Denmark is the best place in Europe for digital job satisfaction
When it comes to job satisfaction among tech talents, Denmark tops the list of the best places to work in Europe – beating the UK, Germany and France – according to the 2020 Digital Talent Global Work Happiness Index.
Denmark is the European country with the happiest tech workers, followed by the UK and Germany. A new study from Digital Hub Denmark and Boston Consulting Group shows that Denmark ranks number one in Europe when it comes to job satisfaction among digital talents. Globally, Denmark takes the third place and is only beaten by the USA and Australia.
Digital talents living in Denmark scored highly for work-life balance, family-friendly working models, purpose, personal safety and personal impact, which describes how much impact an individual feels they are making to their business.
And when considering the fierce global competition of attracting international tech savvy profiles, and according to CEO at Digital Hub Denmark, the result is a big win for the Danish tech scene:
“Generation Z is the first generation born in the digital age, and they have technology integrated into their way of thinking and solving problems. These competencies are crucial for Denmark in order to navigate safely through a digital transition, and it is important that we can attract and retain the ones who have these competencies. We are therefore very pleased that the Danish approach to a flexible and responsible work life creates a good framework for digital talents.”
The Nordic approach to leadership is highly valued
When looking at the study, one thing is clear: the digital talents seeks influence in their work, which is something that suits Denmark’s trust based work culture really well.
”The Danish work culture is characterised by the employees constructively contributing to the solutions, the product, or the process they are a part of. We have a very high degree of trust in our work lives and a flat hierarchy that rewards itself in happy employees and innovative solutions. This unique combination has become an attractive culture in Danish companies, and it can give us a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting digital talents to Denmark, ” says Mette Smith Thastum, Chief Consultant in Dansk Industri.
But how is it really that Denmark is fostering this culture? The answer is our Nordic approach to leadership. At least, that is Pleo’s take on it.
Pleo is a Danish FinTech startup that has demonstrated a strong push in international digital talent acquisition, having up to 80 of these profiles already in their company.
“Because of our Nordic leadership philosophy that is based on trust and transparency the employees feel a certain degree of freedom in their work – both in terms of work life balance and in work tasks. It is a leadership style that allows the employees to have influence and to develop their skills professionally; something that really harmonises with the digital workforce and what they value”, says Jeppe Rindom, CEO at Pleo.
This approach is something the international tech talents can relate to when joining Pleo. Aimee van de Schoor, Senior Product Manager at Pleo, is one of the international employees that Pleo has managed to attract and keep:
“The work culture here at Pleo is very trusting and transparent. The hierarchy in the organisation is very low, which gives the employees quite a lot of responsibility and influence. Still, I’m starting to understand that this is very common for Danish companies. You feel that even though we each have our individual goals, there is an incredible sense of collaboration and support for one another, in order to lift the company as a whole”, Aimee van de Schoor says.
But the Nordic leadership approach is not only something Pleo focuses on internally. It is also something they try to promote in their core product, which is a smart credit card that companies provide their employees.
In Rindoms words: “By liberating our customers’ teams and employees and giving them the freedom to take part in managing their workplace’s expenses, we can help drive a small cultural change. In that way, employee influence is tied together with our entire set of values in Pleo“.
Work life-balance beats the desire for high salary
When it comes to the other end of the scale, Denmark clearly stands out as digital talents prioritise financial compensation significantly lower contrary to other countries.
“In order to attract and retain digital talents, high job satisfaction is crucial. Fortunately, this is also the case for many digital talents, the study shows. The talents have a good experience of the conditions, and they see a culture that fits future generations who do not prioritise salary over work life-balance. This is a very positive indication of Denmark having a lot to offer digital talents - and hopefully, even more international talents will look to Denmark,” says Anders Thomsen, Market Director for Consulting and Knowledge Service in Dansk Erhverv.
Salary is in other words not the motivating factor and instead the driving forces behind the high job satisfaction in Denmark points to components such as a healthy work life-balance and family friendly working models.
Further information
If you want further information about the study, you may contact Jakob Lindmark Frier, Head of Communications at Digital Hub Denmark by phone: +454279 9454 or by email: jakob@digitalhubdenmark.dk.