How to Live in Denmark3 Mar 2019

Motivating Danish employees: Tips for Foreign Managers

Motivating Danish employees is very different than motivating other groups of people because there are two big factors missing – hierarchy and fear.

We don't like to talk about the fear part in our various countries of origin, but the fact is true that in the US, UK, China, India, and in parts of Europe, someone who loses their job can be in a lot of trouble. They may have trouble paying their bills, might lose their house, might not have access to health care, might not be able to send their kids to university.

That's not the case in Denmark. Everybody pays for those services through their taxes, so losing your job doesn't mean you lose access to these things the way it might mean elsewhere in the world.

And that means that employees aren't slightly afraid of their boss the way they might be elsewhere in the world - and they're much more willing to speak up.

They're not going to do what you say just because you're the boss. Hierarchy exists in Denmark, despite what the Danes sometimes want to believe, but you don't always get a lot of respect from being at the top of the hierarchy.

In this society where egalitarianism is a deep and cherished value, the person standing on a pedestal is kind of assumed to be a buffoon. You've heard of the famous "Janteloven" that informally governs Danish culture – and one of its rules is "don't think you're better than us".

In a Danish environment, you're going to have to convince your employees that what you suggest is the right course of action. They're not just going to do it because you're the boss.

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Episoder(150)

Brok: The Danish art of petty complaints

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28 Mai 8min

My Awkward First Year in Denmark

One thing no one ever tells you about moving to a new country is the incredible awkwardness of it. As a newcomer, you are constantly doing or saying or planning the wrong thing, something that would b...

29 Apr 9min

The Scheduled Dane: Why Friendship Needs a Calendar

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30 Mar 6min

Danish dinner party customs & why it's OK to break your Royal Copenhagen cup

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15 Feb 7min

Vintage TV and movies as a guide to Danish culture

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22 Jan 9min

December: Little Nisse, Big Money: The Danish Year Part 12

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3 Des 20257min

November Rain and "daylighting" buried rivers: The Danish Year Part 11

November always seems like the rainiest of Danish months, but it isn't, actually. October is. But November feels rainier, because the sky is so grey, and it gets dark so early, and the rain sometimes ...

22 Nov 20258min