Man møder et menneske – Inspiration for Change
Man møder et menneske (Meetings with People) challenges the conventional notion that better welfare requires more money. Instead, the book advocates for a new method rooted in human relationships.
The important question is not: “Did I do what I was supposed to, correctly?” but rather: “Are we together doing what’s right for the individual?”
The book presents clear guidance on how a relational approach can be adopted in order to not only achieve more effective outcomes in our social work, but also remove unnecessary legislation and bureaucracy. The goal is to move from a concept of system welfare to one of relational welfare instead.
Target audience: Everyone involved in social work, everyone who believes we can do better, and especially decision-makers, leaders and practitioners.
Author: Helle Øbo
Publication Date: September 20, 2023
Publisher: Akademisk Forlag
Man møder et menneske (Meetings with People) challenges the conventional notion that better welfare requires more money. Instead, the book advocates for a new method rooted in human relationships.
The important question is not: “Did I do what I was supposed to, correctly?” but rather: “Are we together doing what’s right for the individual?”
The book presents clear guidance on how a relational approach can be adopted in order to not only achieve more effective outcomes in our social work, but also remove unnecessary legislation and bureaucracy. The goal is to move from a concept of system welfare to one of relational welfare instead.
Target audience: Everyone involved in social work, everyone who believes we can do better, and especially decision-makers, leaders and practitioners.
Author: Helle Øbo
Publication Date: September 20, 2023
Publisher: Akademisk Forlag

The book goes straight to the heart of what’s wrong with our welfare systems. We don’t deal with clients, patients, victims or vulnerable individuals. We deal with human beings. This book should have been written a long time ago. I am glad it has finally been published.
This book is engaging because it explains a complex problem in a simple and accessible way – namely why we are facing challenges in the social sector in Denmark – and, at the same time, it also offers several great suggestions for how we can address this complex issue in a simple way: Strong relationships!
“Without explicitly writing about social impact investments, the book makes clear why our current investments are able to make a significant difference to the people we have invested in.
One of last year’s most exciting releases was Helle Øbo’s Man møder et menneske, in which she writes about moving from bureaucracy to relational welfare, arguing that relationships should play a far greater role if we want real change in the social sector.
Her argument is based on the assumption that people can and will engage in their own lives if they are treated as fellow human beings and understood as individuals in context of their lives. I believe she makes an important point.
Helle Øbo’s book challenges the idea that better welfare simply requires more money. She questions the conventional approach to documentation and management and presents a new method focused on human relationships.
In her book, the important question is not: “Did I do what I was supposed to, correctly?” but rather: “Are we together doing what’s right for the individual?”
The book is relevant to everyone interested and engaged in social work and who wants us to do even better – together.
The book goes straight to the heart of what’s wrong with our welfare systems. We don’t deal with clients, patients, victims or vulnerable individuals. We deal with human beings. This book should have been written a long time ago. I am glad it has finally been published.
This book is engaging because it explains a complex problem in a simple and accessible way – namely why we are facing challenges in the social sector in Denmark – and, at the same time, it also offers several great suggestions for how we can address this complex issue in a simple way: Strong relationships!
“Without explicitly writing about social impact investments, the book makes clear why our current investments are able to make a significant difference to the people we have invested in.
Helle Øbo’s book challenges the idea that better welfare simply requires more money. She questions the conventional approach to documentation and management and presents a new method focused on human relationships.
In her book, the important question is not: “Did I do what I was supposed to, correctly?” but rather: “Are we together doing what’s right for the individual?”
The book is relevant to everyone interested and engaged in social work and who wants us to do even better – together.
One of last year’s most exciting releases was Helle Øbo’s Man møder et menneske, in which she writes about moving from bureaucracy to relational welfare, arguing that relationships should play a far greater role if we want real change in the social sector.
Her argument is based on the assumption that people can and will engage in their own lives if they are treated as fellow human beings and understood as individuals in context of their lives. I believe she makes an important point.