Curiosity is the Key to Celebrating a Culturally Different Christmas

Living abroad is the dream for many, but the reality doesn’t always live up to expectations. Adjusting to a new host country’s culture can be a challenge in any circumstance but this can be worsened during the festive period when the assignee’s traditions don’t marry up with those of the host country’s. Many assignees suffer this time of year from homesickness which could contribute to the failure of their assignment. So how can global mobility managers prepare their assignees culturally to ensure a successful assignment? In this festive episode of NES Chat, we’re joined by Donna-Marie Joergensen from C3 Consulting. Donna is responsible for cultural training and has lived as an expat in Denmark, Sweden, China and Japan. We talked about: • What it’s like to celebrate Christmas in a different culture • What to do if you misunderstand traditions in the host country • How celebrating abroad can impact your family • What to do if you’re a single expatriate celebrating abroad • Advice for how expatriates can integrate into their host country’s community • Advice for Global Mobility managers and how they can support their assignees. Did you enjoy this? Listen and subscribe to NES Chat on SoundCloud or find us on iTunes - just search for NES Chat! Looking for the latest updates in the complex world of Global Mobility? Sign up to our monthly newsletter to stay up to date with industry news: www.nesgt.com/expat-digest-newsletter