Are you setting up business in Denmark and in need of hiring staff?

The Danish labour market is laid back in both communication, dress and interaction. Your Danish employee will expect to get to know you and he or she will expect that you also show interest in them and their personal life. You are obligated to know the name of their spauses, kids and pets, and have to show sincere care if they are experiencing hard times.

The Danes are not big on authority and this is also the case in the workplaces, where you often find responsibility and decision making decentralized. Too much hierarchy will alienate the employees and kill off their motivation, which will lead them to search for other employment opportunities.

It is also rare for Danish employees to complain often. They will not necessarily approach you if they are unhappy, but are likely to think that you should be able to figure out that this or that is a problem, or think that they themselves are the problem and that they have to leave the company if they are not happy with the circumstances. If you are happy with your employee and would like him or her to stay with the firm, it is good to always keep a tap on their well-being.

A Danish employee will also prefer to converse about a given task, rather than being told what to do. And a lot of this conversation is unofficial, so if you find your employees surrounding the coffee machine often, don´t be frustrated - they are most likely still working on their project.

Danish humor

As a part of a Danish workplace you will also notice that humor is important. You have to be able to handle that joking is part of everyday conversation, and it doesn´t matter if you are the boss, the company owner or a part of the cleaning team - expect and accept jokes. They mean that you are part of the gang and know that you have nothing to worry about as long as they keep coming.

Danish people also tend to use sarcasm and irony as part of their humor. If this confuses you don´t be afraid to ask. They would rather explain the meaning of the statement, than worry whether a misunderstanding has done damage to your relationship. 

Motivation

How to motivate the Danish employee can also be tricky because status, title and perks rarely do the job. Instead you have to focus on community and involvement. This makes for long term employment.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact HappyCorp. We are happy to help.