Challenges faced by non-native English speakers aren’t related to their competence or skills. Rather, their challenges relate to an organisational culture that makes it difficult to advocate for their ideas or build relationships with their colleagues.
Such challenges include:

• An inability to pick up on subtext (i.e. reading between the lines)
• Missing cultural cues or committing workplaces faux pas that were a non-issue in their previous work environment (i.e. diving right into the meeting as opposed to opening with chit chat)
• Hesitating to ask for clarification, even if it’s a reasonable request, because of the stigma that deems non-native English speaking employees as incompetent
• Failing to speak up due to self-consciousness about their delivery
  
  

  Underscoring all of these challenges is the fact that non-native English speakers lack a support system within the workplace. While native English speakers can seek guidance from colleagues on shared challenges (i.e. dealing with a demanding client, preparing a report for a manager), non-native English speakers struggle to seek guidance related to their specific challenges like confusing cultural business norms.