Fear is one of the universal and central emotions to human existence. Some 200,000 years ago fear helped our caveman ancestors to survive on a daily basis, and it seems to have been an adaptive feature of our cognitive and affective repertoire ever since. Although nowadays we hardly find any saber-toothed tigers, we successfully focus […]
From Brain Drain to Brain Gain: The Case of Canada
In my previous blog post, I discussed the topic of entrepreneurial talent and highlighted some findings from the latest GTCI report. One of the key points in the report was about the need to nurture such talents as they provide small businesses, large organizations and countries with a competitive edge. The notion of nurturing implies […]
Entrepreneurial Talent: Insights from the Latest GTCI Report
The notion of talent is central to all stories of success. We can speak about high achieving talents in sports, find many historical accounts about talented leaders of countries and nations, and attribute business success to talented heads of organizations. Yet, behind these success stories of talented leaders in the field there are usually stories […]
Deep Work in a Global Context
In the last blog post I touched upon the topics of internet addiction, digital distractions, and the harmful influences of our online lifestyles, in general. Following up on the topic, let’s look at the notion of deep work, a term coined by a computer science professor at Georgetown University, Cal Newport. In his bestselling book, […]
The dark side of the digitally savvy and connected world
Internet and information technology tend to be viewed as major contributors to the development of global businesses and, generally, productivity growth. I have also repeatedly written about these benefits, be it business opportunities created by social media platforms, new forms of work, such as telecommuting and virtual expatriation, or improved connectivity that allows for functioning […]
Should I Control You, if I Trust You? Recent Research on the Trust-Control Link in Russia
Reflecting about what nurtures personal and professional relationships, we are probably quick to think about trust as a main ingredient. And when you are asked what trust means, you probably think ‘less control’. If I trust you, I shouldn’t need or want to control you, right? Well, this logic is challenged as soon as you become a […]
Run and Hide from Our Group Identities?
In my last blog post I wrote about identity politics and how they lead to further division of society based on emphasizing diversity. Speaking bluntly, in our efforts to notice and embrace diversity, and eradicate inequality and intolerance, we may have created a climate in which everyone feels that the group they identify with is unnoticed […]
What if the tale of diversity and inclusion has gone wrong?
Modern technology, international business, cooperation through cross-cultural projects, a steady increase in the number of international travelers – shouldn’t it all bring people together and create more cosmopolitanism? Paradoxically, while having all these opportunities to connect, we seem to be moving further away from this ‘togetherness’, and, as current political trends indicate, towards separation and […]
Out now: International Human Resource Management, 5th Edition
Dear regular reader and guest to my blog, whether you are student, a fellow scholar or a practitioner in the field of international human resource management, I would like to draw your attention to the latest edition of the bestselling International Human Resource Management, published by SAGE. Together with my colleagues Anne-Wil Harzing and Helene […]
AI: Robots against Humans, or For Humans?
Automation of jobs is an unfolding phenomenon at the moment. As discussed in one of my previous blog posts, there is some sense of worry and anxiety concerning this. There are industry reports, statistical estimates and numerous media articles, which all suggest the possibility of robots replacing humans across many jobs, of robots ‘taking over’… For example, drivers […]
What does contemporary human resource management stand for?
Foremost, I believe, it is the notion of recognizing employees not only as resources but as human beings, which is becoming more central in the contemporary approach to managing people. Compared to the first industrial revolution, when in the factories skills were standardized and employees were perceived as a commodity, today continuous automation shifts us […]
Growth Mindset in Global Work: The Impact of the Belief of Malleability
In my last blog post I discussed Dweck’s mindsets theory and its implications in organizational settings, namely in relation to employees’ interests and inter-disciplinary problem solving skills. Today I would like to follow-up on the topic by looking more specifically into mindsets theory in the context of global work and expatriation. Indeed, the possible impact of a growth […]
Employees with Broader Interests: Benefits and Prerequisites
In my school years, I truly enjoyed learning languages and believed that I am good at it, that this was my talent. On the other hand, I had trouble with chemistry, which was also obvious to me – I just had no talent for chemistry, and there didn’t seem much I could do about it. […]
Health risks of migrant workers
Discussions about migration usually revolve around its impact on host locations. Are migrants stealing locals’ jobs or supporting the local economy? What kind of migration thresholds and migration policies should be in place? What should migrants do to integrate better into local communities? All these questions are naturally important, yet, there are very important considerations on the other side as […]
Expatriate Gig Workers: Opportunities and Considerations
The gig economy is on the rise – we can experience it while downloading yet another on-demand service app, meeting yet another freelancer, or seeing an increasing amount of temporary project-based job openings. The gig economy is also a highly discussed trend in different media outlets and industry reports. Some time ago I discussed the gig economy in […]
French Victory: Another Socio-political Statement?
The World Cup is over and this time France claimed mastery of the game. Naturally though, the big event and this big victory are not isolated from important social and political issues. As discussed in my previous blog post, in general, this World Cup has been Russia’s political statement and branding campaign. France’s World Cup win […]
