In Chapter 20 of the "How to Work in Denmark" audiobook, the narrator explores Denmark’s cross‑border business relationships and cultural nuances with its neighboring countries. The chapter begins with the historic practice of multilingual Scandinavian meetings, which have largely shifted to English for practicality. It then delves into Denmark’s ties with Norway, highlighting shared history, the flow of Danish healthcare workers to Norwegian villages, and mutual sporting support, while noting Norway’s rise from a former poor nation to a wealthy oil‑rich state. The narrative moves to Sweden, contrasting Swedish formality, consensus‑driven decision‑making, and hierarchical expectations with Danish directness, flexibility, and willingness to discard decisions. Perceptions of Danes as “irresponsible” or “racist” are discussed, as are the challenges Swedish firms face firing employees. The chapter also covers Finland and Iceland, describing Finnish expectations for flawless IT migrations versus Danish improvisational style, and Icelandic ties through language education and historic Danish rule. Greenlanders and Faroese are mentioned as Danish citizens with distinct cultures. The influx of talent from the Baltic states, Poland, and Southern Europe is examined, noting both attraction to Danish trust‑based workplaces and difficulties for those from more competitive or corrupt environments. Finally, the long‑standing economic partnership with Germany is outlined, including historical wartime occupation, contemporary low‑level animosity, language learning, and contrasting work cultures: German procedural rigor versus Danish opportunistic flexibility, differing attitudes toward hierarchy, and hiring preferences. Throughout, the narrator uses personal anecdotes and observations to illustrate how these cultural differences shape everyday collaboration in Denmark.
Chapters
Chapter 20, Working with Denmark's Neighbors: Norway, Sweden, Germany, and More. When I first arrived in Denmark, it was common to attend a business meeting in which Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes would each speak their own language and simply assume everyone else could understand. This was a proud expression of Scandinavian solidarity. Unfortunately, it never worked very well, and everybody ended up understanding roughly 80% of what was being said. In particular, the Swedes and Norwegians struggled to understand spoken Danish. These days, the addition of other internationals to meeting rooms means these inter-Scandinavian conversations are usually conducted in English, to just about everyone's relief. Many Danish companies cooperate extensively with their fellow Scandinavians in Sweden and Norway. The airline Scandinavian Air Services, SAS, flies with all 3 national flags on its planes, even though the Norwegian state sold its shares in the airline in 2018. The Norwegian state is mighty and very rich. Norway was once the poor kid on the block. But after the discovery of North Sea oil, it became the neighborhood rich kid, and in fact, one of the richest countries in the world. Many Danes go to Norway for work, in particular Danish healthcare workers, who can pocket hefty paychecks for a few weeks assisting patients in remote Norwegian villages. Norway was part of Denmark for 3 centuries, and the Norwegian royal family is made up of leftover Danish royals. In international sports competitions, Norway and Denmark are happy to cheer for each other once their own teams are eliminated. Neither is likely to cheer for Sweden, however, which is seen as the stiff, domineering big brother country that wants to tell everyone else what to do. Sweden is indeed bigger, with a larger population and more internationally famous companies like IKEA and H&M. But many Swedes work in Denmark, in particular in Copenhagen, where they can commute to work over the Øresund Bridge. In recent years, the Danish krone has been stronger than its Swedish counterpart, which means that a Danish salary can feel generous to someone who lives and pays their bills in Sweden. Swedish and Danish working styles are somewhat different. Swedes tend to be much more formal than Danes. Swedish bosses certainly expect much more deference than Danish ones do, and Swedes can be shocked at Danish directness. The Swedish way is to dance around uncomfortable topics and blame any mistakes on a misguided consensus decision. Swedes spend much more time and effort trying to reach a consensus than Danes do, and once a consensus decision is reached, the team generally sticks to it. Danes, on the other hand, will toss out a carefully crafted group decision if conditions change or if they find something they think is better. This alarms Swedes. Politeness and poise are valued in Sweden in a way they are not valued in Denmark, which is why Swedes often perceive Danes as the misbehaving little brother— irresponsible, unreliable, and sometimes rude. They also sometimes see the Danes as racist and anti-foreigner, which is ironic because the flexibility of the Danish workplace means companies are more willing to take a chance on an unknown. If it doesn't work out, the employee can be quickly relieved of duty. But it is very difficult to fire someone in Sweden. Sometimes regional cooperation includes Finland and Iceland, which, in addition to the 3 Scandinavian countries, make up the Nordic region. Finns are not Scandinavian, and Finland's business cooperation with Denmark has had its ups and downs. The Finns are serious people, and the Danes are a bit more flexible from the Danish point of view, or flaky from the Finnish point of view. I was once part of a huge IT migration from a Finnish system to a Danish one that led to bad feelings on both sides. Because the Danes assumed they would sort out any problems as they went along, while the Finns expected a system that worked seamlessly from day one. Finns are sometimes less comfortable in English than their Nordic counterparts, and since they tend to be quiet people in the first place, misunderstandings can arise. One manager in Denmark told me that he'd let his team of Finnish workers discuss between themselves the solution to a problem. And then the team's best English speaker would communicate it. It's also common to have colleagues from Iceland while working in Denmark. Many Icelandic children learn Danish at school. The country was under Danish rule for many years, only becoming fully independent in 1944. And because Iceland is so small, Denmark is a clear choice for career opportunities. You'll also meet Greenlanders and people from the Faroe Islands working in Denmark. These 2 areas are Danish territories, so these people are Danish citizens, although they also have their own language and distinct cultures. In addition, you will meet ambitious young graduates from the Baltic countries— Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania— and Poland building their career portfolios in Denmark, as well as many talents from Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Greece. Some of these newcomers love the Danish working style of trust, flat hierarchy, and information sharing, while others struggle with it, having previously been more protective and competitive about their work. In addition, people who come from countries with rampant corruption sometimes have trouble trusting Danish authorities, who are rarely corrupt, although they are sometimes very stubborn. Denmark's most important working relationship, however, is with its largest import and export partner, Germany. Germany and Denmark have come to blows several times over the centuries, most recently during World War II, when Denmark was occupied by the Nazi army for 5 years. Older Danes put a candle in the window on the evening of May 4th to commemorate the occupation's end in 1945. But there is surprisingly little anger about this bloody history, and almost none expressed against contemporary Germans. Many Danish children choose to learn German in school, and Berlin and Munich are popular vacation destinations. Some trips are shorter. Danes love to drive across the border at Flensburg and get cut-rate beer and cheap cigarettes in Germany. A new underwater tunnel is being built between southern Denmark and northern Germany. which should bring the 2 countries even closer. When it comes to working culture, Germans tend to be more structured than Danes. If there are 10 steps to a working process, the Germans will want to carefully do each one of them, while the Danes will merrily skip over the ones that don't offer an immediate payoff. Danes have a relaxed nature, which Germans appreciate in some contexts. They love to spend summers in Denmark, soaking up the sun on the windy Danish beaches, but which also exasperates them when they want to get down to serious business. One German entrepreneur I met in Denmark told me he had given up on hiring young Danes. According to him, they weren't always willing to show up for early morning shifts, in particular on weekends. He blamed the Danish social welfare system for making them too soft. and hired international students in Denmark instead. Germans also tend to have more respect for hierarchy and titles than Danes do. In Denmark, even medical doctors don't use doctor in front of their names. But only a fool would get between a German and their beloved Doktor title, whether their degree is in podiatry or poetry.
