In Denmark, you stay home when sick without guilt or pressure to work remotely. Abusing sick leave damages trust and can get you fired. Stress is common, especially for women with children, and companies offer confidential hotlines to catch it early before burnout forces you into reduced hours.
Chapters
Chapter 19. Don't Work When You're Sick, Plus Dealing with Stress. In some countries, working sick is a badge of honor. You are supposed to be so dedicated to your team or to the assignment that you come to work even if you feel awful. In Denmark, the opposite is true. If you feel you've got the beginnings of something that could be contagious, You are considered a better team member if you stay home that day and care for your health. You are not expected to work from home or answer emails if you are ill. It is also considered okay to take a day or two off if you have a sick child at home, although in these cases you may be asked to participate in an online meeting or some other work-related activity while your little darling sleeps. One thing that's not considered okay is to call in sick when you really just want a day off for some other reason. In that case, you should ask for a personal day, which generally comes out of your annual vacation allotment. Danish workplaces are built on trust. If it comes out that you were not actually ill but said you were, that breakdown in trust could be the first step towards a termination. Maybe you know in advance that you'll need some personal time off from work, say, if relatives are coming to town, or if you have an important religious holiday. Book the days off as far ahead as possible so your boss can schedule around it. Given the relatively low number of working hours and the extensive social safety net, it might surprise you that the number of employees who go down with stress Stress is defined as being so overwhelmed with work or your working situation that you begin to suffer physical symptoms, such as insomnia or stomach pain. It is especially common among female employees who are raising children in addition to working full-time, but it can happen to anyone, especially people working in a poorly defined job or with a difficult boss. Stress is a very common emotion. Many companies have stress hotlines you can call if you're starting to experience symptoms of stress. These are run by private health insurers engaged by the company, and they claim to be 100% confidential. If you're feeling overwhelmed, call them earlier rather than later. The goal is to treat your stress before you fall apart entirely and have to take time off from work. Your union may also offer counseling services, or will put you in touch with someone who can provide them. Hotline or not, many workers do go down with stress and disappear from the office for weeks and sometimes months. When they come back, they often appear slightly fragile and will probably have shortened work hours. Try not to be cynical about people suffering from stress, or point out that hungry people in your home country know what stress really is. Stress is taken very seriously in Denmark.
