It is not shameful

One of the great things in Danish culture is their working ethics. A lot of personal identity revolves around work, working pays of and there are no jobs that are "shameful".

There is a political consensus in Denmark that the minimum wage should be so high that the person working on a minimum wage should be capable of living alone. So making a decent living in Denmark is not hard. One just needs to be responsible enough to find a job, any job that one does not hate and you are good to go.

But I must say that I was most impressed with the fact that Danes do not consider any jobs as "shameful" or "beneath you". A job is a job, what matters is that you can live normally from it. That is the moment that earns you respect in Denmark. Not titles or accomplishments but the fact that you are working and putting "bread on the table".

I guess some Danes who read this may be confused with a phrase shameful job. Well, in Croatia some jobs are indeed considered as "shameful" or "beneath you". Some jobs you do just because you don't have any other options and you want to get out of them ASAP.

I remember one TV show called "The Exchange Office". The concept of the TV show was that a public figure trades job with an "average Joe" on some normal job for one day. In one of the episodes, famous Croatian tennis player traded with a garbage man.

The details are blurry for me because I have seen it a long time ago but I do remember the point. He found an experience valuable because it showed him just how important is the work of a garbage man and how hard are their working conditions. So, he developed a lot of respect for the garbage man. On the other hand he also got a chance to experience the ugly side of the Croatian culture. One part of the garbage man work is to sweep the streets, so he did that as well. So while he was sweeping the street, there was a lady walking towards him with a child and she didn't recognize who he was. She took the child to the other side of the street and said something like: "We shouldn't get close to him, he is a garbage man." He was shocked with what he heard, when he experienced it on his own skin. The disrespect shown to people who are working as a garbage man.

Fortunately, it is not like this in Denmark. You earn respect by working. It is not important what you do, as long as it brings money. You also earn respect by not mooching from the state. Social state is there to catch you when you need it, it should not be treated as a source of free money. If you climb up the social ladder, added benefits that come with it will be something you get for yourself and it will be expected that you do not rub them in other people faces because of the Jante law rule: "You are not better then any of us."

One side-effect of this approach is that, on the street you can't tell a difference between rich and the poor. They all wear the same, funeral ready clothes and ride the same crappy bikes that look like they will fall apart now. While the differences between rich and the poor exists, they are not visible and people with lower income jobs will be earning enough to have a decent living standard. Working poor is not acceptable in Denmark.

Danish society is far from perfect but their working ethics is something to aspire to. And trust me, garbage man are earning a lot of money for the work they do and nobody is avoiding them like they are irradiated.

Work, work

Arbejde, arbejde (work, work) are the words you hear far too often when talking to Danes. Arbejde means work and work is an integral part of Danish identity, without it Danes wouldn't be what they are. It pops out in every conversation, it is in every corner of every street, it is a part of family life, it is ever-present and unavoidable... it is work. What's up with Danes and work and why do they find it so important?

They have a worker bee hive mind mentality. They say that if they work hard they will produce enough value and that will be good for everyone. Basically they think that with hard work, value is produced that can go back to their social state and their social state will provide to those in need. So hard work is the thing that makes Danish social state, that provides the safety net, run around and Danes want and like their social state. This is where the first paradox in Danish culture arises - and they have a number of them. Their amazing social state can run around only if Danes continue working hard and if they use it only in circumstances when it is simply unavoidable: when they loose a job or for some reason they are unable to work. But at the same time, ideally and if possible, services of the social state should never be used.

Also, working market in Denmark is very flexible. It is very flexible because on the one hand the demand for workers is huge and on the other hand there is a safety net I have been mentioning that kicks in when people lose jobs, quit jobs or are not able to work, because of all that taken together people are not afraid to change jobs. That also makes staying in one workplace for life not that common, at the same time job hopping is looked down upon. So, changing jobs is considered ok, as long as that doesn't happen too often.

Danes start working when they are 13. Not a lot of course, couple of hours per week, on a bit lower wage because in those years people will not be put in positions that require a lot of responsibility. By 18 they developed their working habits, they did a number of starter jobs and at that time the default Danish family expects that their kid should, find their own place to live and go. 

One good consequence of this is that there is no jobs that are looked down upon. It isn't shameful to work as a garbage man, cleaner, delivery man etc. The first thing that gets you respect in Denmark is that you are working. It is always more important to earn your own money, be independent, pull your own weight and contribute to society in general then to be picky with jobs and mooch from the social state and your family. Social state is there only in case of emergency and it is not to be used lightly.

And hard work pays of!

In Denmark, connections will not get you very far, not compared to hard work and skill. Hard work also pays of at a much more fundamental level. Political consensus in Denmark is that the lowest salary should be so high that you can make your own living. You wouldn't get rich from it but you could make your life run around without help from others. Something completely unimaginable from where I come from. That hard work pays of is seen everywhere in Denmark. It is something for one of the following blog posts.