New study: Denmark ranks number one in Europe when it comes to job satisfaction among digital talents

Copenhagen December 10, 2020

The global competition for international digital talents is fierce, and companies worldwide depend on attracting and retaining the right talents to lead them through the digital transformation.

Hence, it is great news that Denmark ranks number one in Europe when it comes to digital job satisfaction. 83% of the digital talents in the survey answered quite satisfied or very satisfied when asked about their job situation in Denmark. This is far better than our European neighbours, and Camilla Rygaard-Hjalsted, Director of Digital Hub Denmark, is pleased:

“Generation Z is the first generation born in the digital age. Technology is an imperative part of their way of thinking and solving problems. This is crucial asset for Denmark in order to navigate safely through a digital transition, and consequently, it is important that we are able to attract and retain people with said assets. Therefore, we are very pleased that the Danish approach to a flexible and responsible work life creates a great framework for digital talents,” she says and continues:

“When we look at our neighbouring countries such as Germany and the UK, we evidently have a unique work culture in Denmark. We score significantly higher in 'family-friendly work models’, which can help retain the talents who settle down in Denmark and start a family here.”

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A surprising result

The study is based on 17 different job components such as: Financial compensation, work life-balance, etc. Denmark also ranks top among non-English speaking nations. The result surprises Claudia Bruyant Ndege, who led the study for Boston Consulting Group.

“We anticipated that Australia and the USA would fight for first place, but we did not expect Denmark to be in the top of the list and rank the best among the other European countries and furthermore the best among non-English speaking countries. To many international digital talents, Denmark is an overlooked destination compared to the other nations in the study. But we can see that the digital talents who find their way to Denmark are basically really happy with their work lives,” she says.

Digital talents seek influence

Compared to other European countries, it is particularly unique for Denmark that we are in the top regarding the job components my organisation's purpose and personal influence. Digital talents in Denmark in particular value that influence and the fact that they can make a difference - either with their own efforts or in the company's social footprint.

”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 organizational hierarchy that beneficially results 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.

The salary is not that important

Only 34% of the digital talents placed financial compensation among the most important job components, compared to 54% in the USA and 47% globally. This can be explained by Denmark's well-known welfare state with a pro-active labour market policy - flexicurity - which means security for employees.

“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.

Further information

If you want further information about this study or interviews with the spokespersons, you may contact Jakob Lindmark Frier, Head of Communication at Digital Hub Denmark by phone: +45 4279 9454 or by email: jakob@digitalhubdenmark.dk.

Facts:

The survey is based on digital talents from 10 selected countries. These countries are based on the most attractive destinations for digital experts from Boston Consulting Group’s Decoding Digital Talent study (2019)[1], which includes: USA, Australia, Denmark, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and Japan.

• 1913 respondents in the survey

• The respondents assessed job satisfaction based on 17 job components

• The respondents assessed on a scale of 0 (very dissatisfied) to 100 (very satisfied)

The method of the study in short

The index measures job satisfaction among digital talents, i.e. people who work with at least one of 11 digital work areas, e.g. software development or robotics. The study's data base consists of a survey with 1913 responses from digital talents who come from 10 different countries. All differences in job satisfaction across countries, based on job elements, are statistically significant except for the difference between the USA and Australia, which have the same score.

The number of selected respondents is based on a measure of statistical significance. BCG and the company's affiliated survey institute, Dynata, has conducted the survey in August and September 2020. Interviews were conducted by BCG and Digital Hub Denmark in September 2020.

About Digital Hub Denmark

Digital Hub Denmark works to promote Danish sustainable and cutting-edge digital solutions in order to attract international digital talents, customers and capital and to accelerate growth across digital industries. Digital Hub Denmark is a public-private partnership between Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Ministry of Higher Education and Science, Confederation of Danish Industry, Danish Chamber of Commerce and Finance Denmark.