Extract from the Masters Thesis ‘Culture Shock and its Implications for Polish Professionals Entering British Business Environment’ by Monika Lupa. The aim of this study was to examine the phenomenon of culture shock and propose some recommendations for a Polish professional who would be thinking about coming to live and work in the UK. The main objectives of the study were to: (1) determine to what extent Polish professionals in Britain experience culture shock; (2) examine the factors and barriers influencing the adaptation process; (3) investigate the cultural differences between Poland and the United Kingdom; (4) identify pieces of advice related to dealing with cultural shock; (5) compare the results of the study with the views presented in the literature. Monika Lupa MA English Philology, specialises in intercultural business communication, graduated from Wyzsza Szkola Europejsa im. ks. Józefa Tischnera in Cracow.

1. Chapter III: The examination of the significance of culture shock in the group of Polish professionals entering British business environment
3.1 Research methodology and procedure
The aim of this study was to examine the phenomenon of culture shock and propose some recommendations for a Polish professional who would be thinking about coming to live and work in the UK. The main objectives of the study were to: (1) determine to what extent Polish professionals in Britain experience culture shock; (2) examine the factors and barriers influencing the adaptation process; (3) investigate the cultural differences between Poland and the United Kingdom; (4) identify pieces of advice related to dealing with cultural shock; (5) compare the results of the study with the views presented in the literature.
In order to meet the objectives the quantitative research method in a form of a survey was employed. The survey contained also some open-ended questions and allowed for providing additional comments. The survey was created by means of Survey Monkey - online survey generator. Then, the link was generated and sent off to the respondents through social media, namely, Facebook and LinkedIn, and Internet forums. The target group for the survey included members of networking organizations specifically Polish Professionals in London, Polish Professionals Forum, Polish Business Link, Polish Sabbath and others individuals - highly educated specialists from various fields as well self-employed specialists and business owners.
The survey was conducted from 10th of February until 10th of March 2014. The description of the results was in most cases presented graphically for better readability. The survey questionnaires appears in appendix 2.
3.2 Data analysis
As far as respondent characteristics is concerned, 103 people took part in a survey: 43 males and 57 females, 3 people skipped the question about the sex. The age of the respondents ranged from 21 to 40 years (with one respondent of 57 years old) with an average age of 32 years old. The majority of the respondents (42) were never married, 32 were married, 18 were living together, 4 were divorced or separated and 1 widowed. The considerable number of survey participants chose London as their place of residence (29).

2. Another notable places included Edinburgh (8) , Glasgow (5), Bristol (4), Manchester (4). Many respondents wrote simply UK or Scotland as their place of residence.
Educational background of the respondents
Figure 6. Survey question 1. Source: own elaboration
The first question of the survey concerned the educational background of the respondents before their coming over to the UK. The respondents were allowed to choose only one answer. As shown in figure 6, the majority of the respondents attained higher level of education: 55% had master degree, 24% possessed bachelor degree, 4% graduated from polytechnic and 2% got a PhD degree. 14% of the survey participants declared graduation from secondary school and only 1% from primary school. Some additional responses provided by the respondents included: College of further education; I came as part of Erasmus programme to finish off my BA, First year of university, Technical college.

3. English proficiency before coming over to the UK
Figure 7. Survey question 2. Source: own elaboration
The respondents were further asked about their English proficiency before the arrival to the UK. They were allowed to choose only one answer. As may be seen from the figure 7, the percentage of the all responses is quite similar. According to the survey, 23% of the respondents declared to be fluent in English before their coming over to the UK. The same percentage of people (23%) claimed the advanced command of English, followed by a 22% of a respondents with intermediate level and 16% with upper-intermediate level. Only 10% selected lower-intermediate and 7% declared to be beginners in terms of English before their coming over to the UK. The results for English proficiency correspond to the results for educational background. Well-educated survey participants identified themselves with a good knowledge of English even before their arrival to the UK.

4. English proficiency at the moment
Figure 8. Survey question 3. Source: own elaboration
The next question concerned the fact how the level of English changed after the time spent in the UK. The respondents were asked to choose only one answer. The data from the survey proved that a large majority of the respondents has improved their language proficiency considerably after the time spent in UK. At the time of the study, 74% of the respondents claimed to be fluent in English and 21% of the people described their level of English as advanced. Only 3% assessed their level of English as intermediate and 2% as upper-intermediate. ‘Beginner’ or ‘lower intermediate’ were not chosen by any number of the respondents.

