In the Media

“Starting a job in the Danish workplace can be hard for foreigners” – Danish regional newspaper network taler med amerikansk gaesteforelaser Kay Xander Mellish

“Starting a job in the Danish workplace can be hard for foreigners” – Danish regional newspaper network

Danish “freedom with responsibility” can be misunderstood by internationals – Børsen Ledelse taler med Kay Xander Mellish, foredragsholder om dansk arbedjskultur.

Danish “freedom with responsibility” can be misunderstood by internationals – Børsen Ledelse

“The unwritten rules of Danish working culture” – Berlingske Business

“The unwritten rules of Danish working culture” – Berlingske Business

“Ask for help when you need it” – Sondag Magazine interview med amerikansk gæstetaler Kay Xander Mellish.

“Ask for help when you need it” – Sondag Magazine

“No one told me how important it is to eat cake in the office” – Femina taler med amerikansk oplaegsholder Kay Xander Mellish.

“No one told me how important it is to eat cake in the office” – Femina

Four ways to avoid conflict with your international colleagues – Berlingske talks to Kay Xander Mellish, expert on Danish working culture:

For Danes: Four ways to avoid conflict with your international colleagues – Berlingske

Kay Xander Mellish speaks to TV2

How to Work in Denmark: Kay Xander Mellish speaks to TV2

How to Live in Denmark makes an appearance in the BBC.com story “The Single Word that Connects Denmark.”

According to writer Karen Gardiner, the single word that connects Denmark is samfundssind, or putting the interests of society above one’s own interests.

She quotes Kay Xander Mellish about the ways in which samfundssind is created and encouraged in Denmark.

Heavily subsidised through taxes, Danish daycare centres foster social mindedness early in life. “Almost everyone goes to public daycare in Denmark,” said Kay Xander Mellish, author of the books How to Live in Denmark and How to Work in Denmark.

“Even Prince Christian, the future King Christian XI, attended public daycare.” Every child born in Denmark is guaranteed a place in daycare from six months to six years of age where the emphasis is on playing and socialising – formal education doesn’t begin until age eight or nine.

“In the first few years,” said Mellish, “children learn the basic rules for functioning as a society. They learn how to sit at a table at lunch time, wait until it is their turn to be served, and feed themselves. In the playground, they spend most of their time in “free play”, in which they make up rules for their own games.”

Staff generally don’t lead play, she explained, which “allows the children to form their own groups and learn how to work together on their own.”

Often, Mellish added, schools start the day by singing a song together from the popular Højskolesangbogen, (the Folk High School Songbook), a cultural tradition that extends to universities, offices and, on Wednesday mornings, Copenhagen Main Library.

You can read the complete article here.

An American who has been living in Denmark for more than 10 years, Kay Xander Mellish writes extensively about Danish business culture and how it differs from US business culture.

Kay is the author of the books Working with Americans: Tips for Danes, and its companion volume Working with Danes: Tips for Americans, as well as the popular book guide for internationals on the Danish job market, How to Work in Denmark.

Book Kay for a real-life or virtual event with your team – check out her list of events.

Book an event
If you represent a company or organization and would like to have an American keynote speaker in Denmark make a presentation to your group, contact Kay via this site’s contact form for more information.

Alternately, you can read more about all of Kay’s events on the How to Live in Denmark events page.

Buy Kay Xander Mellish’s new book, Working with Danes: Tips for Americans/Working with Americans: Tips for Danes on our webshop, or at Amazon, Saxo, Google Books, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Nook, or via our webshop.

Or follow Kay on LinkedIn.

On TV2’s “Go’ Morgen Danmark,” Kay recently discussed the differences between US and Danish working culture.

In addition, DR.DK featured Kay in a story about how Americans perceive Danish social habits.

Journalist og forfatter Kay Xander Mellish, der har boet i Danmark siden år 2000 og har udgivet bøger med titler som ‘How to Live in Denmark’ og ‘How to Work in Denmark’. Bøgerne er skrevet med en tilflytters perspektiv og kaster et kærligt-kritisk blik på danskernes vaner og uvaner.

– Jeg er for nylig begyndt at coache danskere i de kulturelle forskelle, de vil opleve, når de laver forretninger i USA. Her er en vigtig læring, at danskere generelt ikke bryder sig om at give positiv feedback, medmindre noget er virkelig sensationelt,

Kay also noted the difference in the way Danes and Americans handle social events, particularly dinner parties.

“Når du er til et middagsselskab i Danmark, forventes det, at du bliver hængende virkelig, virkelig længe. Det forventes også, at du bliver siddende på den samme plads hele aftenen og i øvrigt drikker store mængder alkohol,” siger Kay Xander Mellish.

“Når du er inviteret til middag i USA, så rejser du dig, når du er færdig med at spise, og går måske ind i stuen og ser tv eller gamer sammen eller går i biografen. I USA tolkes det som dårlig opdragelse, hvis du bliver hængende for længe og bliver en byrde for din vært.

“I Danmark tolkes det derimod som uhøfligt, hvis du som gæst tager tidligt hjem. Da jeg kom hertil, kom jeg til at fornærme mange danskere, fordi jeg ikke forstod denne kulturelle forskel.”

Finally, BBC.com quoted Kay Xander Mellish in its story The Single Word that Connects Denmark.

It quoted Kay as saying:

Heavily subsidised through taxes, Danish daycare centres foster social mindedness early in life. “Almost everyone goes to public daycare in Denmark,” said Kay Xander Mellish, author of the books How to Live in Denmark and How to Work in Denmark. “Even Prince Christian, the future King Christian XI, attended public daycare.” Every child born in Denmark is guaranteed a place in daycare from six months to six years of age where the emphasis is on playing and socialising – formal education doesn’t begin until age eight or nine.

A culture where everyone is well looked after fosters trust and a sense of all being in it together

“In the first few years,” said Mellish, “children learn the basic rules for functioning as a society. They learn how to sit at a table at lunch time, wait until it is their turn to be served, and feed themselves. In the playground, they spend most of their time in “free play”, in which they make up rules for their own games.”

Staff generally don’t lead play, she explained, which “allows the children to form their own groups and learn how to work together on their own.”

And Kristeligt Dagblad interviewed Kay about the role of alcohol in Danish life.

“”Jeg husker tydeligt mine første julefrokoster, hvor alle de gifte mænd pludselig var enormt interesseret i at blive venner med én og tale om, at deres koner aldrig forstod dem,” siger Kay Xander Mellish.

Hear all our How to Live in Denmark podcasts on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts.