In the Media

Denmark’s highest-circulation newspaper, the Jyllands-Posten, published an extensive interview with “How to Work in Denmark” author Kay Xander Mellish about working culture in Denmark.

Accompanied by photos taken at the Copenhagen headquarters of Carlsberg, Kay’s former workplace, the article goes into Kay’s reasons for coming to Denmark and her observations about the Danish workplace.

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More than 200,000 foreigners are now at work in Denmark, according to the Confederation of Danish Industry. But the fine points of business etiquette in Denmark can be tricky for non-Danes. Many of the “rules” are unwritten, and Danes have expectations of their business partners they might not always be aware of themselves.

In an article for TheLocal.dk, Kay talks about some of these unsaid expectations and unwritten rules of Danish business etiquette.

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Kay Xander Mellish’s new book on Danish working culture, How to Work in Denmark, has received extensive coverage in the Danish media, including an appearance on the nationally-televised “Go’ Morgen Danmark” to publicize the book.

Kay also stopped by the P1 Morgen studios in DR Byen to discuss the book (listen here). She also chatted with Anders Christiansen on Radio 24-7 about the ins and outs of Danish working culture, and appeared with Karen Høgh on her Solopreneur podcast.

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“Dansk kultur set med amerikansk øjne” was the topic when Kay Xander Mellish was interviewed for Vores Villa, Denmark’s most popular interior design magazine with a circulation of more than 1 million homeowners.

In a light-hearted article entitled Sådan ser danske boliger ud – set med en amerikaners øjne, the magazine quoted Kay as saying ““I er et folkefærd, der går efter kvalitet frem for kvantitet. Jeg oplever, at danskere har færre, men gode venner og færre, men bedre ting!”

According to Kay, these are the “10 særlige kendetegn ved danske hjem”:

DE 5 FANTASTISKE:
🇩🇰 Færre ting giver mindre at fokusere på og gør det nemmere at slappe af
🇩🇰 Dansk designhåndværk – som fx Georg Jensens frugtskål
🇩🇰 Naturens farver spiller en stor rolle i danske hjem.
🇩🇰 Velholdte trægulve

🇩🇰 Gardiner og vinduer, der er designet til at lukke lys ind

DE 5 KNAP SÅ FANTASTISKE:
🇩🇰 Stor ensartethed, fordi der er en frygt for at sprænge rammerne.
🇩🇰 Isolation, der er designet til at holde på varmen – smart om vinteren, men upraktisk en hed sommerdag.
🇩🇰 Hårde sofaer og senge – og der er ikke nok puder i dem!
🇩🇰 Amatørmalerier på væggene, der slet ikke lever op til de smukke, dyre verdensklassemøbler
🇩🇰 Stole, der er rene kunstværker, men som man sidder elendigt i.

Read more in the article in Vores Villa.

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

Get the How to Work in Denmark Book for more tips on finding a job in Denmark, succeeding at work, and understanding your Danish boss. It can be ordered via Amazon or Saxo.com or from any bookstore using the ISBN 978-743-000-80-8. Contact Kay to ask about bulk purchases, or visit our books site to find out how to get the eBook. You can also book a How to Work in Denmark event with Kay for your school, company, or professional organization.

Want to read more? Try the How to Live in Denmark book, available in paperback or eBook editions, and in English, Chinese, and Arabic. If you represent a company or organization, you can also book Kay Xander Mellish to stage a How to Live in Denmark event tailored for you, including the popular How to Live in Denmark Game Show. Kay stages occasional free public events too. Follow our How to Live in Denmark Facebook page to keep informed.

One of the most popular events for internationals in Denmark is the How to Live in Denmark Game Show.

We brought the game show to a group of newly-arrived students in Kalundborg, and the local press had this to say:

I Danmark kommer man klokken otte nul dut, hvis man er inviteret til klokken otte. Kommer man for tidligt, så venter man pænt i bilen, indtil klokken slår otte – og Gud nåde og trøste dig, hvis du kommer fem minutter for sent.

Sådan er en af de uskrevne regler for etikette og god tone her i landet, og det blev udlændinge bosat i Kalundborg torsdag aften klogere på, da den amerikanske journalist og foredragsholder Kay Xander Mellish holdt foredrag på vandrerhjemmet i Kalundborg.

