There are a many things that the pandemic has made more difficult, complicated and/or confusing but one that has been brought into sharp focus in recent weeks with the return of “in person” meetings has been the etiquette of business greetings and in particular whether to shake hands, bump fists (or elbows) or just simply smile from a distance.
In UAE the default position pre-pandemic was to shake hands unless you were greeting a Muslim lady in which case it was a simple hello and exchange of business cards. The current position is uncertainty - even in my own mind I am not entirely sure quite which approach I am comfortable with and during last weeks Long Lunch, the problem was particularly acute with so many people to greet - I would guess I shook hands, bumped fists or elbows or a combination of all three with probably 40 or 50 people.
It was interesting to observe the different techniques adopted by different people. Some took a decisive step forward with hand outstretched leaving no doubt that the handshake was on offer. Others - probably the majority - left their options open until the last moment waiting for a cue which lead to some awkwardness if the cue was misread or there was a last minute change of mind with fist bump meeting handshakes or elbows - a kind of formal version of rock, paper, scissors!
Unless there is some kind of universal protocol adopted I cannot see the problem going away any time soon, and it will be interesting to see if the ubiquitous handshake ever regains its top spot in the business greeting hierarchy.
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