Understanding the Danish Workplace
A Guide for International Professionals
The Danish workplace and Danish working culture can be intimidating for newcomers. Here are some tips from Kay Xander Mellish, an expert on Danish workplace culture.
Kay is a keynote speaker who frequently addresses groups at Danish companies and municipalities about how Danes and internationals can work better together.
How do you avoid getting lost in the Danish workplace?
One of the hardest things to do as an international, and one of the most important things to do, is to maintain the aspects of your culture that you value while you live and work in Denmark.
You shouldn’t give up what makes you you. As internationals, we’re guests here, and it’s not up to us to impose our way of doing things on the Danish workplace. But we’re also not Danish, and we don’t have to pretend we are.
For example, the positivity and energy and openness that I think characterizes American culture can be a great thing to bring to a Danish company. We love to give compliments, and a lot of Danes (and non-Danes) can wither here from a lack of positive feedback. I think it’s a good idea to celebrate success and acknowledge good intentions even when things don’t work out as planned.
But something that I had to learn to drop was American-style competitiveness and drive for individual achievement and personal recognition, which is simply not appreciated in a Danish workplace. Americans love to compete; Danes love to collaborate. So my drive to compete was something I had to take elsewhere in my life.
Whether you’re from elsewhere in Europe, from China or India, from the North or South America, there are going to be aspects of your culture that don’t fit very well into the Danish workplace, and that’s OK. You can find ways to express those in other areas of your life.
What should internationals prepare for when joining a Danish work team?
Lots of talking! The Danes are not as bad as the Swedes when it comes to endless meetings in order to achieve consensus, but they’re so intent on equality that they want to make sure everyone has their say, and that can take a while. (The funny thing is that the Swedes, having reached a conclusion via consensus, will stick with that conclusion to the end, while the Danes will throw it out with few regrets if a better option presents itself.)
If you come from a hierarchical culture – and many European cultures are much more hierarchical than Denmark, in addition many Asian cultures – it can be a big step to realize that you must treat everyone as an equal, whether it is the coffee lady, the student helper, or the big boss. A lot of newcomers put a foot wrong by being sharp and demanding to people below them on the corporate ladder or simpering to people above them. Both are huge turn-offs to their Danish colleagues.
What are the most common mistakes foreigners make when working in Denmark?
By far the most common faux pas I see is newcomers thinking they need to work extra hours in order to prove they are committed to the job.
One woman told me that when she first started working in Denmark she used to stay until 9 at night even though she didn’t have any work to do – she was scrolling through the company website! – because she thought that was what the boss expected.
With notable exceptions, like peak seasons and project launches, you don’t have to work beyond the hours you are paid for in Denmark, and if you do you should get compensation time off.
Danes really value their free time; it’s one of the few things the government can’t tax! They take every day of their vacation, with their manager’s encouragement.
I was coaching a woman who had been asked by her company to quickly transfer to Denmark to cover for someone who had resigned. “It’s a great opportunity,” she told me, “but I’m going to have to cancel a weeklong trip I’d planned with my girlfriends.”
I told her not to cancel her trip. I told her that her new manager would respect her time off – and he did.
What are the unwritten rules of the Danish workplace?
You’ll receive fewer direct orders from your manager than you would in many other working cultures. Instead, you’ll be expected to figure out what needs to be done and do it.
This is overwhelming for some newcomers, who are used to getting instructions, carrying out those instructions, and then waiting for the next set of instructions. But it can be exhilarating to someone with skill and drive who wants to put their ideas into practice.
In addition, Danish managers are much more open to being challenged than bosses in many other countries. In fact, they expect it – they’ve hired you for your expertise and they want you to share that expertise.
They will be more annoyed if you knew they were going in the wrong direction and didn’t tell them.
Are new arrivals in Denmark better off in an all-Danish team?
To be honest, it depends on what your goal is. If you just want to make some money, build your career, and then return to your home country or go on to advance your career in another location, then an international team is fine.
If you think you might like Denmark to be your long-term home, then yeah, it’s necessary to spend more time with the Danes and learn Danish. You’ll never be 100% Danish, though, nor should you feel obligated to try.
The goal is just to accept the basic values of the country – egalitarianism, the social welfare state – and then figure out how you fit in.
Does the Law of Jante work in a Danish workplace, or is it just an outdated ideology?
