In the last show we heard about different types of freedom and in this show, 294, we will continue this theme and find out how lack of freedom can drive someone to leave their country.
Also, in this show we’ll be looking beyond the Erasmus semester abroad, at what can happen when you aim to relocate to a new country permanently. Your head or your heart? Which will win?
We’ll end with a very important problem which Danish leaders often overlook. But is it just Danish leaders?
My name’s Anne Fox and this show is coming to you from Denmark, which is where today’s guest, Dora, decided to relocate to from Hungary. Dora is a coach and therapist and has noticed that, while the headline advantages of coming to Denmark to live are fairly well known globally, there is a downside, that Dora calls “killing me softly”.
But is this show all doom and gloom? No! We will finish with a very simple piece of advice that Dora has for Danish leaders, but which I think is very good advice for everyone.
Today I am talking with Dora Hegedus who runs a coaching company, called Your Thinking Partner, in Denmark. Dora will tell us why she felt that she and her family should leave Hungary, even though she was already in her fifties when they decided to make the move.
absolutely killing me softly
But first we’ll find out why the famed work-life balance of working in Denmark is not enough and how Danish leaders are losing their new international employees through careless inattention to one critical factor. What Dora might call, absolutely killing me softly.
absolutely ready to leave
So a sense of belonging is critical to being able to take full advantage of the freedoms of Denmark and in our next segment we will hear how it was this sense of belonging that Dora felt slipping away in her native Hungary. Hear how Dora felt increasingly alienated as we go absolutely ready to leave.
absolutely helpful
Now we don’t want to leave you with the feeling that Denmark is a hopeless case for internationals. It is clearly working for Dora. So here is one last piece of advice that Dora has for Danish leaders on how to retain their foreign staff. Let’s go absolutely helpful.
So that’s it! Ask your foreign colleagues if they need help. Advice which I am sure would bear fruit everywhere, not just Denmark. What do you think? What’s the best way of helping people feel they belong in your country?
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The next show will be coming to you from Germany with Laurent Borgmann on the 7th of June.
Until then – stay tuned to your international colleagues!
The host of this show is: Anne Fox
Hello and welcome to show 273 of our podcast “Absolutely Intercultural”. Our topic today is “What is home?”, a question that has many interpretations and potential answers. Is it the place in which we were born or the place where we live now? And is it actually a place at all? For some people, home is connected to their family roots. At the same time, others find it hard to identify themselves with their country or region of origin – they have moved on and made their home in other corners of the world. Some people had to leave their home, some may never even have had a real place to call home.