msvanbakel

msvanbakel

“Willing to go the extra mile”

Companies increasingly depend on their employees to invest their time and enthusiasm. With my colleagues Mette Strange Noesgaard and Snejina Michailova, we just published an article about the work engagement of assigned expats (AEs). This blog post summarizes our main…

How to make friends in South Korea

Some countries are more difficult for expats to make local friends in than others, for example Denmark. South Korea is another country that is ranking low on the InterNations survey in terms of the categories “feeling at home” and “making…

How do expats make new friends?

‘The happy expat needs friends’, yes, but how does this work? What helps and what doesn’t? And what can expats do to help the process along? Read here some of the highlights of my research based on 72 interviews with…

Working together interculturally

Many organisations hire international talent to meet the needs of their business. These international employees have to work well together with the locals who already work there. I am starting a new study in both Denmark and New Zealand in…