5. Duration of stay in the UK
Figure 9. Survey question 4. Source: own elaboration
The respondents were further asked about their duration of stay in the UK. Here, they were allowed to choose only one answer. As can be seen from the figure above, the considerable number of respondents (63%) declared their duration of stay in the UK as more than 5 years. 24% and 7% have been living in the UK for 3-5 years and 1-2 years respectively. Only 3% of the survey participants admitted to reside the UK for 6 months-one year and the same percentage of the respondents (3%) for less than 6 months.

6. Sector of occupation in Britain
Figure 10. Survey question 5. Source: own elaboration
The next question concerned respondents’ current sector of occupation. They were allowed to choose only one answer. The respondents had a wide range of options from which to choose, namely, accountancy and finance, banking and investment, business and management, education, engineering, health and social care, IT and Information Services, law, marketing and sales, media and publishing, property and construction, recruitment and HR, science and pharmaceuticals. As shown in figure 10, all choices were selected at least three times. The respondents concentrated mainly on financial and business services as greatest number of respondents revealed their sector of occupation was business and management (22%), followed by accountancy and finance (13%) and banking and investment (10%).

7. Reasons for immigrating to the UK
Figure 11. Survey question 6. Source: own elaboration
The respondents were also asked to select their main reasons for immigrating to the UK. Stating up to 3 answers was possible. The question listed seven potential reasons for immigration: a) I couldn’t find work in Poland; b) prospects of higher income; c) career opportunities; d) I didn’t like living in Poland; e) I felt I needed some change; f) family reasons; g) educational reasons.
Although financial reasons were among the most often selected answers on this question (49%), a considerable number of the respondents referred to career opportunities (54%) and desire for change (33%) as their main motives for migration. The least selected options were family reasons (15%) and lack of the employment in the home country (11%). The respondents provided also some additional answers such as: Gaining experience of living and working outside the home country; Result of extended summer work trip; Far better tolerance level in British society; Business opportunities; Cultural curiosity; Cultural reasons: I did not quite fit in in Poland; Personal reasons.
The present data corroborates the statement of Jan Maciejewski (2012), as mentioned in the theoretical part, about “new immigrants” after 2004 and their goals and reasons for immigration. It can therefore be stated that Poles who came to Britain after 2004 give high priority to personal and professional development.

8. Stereotypes about Britain
Figure 12. Survey question 7. Source: own elaboration
When the respondents were asked whether they held many stereotypes about Britain and the British before living and working in the UK, 47% agreed and 1% strongly agreed, as shown in figure 7. 30% neither agreed or disagreed, 10% disagreed and 11% strongly disagreed with this particular statement.
Examples of the stereotypes about English
Figure 13. Survey question 8- Examples of the stereotypes
Subsequently, the survey participants were to choose up to three examples of the stereotypes related particularly to English people. The respondents were provided with following examples of the stereotypes: a) English people always say ‘sorry’; b) English people have tea at 5 o’clock; c) English people are reserved and serious; d) English people are

9. posh and snobbish; e) English people have a hard time talking about personal matters; f) English people enjoy queuing; g) English people have specific sense of humour. Figure 8 shows that the respondents selected the most frequently such examples as: English people have specific sense of humour (67%), English people are reserved and serious (54%), English people have tea at 5 o’clock (44%). Some additional responses were also provided: Direct and sincere feedback is very hard to get; Brits always say they are happy with the results.
Change in view of the stereotypes
Figure 14. Survey question 9. Source: own elaboration
Accordingly, 41% of the respondents agreed and nearly 6% strongly agreed that their view of those stereotypes changed since they have been living and working in Britain as presented in figure 14. However, 22% disagreed and nearly 6% strongly disagreed with the statement. Additionally, 23% neither agreed or disagreed.
Living in the UK is different than living in Poland
Figure 15. Survey question 10. Source: own elaboration

