not only the neighbors but
also the Turks have influenced the Hungarian language and culture during their 150 years of
stay in Hungary (1541 -1699). Learning the Hungarian language is definitely a challenge. You
will not be able to use any knowledge you gained through learning other languages previously
since Hungarian is completely different. Still, be open and give it a try, Hungarians are aware
of the challenge of their language for foreigners hence they are extremely delighted if
someone tries to speak a couple of words. Speaking Hungarian is the best way to speed up
your approach.

Bear these things in mind, stay cool and build up your network, you will realize how much
warmth, honesty, lively discussions, friendly invitations and most of all – business - you will
get back for your openness.

The ultimate Tip for networking and relaxing in Budapest

After all that work you will be thankful for the compelling cultural offer of Budapest. The city
is the 2-million-capital of a 10-million-country with a wide range of exciting activities. It has
a great cultural offer for all kinds of audiences. Cultural diversity remained one of the main
characteristics of Budapest. All the influences that come with Globalization and
communication do not cease to effect present life. Every day there are new attractions coming
alive as a mixture of cultures, creativity, old and new ideas. One great example - that no
visitor to the Hungarian capital should miss out - are the so called “ruin pubs” or “courtyard
bars” in the inner districts of Budapest.

 
 

Ruin bars are located in old buildings which are doomed to be destroyed to give space for
modern apartment buildings in the near future. This temporary existence gives them their flair
and atmosphere. Many of them are quite huge with more levels and different rooms. The
furniture is recycled or found in the bulky waste, the decoration is made of recycled or found
art objects and the graffiti on the walls is most creative and amusing. These places attract a
very mixed audience from young to old, rich to poor, smart to dumb and play great music.
You can eat and drink, talk or listen, just watch the people or play tabletop football. Most of
all you can feel the city, its inhabitants and the timeless and yet transient existence while
sipping on a cold white wine spritzer…

Finally, if you liked this appetizer by our expert Csilla Neldner-Szemethy and you wish to see
the whole menu on Hungary, don’t hesitate to contact us via e-mail or give us a call on +49.
(0)6221 - 7351371.