One of the funny things about Denmark is that we recruit the best and brightest from all over the world, and then when they arrive, we’re like, “Yeah, nobody likes individual excellence here. It’s all about the team.”
I would say that in a Danish workplace, you’re expected to do your work and do it well, but not call attention to yourself.
This can be tricky if you spent your entire life excelling at school and your early jobs, and perhaps trying to do well to honour your family, which is a concept the Danes don’t really understand.
How can internationals “shine” in the Danish collective despite the Law of Jante?
One of the interesting things about Denmark is that, while you’re not supposed to be ambitious for yourself, it’s fine to be ambitious for your projects.
So, if you drive fabulous projects that meet customer needs and not incidentally make money for the company, you are golden. Of course, you’re technically just part of the project group, not an individual actor. But everyone knows in a group who is doing most of the heavy lifting, and people talk, so if you have great talent, your name will get around.
That’s why I always emphasize how important it is never to make an enemy in the Danish workplace, or in Denmark in general. It is a very small country, and even smaller within specific industries. You will meet the same people again and again.
What are your tips on how to fit in and become popular among your Danish colleagues?
Be incredibly reliable. Be on time, be on time with projects, and get the details right.
Don’t fail to produce and then come up with a bunch of excuses.
You’re given so much trust when you’re hired, but it’s so easy to lose it.
If you’re having problems with a delivery, be proactive and let people know long before the deadline so they can help you. Ask for help when you need it!
In addition, do your best to handle Danish humour, although it isn’t always easy, because they can be really harsh. But when they make fun of you, it means they’ve accepted you into their circle.
Many internationals say it’s hard to make friends with their Danish colleagues.
It can be hard, in particular because there is a strong division between personal and professional life in Denmark – Danes like to keep them separate.
In addition, I think that we need to understand that as newcomers, we are coming into a place where people have been living their whole lives.
They have been building up relationships since they were born – at school, at university, in sports clubs, in previous jobs. That’s why my #1 advice to newcomers who want Danish friends is to find a Dane who comes from another part of Denmark.
He or she has left many of their old friends and family relationships behind, too, and is going to be open more to making new friends.
How does US workplace culture differ from Danish workplace culture?
The Danish way of working reflects the Danish welfare state. I can leave on time, I can take all my vacation, I can disagree with my boss, because if it all goes wrong, I have a soft pillow to land on. I have two years of tax-financed unemployment compensation, I have tax-financed medical care, and potentially tax-financed tuition to help me retrain.
In the American system – and many other systems outside of Europe – I don’t have that kind of security. If I lose my job (and these days a lot of highly educated people are losing their jobs!) I have nothing. I can often be sent home with very little notice. I might get 6 months of minimal unemployment compensation if the job loss is not my fault, or none if it is. I lose my company-provided medical care, or I’ll have to pay for it myself, and it’s very expensive.
To protect myself in case I lose my job in the US, I need savings and investments, and to achieve that, I need to be paid very highly and get a good bonus. And in order to be paid highly, I have to constantly hustle, constantly promote myself and my achievements.
I have to sell myself and be very visible. I need to show my value to the company every day. That means I’ll probably work extra hours, I’ll skip my vacation or take my work with me on vacation, and I might work even if I’m sick. So you’re certainly more secure in the Danish workplace.
The downside is that because Denmark is a smaller country and a smaller market, there are fewer options in the Danish workplace, less room to grow, in particular if you’re interested in getting into management. Because of the flat hierarchy in Denmark, there are simply fewer management roles.
So if you’re the sort of person who is motivated by promotion and status and money, you may have trouble staying motivated in Denmark.
Do you personally prefer the Danish workplace culture or the US workplace culture?
Well, I live and work in Denmark so clearly the Danish way! But I think in the earlier parts of my career, when I lived and worked in Manhattan, it was fun to put all of my energy into my work and see how far I could go. There’s just not as much room to do that in Denmark because it is a smaller market.
I often meet people in their 20s who are trying to decide between a job and Denmark and a job in the US or in London or Singapore. I usually ask them if they have a partner or children, and if the answer is “no” I tell them to take the opportunity to work internationally, then come back to Denmark when they are 35 or so and ready to settle down.
Denmark is a fabulous place to raise a child and that’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed here.
