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Opinion

UK – DK Trade: Relearning to meet people
Gareth Garvey

May 8th, 2022


This article is more than 2 years old.

Working from home is more common now (photo: Pixabay)

We have all been part of the ‘Future of Work’ experiment for two years. As we, at least in Denmark, return to physical meetings, conferences and events, it is a time to reflect on what we each have learned from the process. 

Poor form at the forum
While we have quickly adapted to the time, travel and business attire-saving world of Teams and Zoom and attended many online meetings, many of us picked up several bad habits. 

Ask yourself the following questions. How many meetings and webinars did I sign up for but not attend? Did I send my apologies? When I attended online meetings, was I present or was I multitasking? Did I make the same contribution I would have made at a physical event? What did I miss?

To attend or not to …
We are relieved we can now hold physical meetings again, but it is an excellent time to take stock and learn from the experiment as individuals and organisations. 

Ask yourself if you need to attend. Think about what you expect and want from the meeting, event or conference. Is it about exposure to ideas and learning something new? Is it about meeting some new people and building your network? Is it about profiling yourself or your business? People who do not need to participate should have an opportunity to excuse themselves without losing face. 

Focused BCCD events
At the BCCD, we hold many events. It is great to see a long attendance list and meet people we have not met before. 

However, it is even better for everyone if all attendees are genuinely interested and are engaged in the discussion. Committed attendees improve the quality of the networking afterwards. 

Our events have therefore become more focused. We continue to learn from the ‘Future of Work’ experiment. Check us out.

About

Gareth Garvey

Gareth (gareth@bccd.dk), who has a passion for creativity and innovation in business, has been the CEO of the British Chamber of Commerce in Denmark since the start of 2017. Gareth has a background in management consultancy working for Price Waterhouse, PwC Consulting and IBM, and he also teaches at Copenhagen Business School.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”