'In our company, the working language is English, and we make an effort to include everybody, no matter where they come from, so our employees don't need the Danish language.' This seems to be the general attitude in a lot of the bigger, international companies in Denmark. But is it really that simple?

First of all, we would like to emphasise, that there are lots of good reasons for speaking English in the companies.

However, it is also important to be aware, that if the companies want to hold on to their valuable, international employees, it would perhaps be a good idea to encourage them to learn Danish.

As it look today, many of them leave Denmark after three years - 51% of them before their contracts expire, and surveys show that the main reason is that they did not feel at home in Denmark, even though they liked their job.

The current drop-out-rate is very expensive for the companies and for the Danish state as well.
An important precondition for retention is to aknowledge the need for a well functioning life outside the workplace where Danish is still the main language. 
If the companies take their part of the responsibility and help building a bridge between the work life and the private life of the employees, they also help them breaking out of their expat bubble and into the local culture where they live, and thus make them feel included and at home.

A language is not just a language. It contains the facets of a country's culture, and if we don't invite the internationals into our culture, there is a big risk, that we end up loosing them.
In the longer run, it is unsatisfying to live in a country where you feel apart, because you don't understand the language and the culture.
Let the international employees practise their Danish during lunch breaks and meet them at their Danish level. It could start with simple questions like:
'Vil du med i kantinen?' ('Would you like to come with me to the canteen?'), 'Vil du have en kop kaffe?' ('Would you like to have a cup of coffee?'), 'Skal du noget spændende i weekenden?' ('Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?'), 'Kan du lide at lave mad?' ('Do you like cooking?'), 'Min cykel punkterede på vej til arbejde!' ('My bicycle had a puncture on the way to work') etc.
During all these years where we have been teaching Danish, our students kept on telling us that one of the most difficult things about learning Danish was the fact that Danes always switched into English.
Perhaps a somehow misunderstood consideration that prevents the internationals from improving their Danish instead of helping them.

The one language does not exclude the other and especially not, if we want to increase the chances of retaining the international talents in this country.