Work/life Balance

Work/Life Balance – Marketing gimmick or the Real thing?

Stop by a normal Danish office by 5pm and you might get your answer.

Work/Life balance is one of those “buzz” words that normally floats about when talking about Scandinavian countries, and Denmark is usually at the forefront of the conversation. But what does Work/Life balance actually entail, and is it really so pervasive in Danish society as it is made out to be?

The short answer is, maybe somewhat surprisingly to some, yes.

Work/Life balance is not necessarily something the average Dane spends a lot of their day thinking about, it acts more as an engrained cultural standard that many people adhere to, and that is made possible by our welfare state, legislation and most importantly, culture.

Multiple aspects of the Danish system allows for, but also to a certain extend demands, this type of attitude towards the balance between working and family/private life. Programs such as partly subsidised childcare, free schooling and other such national programs, are a few examples that allows for more secrurity. However, it also means that those children need to be picked up from institutions at a reasonable time, often before 5pm. This requires a more flexible attitude towards work from both employees and companies.

How do you get any work done?

The Danish attitude towards work/life balance does not mean we get less done, it is actually quite the opposite. Many people that come here, find that they do as much, or more, work in a concentrated amount of time, as they would have during a longer workday. This is often attributed to having less mental fatigue, which allowes for a more effective work.

And Danes are hard workers; however, they mostly prefer to do their jobs within Denmark's standard 37-hour official work week. Staying extra hours is mostly discouraged, and many employees leave at around 4pm to pick up their children and begin preparing the evening meal. Work-life balance is important in Denmark - people take pride in their work but do not feel the need to demonstrate their dedication by working long hours, as in some other cultures.

This is illustrated by Denmark being one of the most productive countries by hours worked in the world. Denmark is the most productive country in Europe according to recent annual rapports from the European Investment Bank. In more worldwide studies, we are also handily beating countries in per-hour productivity, that have reputations for valuing high working hours in their culture, such as The USA and Japan.

For medical professionals, the workday can be a bit more fluid than the average office worker, so maintaining a 37-hour work week can be a challenge, however, we have many stories from doctors that have come here, saying they have cut their hours significantly, some by even up to 30+ hours a week.

Watch the video below to hear some of our doctors speak on the subject of work/life balance in Denmark.

But did you really answer the question, how do you get work done?

It is a difficult question to answer directly, but it mostly comes down to mental capacity and focus. Working long hours continuously is exhausting, having to balance that life with having a life or family outside of work even more so.

Having a healthy work/life balance allows you to be more focused in your work and knowing that you don’t have an expectation to be at work for 12 hours a day, relives stress and lessens the likelihood of illness that either slows your productivity, or completely removes you from your work.

Having a minimum of 5 weeks of vacation time, with many having access to and additional week, allows you to get away from the often stressful tasks that you find yourself doing on a day-to-day basis and get re-energized. This hopefully allows you to find more joy in your work, instead of it being a source of potential stress and frustration when trying to get it to match with a regular private or family life.

But I like to work a lot, what about me?

Nothing is set in stone, while there will always be some restrictions, either through general legislation or the collective agreements that governs most areas of the public sector. Your own wants will be taken into consideration, but that is a discussion that has to be conducted locally at your hospital or department.

It is not as easy to work long hours in Denmark as it is other places in the world, which sounds a bit strange. But it is not impossible, so if this applies to you, talk to your department and find out what works for you.