Breaking out of the expat bubble: Connecting with a Danish colleague

Many expatriates remain within the so-called expatriate bubble, where they have very little contact with host country nationals. Yet such contact could help a lot with adjusting to the new country when they first arrive. The project aims to put international employees in contact with a Danish colleague. Contact with a local host could have benefits in terms of adjustment, social support, and intercultural competence, as previous research shows (Van Bakel, 2012). This project specifically focuses on a local host at work since this could also have an impact on job performance and commitment to the organization. It could be a good way to both better welcome international employees to the Faculty, and retain these valuable employees. It can also help these international employees to build a network across the organisation.

The project will be carried out in the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences of Syddansk Universitet. This project adds to existing projects such as the Copenhagen Host Program and the Odense Host Program, that offer career hosts and culture hosts. That contact takes place outside the workplace, and is also a good support for spouses of international employees, who do not (yet) have a job. The present project specifically focuses on expatriates in the workplace itself, and would like to investigate whether having a local host within the same organisation can help them function better and increase their willingness to stay.

Engelsk