10. In this questions, the respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with the statement provided. The majority of respondents agreed (50%) or strongly agreed (43%) that living in the UK is different than living in Poland. 7% of the respondent neither agreed or disagreed. ‘Disagree or strongly disagree’ was not chosen by any number of the respondents.
Cultural differences in living in the UK
Figure 16. Survey question 11. Source: own elaboration
The next question concerned the cultural differences between Poland and the UK. Figure 16 shows that the majority of the respondents (77%) reported arranging official matters as the main difference. The next apparent differences included going out (52%) and running household (31%). Some additional responses of the survey participants were as follows: British people are significantly less conservative and less religious than Poles. In a wake of that LGBT community enjoys equal rights and women have right to abortion; In UK there is very different approach to life – more empowered to make a change; Existence of hidden racism; Respecting law and order; People are more open-minded and don't criticize others as much as they do in Poland.
These results are consistent with Hofstede’s dimensions which were applied in theoretical part to Poland and United Kingdom. Additional comments of the respondents support the idea of low power distance index in the UK vs. relatively high power distance in Poland and considerable differences in uncertainty avoidance index.

11. Working in Poland vs. working in the UK
Figure 17. Survey question 12. Source: own elaboration
In this questions, the respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with the statement provided: Living in the UK is different than living in Poland. The vast majority of the respondents agreed (62%) and strongly agreed (25%) with the statement. However, 5% disagreed and 2% strongly disagreed, while 6% neither agreed or disagreed with it.
Cultural differences in working in the UK
Figure 18. Survey question 13. Source: own elaboration
When asked about the differences in terms of work & business, most of the respondents noted: communication style (66%), business etiquette (51%) and level of formality (37%). Respondents provided also some additional comments: [In Britain]It is much easier to start and work as self-employed. National Insurance Contributions are much lower; It's easier to set up and run a company; There is safe system of work; In UK you are

12. valued for your skills, for being a team player, for your personality; in Poland you are valued for your degrees, diplomas and who you know; Existence of short red tape in Poland, People are more open-minded and less noisy than in Poland; Work culture is different.
Culture shock
Figure 19. Survey question 14. Source: own elaboration
The survey participants were asked whether they experienced culture shock when they started to live and work in the UK. The most striking result to emerge from the data provided is that merely 35 % of the respondents agreed and 5% of them strongly agreed that they actually did experience culture shock, whereas 25% neither agreed or disagreed, as presented in figure 14. In contrast, 23% disagreed and 12% strongly disagreed about the occurrence of the culture shock in their personal and work life. These results seem to be inconsistent with the literature which considers the phenomenon of the culture shock as an inevitable part of the foreign encounter.

13. Culture shock feelings
Figure 20. Survey question 15. Source: own elaboration
Survey participants were also asked about their feelings associated with culture shock. They were allowed to choose up to three answers. As shown in figure 20, the most frequently chosen words were uncertainty (48%), homesickness (46%), and surprise (42%). Anxiety was chosen by merely 27% of the respondents what calls into question the overall established view of culture shock, proposed by Kalervo Oberg (1954), which holds that culture shock is primarily anxiety-oriented. The least chosen responses were confusion (17%) and frustration (13%). The respondents provided also some additional responses such as: curiosity, excitement. positive surprise and happiness. 14 respondents reported that none of above- mentioned feelings relate to them.

14. Culture shock stages
Figure 21. Survey question 16. Source: own elaboration
The next question regarded the stages of culture shock currently experienced by the respondents. The respondents were provided with following options: a) Honeymoon or tourist stage. During this phase the differences between the two cultures appear exciting to you ; b) Disorientation stage. During this phase, you start experiencing culture-related problems and you find them bothering ; (c) Recovery stage, during which you develop effective problem solving skills that enable you to function better in the new culture. (d) Adjustment stage – you adapt to living in the new environment by developing new habits and routines. When asked about the phase of the culture shock currently experienced, 47% of the respondents declared to be at the stage of adjustment, 15% pass the recovery stage and 5% experience honeymoon stage. Over one third of all respondents (32%) said that none of above-mentioned stages apply to them.

