Danish employees value work-life balance and are motivated by feeling respected and having input in their work. They want jobs where they can take pride in high-quality work and have opportunities to develop skills. A boss should foster an open and inclusive environment where employees feel heard, informed about the business, and trusted. Respect for personal time outside work hours is also important to motivate Danish employees.

1. MyInputforInternationalManagers
WHAT MOTIVATES
DANISH EMPLOYEES?
Kay Xander Mellish
kay@howtoliveindenmark.com

2. IntheDanishLabormarket
TRADITIONAL MOTIVATORS MAY NOT WORK
2
Making slightly more money
for the same job isn’t always
exciting in Denmark – taxes
will take most of it. Better to
offer a more flexible working
environment – perhaps a
chance to work from home a
few days per month?
Titles are a passion in
countries like Germany, Italy,
and India, but Danes rarely
use the titles they have. You
can’t buy off an Danish
employee with a fancy new
title.
Many Danes aren’t eager to
take on more responsibility
at work, particularly if they
have young children. They
often want to work hard
during working hours, then
prioritize family and friends
during off hours.
MORE MONEY? BETTER JOB TITLE? MORE RESPONSIBILTY?

3. 3
49% of Danish university students
said they did not want a job with
management responsibility, vs
76% in the UAE and 77% in USA
who said they did
2017UniversemsGenerationPublication
INSEAD/EMERGINGMARKETSINSTITUTE

4. TOCREATEJOBSATISFACTION
WHAT DO DANISH
EMPLOYEES WANT?

5. WHATMAKESTHEMENJOYTHEIRTIMEONTHEJOB?
WHAT DOES MOTIVATE DANES?
5
Having the chance to build a
quality product, service, or
project is exciting for Danes,
who don’t like cheap
merchandise. Doing work
you feel proud of is an
important part of job
satisfaction.
Danish employees are
expensive – and you have
hired them for their
expertise. They expect to
have the ability to share that
expertise and see it
incorporated into projects
and products.
Grundtvig has shown us that
learning is lifelong. Your
employees will want to
improve their skills with a
couple of courses or
industry meet-ups a year.
This is seen as an
investment in your team.
WORK THEY CAN BE PROUD OF
A FEELING THEIR VOICE
IS HEARD PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
1 2 3

6. Danish employees expect their bosses to have “an
open door”They expect the supervisor to be available to discuss problems early, so problems don’t get out of hand.
6

7. ToFEELMOTIVATED
WHAT DO DANISH
EMPLOYEES WANT FROM
A BOSS?

8. WHATDANISHEMPLOYEESWANTANDEXPECT
EXPECTATIONS FOR A BOSS
8
Staff will expect as much as
possible business
information to be shared, so
everyone feels informed,
and like a full part of the
team. Honesty is critical –
lose trust and you will never
get it back.
In a meeting, everyone’s
point of view should be
expressed, and should be
asked for. The boss should
be open to polite
disagreement – after all, you
paid for their expertise.
No one likes a boss who
asks employees to work
outside of work hours unless
there is a very special
situation that everyone
agrees on. Danes work hard
on the job and expect free
time afterwards.
OPENNESS, TRANSPARENCY INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP RESPECT FOR FAMILY TIME
1 2 3

9. AFEWTIPSFORMOTIVATINGDANISHEMPLOYEES
THE SUCCESSFUL DANISH BOSS
◦ Be open, honest, and
accessible
◦ Listen to everybody’s input
and make it clear that you
are taking it seriously – after
all, you paid for it
◦ Respect your employees’
personal time
◦ Have a sense of humor about
yourself and your mistakes
9

10. BOOK KAY TO SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP
kay@howtoliveindenmark.com

11. KAY XANDER MELLISH’S BOOKS