One of the central responsibilities of my department Business Assurance is to ensure that all departments around the world are in compliance with ‘the Novo Nordisk Way’ and our ethical standards. One of our functional areas, Group Internal Audit, travels around the world to conduct these business ethics audits, and as a part of my rotation here I had the pleasure to take part in one of them.
As a result, I am now based at our office on the 11th floor in Tehran, Iran.
We are now half way through the 10-day trip and I can easily conclude that this country is nothing like we first expected – and only in a positive way. Before arriving to Tehran I was a little concerned about how it would be to work as a woman, due to the mandatory dress code, not being allowed to shake hands with anyone, and other rules that applies to females. The first day at the office I came covered from top to toe, not showing a single glimpse of hair, only to meet the female employees with loose hanging headscarves, who greeted everyone welcome with a firm handshake. I was also positively surprised to find out that the majority of managers in the affiliate were women. Talk about changing prejudices!
We spent the weekend in Tehran for some sightseeing. We hadn’t have time to plan the sightseeing before arriving, but we did not even had to land in Tehran until I had a notebook filled with travel advice from curious Iranians at the flight, who wanted to make sure we got the best experience in their country. And that has continued for all days here. The people here are extremely open and friendly, and some have even invited us home to their families on traditional Persian dinners and events.
The city itself is also quite unique and offers everything from crowded Bazaars, shopping, beautiful palaces and mosques, and when you feel like a sip of fresh air the cable cars takes you up to the mountains where you can overlook the entire city.
One of the advantages of working for a global company like Novo Nordisk, is that you get endless opportunities to travel and see the world. Today I am enjoying life in Iran, and only a month from now I will be moving to Istanbul for my second rotation. Without sounding too cliché, that is what I call a life-changing career :-)
3 February 2013 | By: Hanna Ögren
Källa: novonordisk.com