15. Culture shock factors
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Total
Average Ranking
cultural distance
12.37% 12
19.59% 19
7.22% 7
12.37% 12
12.37% 12
14.43% 14
21.65% 21
97
3.77
individual traits
14.43% 14
29.90% 29
11.34% 11
14.43% 14
14.43% 14
11.34% 11
4.12 4
97
4.65
host attitudes and perceptions
6.19% 6
14.43% 14
31.96% 31
24.74% 24
8.25% 8
9.28% 9
5.15% 5
97
4.37
social support
5.15% 5
7.22% 7
13.40% 13
20.62% 20
13.40% 13
16.49% 16
23.71% 23
97
3.26
motivation
7.22% 7
9.28% 9
13.40% 13
17.53% 17
26.80% 26
16.49% 16
9.28% 9
97
3.66
previous experience
5.15% 5
7.22% 7
14.43% 14
5.15% 5
15.46% 15
24.74% 24
27.84% 27
97
2.96
foreign language
49.48% 48
12.37% 12
8.25% 8
5.15% 5
9.28% 9
7.22% 7
8.25% 8
97
5.33
Figure 22. Survey question 17. Source: own elaboration
In question 17, the respondents were asked to rate the importance of different factors which influence the process of adaptation to a foreign culture. It is apparent from the ranking presented in figure 22 that the most important factor, identified by approximately half of the respondents, was foreign language. Based on the number of respondents, the next four most important factors influencing the process of adaptation to a foreign culture were: individual traits, host attitudes and perceptions, cultural distance and motivation. The least important determinants identified by the respondents included social support and previous experience.
Barriers to cross cultural communication and relations
Figure 23. Survey question 18. Source: own elaboration

16. When asked about the barriers to cross cultural communication and relations, the respondents enumerated language (33%) as well as beliefs, values and attitudes (29%) as the most challenging ones. These barriers were followed by misinterpretations/stereotypes (20%) and stress resulting from intercultural communication (13%). Non-verbal communication was noted by only 5% of the respondents.
Return to Poland
Figure 24. Survey question 18. Source: own elaboration
The respondents were asked whether they are planning to return to Poland. About 37% of the respondents were not sure, while 31% said ‘no’. Only 11% declared their willingness to return to the home country.
Question 20 was an open-ended. Here, the respondents were asked to provide 3 pieces of advice (based on their experience) related to avoiding suffering from culture shock. The answers provided by the respondents have been arranged into the themes and modified at times to facilitate comprehension.
Language
 Learn fluent English
 Work on your accent
 Develop your communication skills
 Observe and listen carefully to the native speakers
 Do not afraid to speak
 Watch TV, listen to radio, read press in English
 Try to think like an Englishman

17. Behaviour
 Believe in yourself, your own capabilities and potential
 Be open-minded and open to new experiences
 Keep a positive attitude and be ready for new challenges
 Be determined to reach your goals
 Be professional and honest
 Do not stereotype
 Smile as the sense of humour is really valued in Britain
 Never be direct, always add ‘please’
 Respect law and order
 Respect people with different beliefs, sexual orientation or colour of the skin
 Have work ethic
 Do not sell yourself short
 Reject racism and intolerance
 Think like a child: learn with no expectations, live the moment
 Do not complain
 Be patient; give yourself time to adapt
 Value your time
 Go with the flow
 Treat others like you wish to be treated
 Develop professionally; take part in courses, volunteering
 If you are good at your job, no one will care that you are Polish or any other nationality
Interactions:
 Do not isolate from the foreign environment
 Integrate with the local community
 Try to socialize; make friends with the local people
 Try to join social groups
 Do not close into ‘Polish ghetto’
 Do not be afraid to ask your British colleagues for advice
 Keep in touch with your family and friends back home

18.  Talk to other emigrants
 Try to meet new people who can help you with your career
 Find a mentor or a person who can guide you through your career
 Seek to create a mixed circle of friends
Pre-departure
 Do the research before you come to the UK
 Have a realistic plan
 Do not create high expectations at the beginning
 Be prepared to be surprised or shocked
 Come to the UK for internship or seasonal work to test how you like it
 Talk to someone who already lives in a country
 Decide what you want to do and how you are going to achieve this
 Get to know the host culture and social behaviors
 Familiarize with the employment law and rights of the employee
 Speak to other Polish people on forums to find out what is it like to live in UK
Cultural differences
 Learn customs
 Be aware of the cultural differences and sensitivities
 Get to know the host culture and social behaviors
 Do not worry about first few blunders you will inevitably make
 Do not compare by saying; ‘We do things differently’
 Do not assume that the Polish way of doing things is superior
 Leave ‘Polish messianism’ behind
 Do not give up your cultural background
 Learn from the natives; do not try to change them
 Accept that foreigners are different
 Listen, observe, experience the foreign culture
 Be prepared to be more relaxed and less ‘down to the point’ – what is straightforward business language in Poland, comes off as rude in the UK–and what is polite can be seen as overly official

