Having just returned from our annual family skiing trip I have been reminded of how important it is to conserve and restore your energy resources. A few consecutive, full days of skiing can easily sap your physical energy. But we all know that our mental energy is a finite resource as well. And sometimes it […]
The Expatriate Work–Family Interface: A Case of Self-Efficacy
Expatriate experiences, and adjustment in particular, have been one of the most prominent research topics in the field of global mobility. Rightfully so, given the multitude of challenges that expatriates face, such as increased job responsibilities, excessive travel, major life changes, and dealing with cultural others. Industry surveys (e.g. Santa Fe Relocation) indicate that many […]
The Fragmented Figures of Refugees
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Europe has been facing the fastest growing exodus of people since World War II. It is estimated that by now there are millions of refugees who have crossed Ukrainian borders, and many more people who had to relocate within the country. Refugees, by definition, are people who […]
When Putin’s War Meets Zelensky’s Leadership
Some time ago, when the Covid crisis unfolded, I wrote about global leadership lessons, as such instances of global disruptions have the capacity to reveal how leaders operate and who they really are. Currently, we are into the fourth month of Putin’s war in Ukraine. Zooming out from the real suffering and emotional burden of […]
What Makes Repatriates More Likely to Transfer Knowledge upon Their Return?
In a recent post I wrote about the research my colleagues and I conducted on inpatriation and knowledge transfer. Based on the research data we concluded that inpatriates contribute considerably to knowledge transfer and subsidiary development, leading us to recommend multinational corporations (MNCs) to view inpatriation from a more strategic perspective. As a follow-up on […]
What Motivates People to Take on Global Work?
Although travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic are taking a toll on physically mobile people such as expatriates or migrants, the number of people working across national boundaries is nowhere near stagnating. In fact, studies such as the Santa Fe Relocation Global Mobility Survey 2020/21 suggest that the nature of global mobility is evolving […]
The Problems of Our Left Brained World
Many of us have grown up with respect and admiration for logic, reason, and rational thinking. Broadly speaking, Western educational systems aim at developing these exact skills and qualities, teaching us to think methodically, to organize, structure and categorize knowledge, to think in abstract terms and derive mental representations of different experiences. According to Ian […]
Why the Strategic Use of Inpatriation Benefits Multinationals
You have probably heard an old aphorism – Time is Money. Today, in the knowledge economy, it is more suitable to equate money with knowledge though. I believe that any contemporary economist would argue that knowledge (and technology) are the required components for enhanced productivity and economic growth. This premise holds particularly true for multinational […]
What If Santa Asked ’Have You Been a Good Employer’?
As 2021 is drawing to a close, we probably agree that we have been better adjusted and equipped for this second year of the pandemic. For one thing, there has been a global Covid vaccine rollout, which likely helped many countries across the world to manage the situation better and keep their economies relatively open. […]
Ted Lasso: An Example of a Global Leader Who Wins Over People
Do you remember the TV series The Office? The American series aired in 2005, ran a total of 201 episodes, won several awards, and surely made it to the list of favourites for many viewers. Probably echoing the perceptions of many, I would argue that the series was indeed quite entertaining and funny, especially because […]
Global Leadership Succession: Is Merkel Irreplaceable?
On September 26th Germany voted for a new government—and a new leader! As the election results in Germany unravelled, the whole of Europe and the world watched carefully. Indeed, Angela Merkel’s departure is significant and marks an end of an era. Merkel is the first German chancellor, who has served a record four terms in […]
Global Issues on the Global Stage of Sports
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are over. Although each Olympic event has its moments and distinguishing features, the Tokyo Olympics got themselves a unique status of the so-called Pandemic Games. Echoing the controversial attitudes before the Olympics, opinions about the de facto event are similarly scattered and contrasting. Some praise Tokyo for uplifting everyone’s spirit and […]
When Globalization Gets Stuck…
As consumers we rarely think about how the products we order online get to our homes, or how the items we buy from the local shops get there. Indeed, the world is so interconnected nowadays, that buying Japanese tea in a local store in Sweden is nothing out of the ordinary. Neither is ordering a […]
Let’s ReThink the Notion of a Confident Leader
In uncertain and volatile times, we need strong and confident leadership, don’t we?! The answer might be more complicated than a simple Yes or No. As a psychologist might wittily remark, it all depends… How do we define and see such confidence? Is a confident leader the one, who has all the answers to difficult […]
Global Mobility in a (Post-)Covid World: Findings from a Recent Industry Survey
Will global mobility disappear in a (post-)Covid world? About a year ago I entertained the idea of a dystopian post-Coronavirus world, a version of an ’online’ world, where we would rather upgrade our ZOOM and Google Meets licences than book business trips and plan relocations… Luckily, such a scenario may remain fictional, because global mobility […]
Lost Connections: Lessons from Covid and Beyond
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is taking its tolls. Let alone the grim death statistics, there are all kinds of long-term socio-economic effects, and the more recently emerging realization of substantial mental health problems. Indeed, the rise of anxiety and depression amid the pandemic is easy to comprehend: people live in isolation and amidst restrictions, disrupted […]
When the Pandemic Isn’t the Only Reason to Work from Home
By now, the majority of us have at least some experience of setting up our office in our living room, commuting to work within seconds of stepping from one room into another, and ‘bumping’ into your colleagues for ‘random’ chit chat at scheduled times and through prepared online meetings… yes, the work-from-home experience, which, as […]