Kommunens bosætningsteam var værter for kulturmødet, og de havde inviteret udvekslingstuderende på gymnasierne, udenlandske medarbejdere fra byens virksomheder, folk fra Sprogskolen og de nye internationale studerende fra Professionshøjskolen Absalons ingeniøruddannelse til at lære mere om normerne i den danske kultur.

Med glimt i øjet gav hun de fremmødte humoristiske eksempler på, hvad man gør og ikke gør over for danskere.

– Har I prøvet at sige godmorgen til nogen efter klokken 9? Den går bare ikke. Folk tror, I gør grin med, at de lige er stået op, lød det blandt andet fra den amerikansk foredragsholder.

Efter foredraget blev der leget lege – et jeopardy-spil om danske værdier samt en leg, hvor udlændingene skulle svare på, hvad de troede danskere ville svare til konkrete spørgsmål.

Et af dem lød: »Hvilken dessert er danskernes foretrukne?«.

Hertil blev der svaret »rødgrød med fløde« – så lidt har da sat sig fast.

See all our events for internationals on our events page.

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

Get the How to Work in Denmark Book for more tips on finding a job in Denmark, succeeding at work, and understanding your Danish boss. It can be ordered via Amazon or Saxo.com or from any bookstore using the ISBN 978-743-000-80-8. Contact Kay to ask about bulk purchases, or visit our books site to find out how to get the eBook. You can also book a How to Work in Denmark event with Kay for your school, company, or professional organization.

Want to read more? Try the How to Live in Denmark book, available in paperback or eBook editions, and in English, Chinese, and Arabic. If you represent a company or organization, you can also book Kay Xander Mellish to stage a How to Live in Denmark event tailored for you, including the popular How to Live in Denmark Game Show. Kay stages occasional free public events too. Follow our How to Live in Denmark Facebook page to keep informed.

Amerikansk foredragsholder Kay Xander Mellish taler med Michelle Hvid om Kays new bog Top 35 Mistakes Danes Make in English og Kays bog, blog og podcast How to Live in Denmark.

Hør podcasten her.

Læs mere om Kay Xander Mellishs arrangementer om Danmark og Dansk kultur, USA, og Janteloven, eller book hende til et foredrag.

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

Get the How to Work in Denmark Book for more tips on finding a job in Denmark, succeeding at work, and understanding your Danish boss. It can be ordered via Amazon or Saxo.com or from any bookstore using the ISBN 978-743-000-80-8. Contact Kay to ask about bulk purchases, or visit our books site to find out how to get the eBook. You can also book a How to Work in Denmark event with Kay for your school, company, or professional organization.

Want to read more? Try the How to Live in Denmark book, available in paperback or eBook editions, and in English, Chinese, and Arabic. If you represent a company or organization, you can also book Kay Xander Mellish to stage a How to Live in Denmark event tailored for you, including the popular How to Live in Denmark Game Show. Kay stages occasional free public events too. Follow our How to Live in Denmark Facebook page to keep informed.

As number of refugees in Denmark continues to rise, the Danish business newspaper Børsen asked Kay Xander Mellish how she thought they could best survive and thrive in their new country of residence.

In this business-oriented piece, Kay suggests that some of the new residents could make life better for both Danes and themselves by creating new shops and services, as previous Muslim immigrants to Denmark had done.

“Not long ago in Denmark – certainly within the memories of many adults today – shops closed Saturday afternoon and didn’t open again until Monday morning. If you were unfortunate enough to run out of milk on a Saturday evening, you had to borrow from a neighbor or figure out a way to cook Sunday dinner without it.

“The first large group of Muslim immigrants to Denmark changed this. In the early 1970’s, they started kiosks that were open on evenings and weekends, when Danish-owned shops were closed. The kiosks were very popular, and still exist today, even though supermarkets are open late. Those immigrants created something that wasn’t there before: they made the lives of Danes better. Now even the most hard-hearted Dane who talks of sending immigrants home can’t help but secretly think of the local Muslim-owned kiosks. What would we do without them?”

Read the Børsen article in English.

Photo: European immigrants to the USA arrive at Ellis Island, 1874.