19.  You will never fit in, maybe your children or grandchildren do, but you will be lost generation
Practicality
 Consider the cost of living
 Have enough money to start with
 Consider further education
In the final part of the survey, the respondents were provided with the opportunity to add some additional comments related to the topic of the survey. Some of the comments included:
 Before I came to Scotland in 2004 I had heard the terminology "culture shock" but I did not appreciate the true meaning of it, until I settled in Glasgow. I could not believe that drivers can be so polite and always give way to others. When I started doing this from time to time when I would visit my family back in Poland, Polish drivers would look at me in disbelief and think that there was something wrong with me, or just ignore my politeness failing to thank me. The friendliness of Scots is visible not only in driving. Strangers often smile at me for no particular reason. In Poland, when you smile at someone, they usually suspect you of having some sort of hidden agenda. Other positive aspects of my culture shock concern life in general being easier in Scotland than in Poland in terms of better roads, strong community spirit, well organised and helpful state and local governments. I come to the conclusion that my culture shock was generally a very positive experience apart from couple exceptions. One concerns food. The majority of food in Poland is organic. In the UK, you need to pay high premium to get quality food. Poland is full of local small shops, whereas Scotland seems to be taken over by supermarkets and chain shops. So called high streets in little towns and villages as well as farmers markets are bound for extinction, while they remain to thrive in Poland. The other exception concerns general lack of understanding of Polish culture in British workplace. My British colleagues always complain that Poles speak fast, direct and sometimes appear to be aggressive and argumentative. To me, this is just how Poles are brought up by the Polish system. If you want to say something, you just do it. In Poland you do not cover it with polite phrases that make your communication long and hide the true sense. Your comments are short, dry and to the point, while in Scotland, it is much longer, very polite, sometimes vague due to too many words. So this is one thing I had to learn the hard way at work - adopt British way of communicating both orally and in writing and even after 10 years of living in the UK, I find it hard not to offend oversensitive Brits.

20.  I had prepared myself for foreign encounter before I came to London. I did some extensive research about British and their culture and set realistic expectations – these steps helped me to turn culture shock into a truly positive experience
 I find previous experience and knowing the language vital; I first came to the UK in 2005 and had a terribly hard time adjusting to the English way of life, so much so that I returned to Poland the next year and finished my studies in Warsaw . During and after my studies, however, I lived abroad in a few more countries, including places in North America, and when I returned to the UK for the second time, in 2011, I suddenly discovered I had no trouble adjusting, I picked up on the subtle differences in verbal and non-verbal communication very quickly; I found England a lot more similar to Poland than the US but realized that it also had those qualities which I appreciate about Anglo-Saxon culture (a certain lack of formality and a friendly politeness in everyday interactions) and ended up feeling much more at ease in London than I do in Poland these days.
 In UK your skills, knowledge and attitude, being a team player and change maker are more important than in Poland. In Poland the biggest value is placed on diplomas, certificates etc. (aka PAPERS!) and who you know in UK hierarchy in a work place almost doesn't exist; in Poland hierarchy is very strong etc.
 The biggest culture shock was not from the local populace but from people deeply situated in their former significantly different culture
 I did not have any prejudice against British people before coming to the UK. However I did experience a lot of negative attitudes towards me. Especially this is visible in business. Being a successful w woman and a foreigner is not always easy.
3.3 Research results and implications
The study shows that majority of Polish Professionals in Britain constitutes highly educated specialists from various fields in their thirties who have been residing the biggest cities in the UK (including London and Edinburgh). They are characterized by English fluency and concentrated on their personal and career development.
Contrary to the expectations, merely 40% of the respondents agreed that they experienced culture shock at the beginning of their stay in the UK. Over one third of Polish professionals did not find it applicable to their personal experience and a one quarter neither agreed or disagreed whether they experienced it. A possible explanation for this might be the lack of the adequate name for culture shock. The term generates merely negative connotations (e.g. crisis, alienation, state of anxiety, depression, stress, shock) and it is frequently associated with the ‘disease model’ overused in the previous literature, as mentioned in the theoretical part. However, as study shows only 27% of the respondents linked culture shock with anxiety

21. and 13% identified it with frustration. It is interesting to note that the considerable number of the Poles participating in the study associated culture shock with the positive feelings such as surprise, curiosity, excitement and happiness manifesting thus the ‘growth model’ of culture shock. There are, however, other possible explanations for these results. The degree to which culture shock occurs depends on a variety of factors. The most considerable ones, as pointed out by the respondents of the survey, constitute foreign language fluency and individual traits (e.g. age, resourcefulness, independence, determination). Thus, it may be that some Polish professionals in Britain did not experience culture shock or did experience it only to some degree due to their education, high English language proficiency and individual traits. It may also be explained by differences between Polish and British cultures. The study shows that Polish professionals in Britain find many aspects of the British culture and business culture as more favourable comparing to home country. As some of the survey respondents point out: “People in Britain are less conservative and more open-minded” ; “In Britain it’s easier to set up and run a company” etc. For this reason, as it may be inferred, Polish professionals experienced little culture shock or are unaware of its occurrence. As regards stages of culture shock, it is worth pointing out that one third of the survey respondents did not identify themselves with any stage provided. It may indicate that the large number of the respondents did not follow the predictable order of culture adaptation proposed i.a. by Karl Oberg but rather experienced it individually at different rates. This finding seems to be consistent with Pedersen theory which states that, “Culture shock is a profoundly personal experience. It does not affect all people in the same way or even the same person in the same way when it reoccurs” (Pedersen 1995, VII). As the study shows, Polish professionals in Britain may face many challenges while entering British environment. However, they enumerated various pieces of advice on how to cope in British environment. The respondents were rather optimistic about living and working in Britain and concentrated specifically on such issues as: English fluency, socialisation with host culture members, openness to new experiences and familiarisation with new culture.

22. Conclusions
This paper examines the phenomenon of culture shock from the perspective of its possible impact on Polish professionals in Britain who entered the country in and after 2004. The study set out to analyze the role of culture shock and to compare business cultures in Poland and Britain in order to reveal their relation to nowadays’ cross-cultural experiences. The theoretical part of this paper was designed to provide a background to culture shock and other related concepts, whereas the practical part aimed to form recommendations on dealing with culture shock for Polish professionals who consider living and working in Britain.
The study confirms the hypothesis that both the ‘disease model’ and the ‘growth model’ should be applied in developing strategies for coping with culture shock, and that these models ought not to be considered separately, but rather as a combination of their specific features. Undoubtedly, culture shock may be connected with stress and uncertainty arising from the unknown, however, it may also serve as a positive factor in cross cultural adaptation. The previous literature tried to simplify the course of the culture shock by presenting it as linear and ordered, nevertheless, the process seems to be more complex and each individual may experience it differently. As far as the target group of the study is concerned, it may be stated that such factors as age, individual traits, education, English language proficiency and, primarily, the favorable British work culture contribute to Polish professionals in Britain experiencing little culture shock and adapting to the foreign culture successfully. The most significant differences between both cultures in question include: high uncertainty avoidance index in Poland vs. low uncertainty index in Britain, excessive politeness of the British vs. straightforwardness of Poles; normative and self-contained culture in Poland vs indulgent and quite pragmatic culture in Britain. Even though the difference between the blunt, direct communication style of Poles and the reserved, understated and indirect communication of the British may constitute the greatest challenge, Poles fit in well into the polite and well-ordered British culture.
Moreover, one of the aims of the research was to provide advice for Polish professionals entering British culture. The most interesting outcomes include, “Do not isolate yourself in the Polish minority” ; “Quit comparing both cultures by saying: ‘We do things differently’”; “Drop the messianistic ideas of Poland” ; “Prepare to be surprised or shocked” ; “Be patient, give yourself time to adapt” ; “Create no high expectations at the beginning”.

23. Despite the high response rate, the most important limitation of the study lies in its quantitative nature. Although the survey contains several open ended questions and allows for additional comments, it does not concentrate on an individual experience. Thus, it may be stated that the qualitative comments are the source of the most important data and that at this point interviews or case studies would prove more effective.
It may be stated that more research is needed to allow better understanding of the nature of culture shock in British environment as well as its negative and most importantly positive consequences. It would be interesting to compare the experiences of individuals within the same target group.