This summer, more than 25 MBA students from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School ventured out of the classroom and across the globe, traveling to Copenhagen, Denmark to explore how the Danes approach their short work week (standard 37 hours), while having some of the most productive companies in the world.
The immersive experience is part of a new course at Goizueta, Life Design for the Modern MBA, focused on helping Goizueta students—who are passionate, ambitious, and often working in overdrive—to find meaning and fulfillment in both career and life.
According to a recent study from Deloitte, 91 percent of respondents say having an unmanageable amount of stress or frustration negatively impacts the quality of their work. For just the third time in more than two decades, less than half of Americans say they are “very satisfied” with the way things are going in their personal lives.
From Classroom to Copenhagen: A Study in Life Design
During the semester, the new course covers topics such as the history of paid work, women at work, work/life balance, reflection tools, value identification, and goal setting. The trip is designed to inspire both group discussion and introspective thought on career, life, and the future of work.
“It’s incredible to see top business schools offer happiness and life design courses as part of the curriculum,” shares Marina Cooley, assistant professor in the practice of marketing at Goizueta. “With our tight-knit community, I thought we could go even deeper and ricochet against a work-life culture that is so different from our own in order to be inspired about what the future of work and leadership could look like.”
For Alex Banoczi 25MBA, the course offered a restart and a change in perspective, “As a professional coming from the world of consulting, I’ve dealt with my fair share of intense work weeks and tight deadlines. On paper, I achieved success, but indelibly felt the impact of those years on both my health and relationships—missed dinners, canceled events, and computers I brought on vacation,” he shared. “As someone returning to consulting after business school, I yearned for more knowledge on not only how to be a great leader, but a great balancer as well.”
Welfare and Dignity for All
During the trip, students headed to the Happiness Research Institute, an organization dedicated to scientifically studying well-being, happiness, and quality of life. They met with a panel of accomplished expats and a leading sociologist at Copenhagen Business School to compare the work/life experience in the U.S. and Denmark. They later boarded a bus and traveled to Lego, one of the most profitable CPG companies in the world to uncover how family life integrates with work. A common theme emerged: the Danes are committed to the happiness and welfare of their people.
Denmark operates as a universal welfare state and with that comes high taxes and far-reaching benefits for all social classes. These services include incredibly low-cost and high-quality childcare (think $450 a month; 3:1 ratios for kids to teachers in the 0-2 age group). Add to this free healthcare, free college (Denmark actually pays students a $900 stiped each month to attend), and high-quality elder care that focuses on keeping individuals in their own homes as long as possible—and you can see why people and policy makers across the world have studied Denmark in their search for a thriving society.
In fact, Denmark is consistently ranked as one of the happiest countries. During the trip, certified analyst Catarina Lachmund at the Happiness Research Institute shared that six factors explain 75% of the national differences in happiness: social connections, healthy life expectancy, gross domestic product, freedom, kindness, and trust.
In a panel with expats who’ve lived in Boston, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, students learned that social classes in Denmark live together and play together daily. It’s fairly common for a CEO and plumber or handyman to be friends. Maria Schraeder, an expat who now serves as senior product manager for Maersk, shares “Your job doesn’t define you.”
A Social Contract: Rights + Responsibilities
To achieve high-quality services for all, Denmark draws from a deep pool of dollars through high taxes and a wide base of workers. The country boasts extremely high employment; the vast majority of women work, and single earner households are a rarity. Population growth also represents an important part of the equation. The culture is defined by a dedication to working to support others. “In Denmark, you are part of the system,” shares Professor Caroline de la Porte of Copenhagen Business School. “You can’t opt out.”
Throughout various seminars and panel discussions, a common theme emerged: Trust plays a huge role in Danish society. Trust in the government, trust in the community, and trust between individuals all contribute to this societal framework.
In Denmark, it’s fairly common practice for parents to leave their babies in strollers outside shops and restaurants when grabbing a cup of coffee with friends or dinner with family. Kids often ride the local metro and buses to school starting at age seven or eight. Lachmund shared “Crime is low here. You can walk safely at night.”
Citizens and organizations also trust that they will give back to one another. In fact, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that 35% of Danes over 16 years of age engage in volunteer work. Companies like Denmark-based Lego give a huge portion of their proceeds back to the greater good with 25% of its profits funneling to the Lego Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching children how to learn through play.
In Denmark, and in all of Scandinavia, the Law of Jante rules. It’s a flat country with a flat hierarchy that values humility and team over individual accomplishment.
Security and Trust Drive Innovation
In a country built on trust, innovation thrives. Employees are not tied to their jobs for social security, allowing individuals to job hop without fear. If they feel they are no longer contributing to the growth of the company, they pursue other passions.
At Pandora, the world’s largest jewelry brand, senior vice president of e-commerce Jesper Damsgaard shared, “Many people don’t consider money as the main reason for work. Instead, it is curiosity and the desire to do great work that drives them forward.”
Company Values Lead the Way
Many companies embed courage into their values. At Lego, two of its three corporate values speak to innovation—“brave” and “curious. ” At Pandora, leaders encourage employees to “dare” and “dream. ” During a tour of the manufacturing headquarters at Lego, Peter Meineche, director of quality and environmental, health, and safety shared “We see failure as a natural part of the process, and we encourage our team to fail and share learnings with others.”
Innovation is also critical to Lego’s bottom line. Meineche described how the company constantly asks its engineers to innovate with parts, using the same parts in multiple ways. “If we can use the red petal from our rose collection and also use this part as Spiderman’s face, we don’t have to build another $100K machine.”
Swinging Big: A Badge of Honor
During the trip, students also visited CopenHill, a waste-to-energy plant topped with a ski slope, hiking trail, and climbing wall. The facility is the perfect embodiment of Denmark’s commitment to innovation, sustainability, and play. Throughout the tour of the plant, the guide walked students through the journey of the facility from initial plans to its opening and future improvements. “It wasn’t a linear process and there were plenty of swings and misses, but there was a commitment to moving forward. The guide almost wore each of the missteps as a badge of honor for swinging big and learning along the way. It was a really eye-opening view into the mindset of the Danes,” shares Cooley.
This commitment to innovation drives Denmark’s economy. “Denmark’s economy is robust, sustainable, and internationally competitive,” shares Cooley. In fact, Denmark ranks among the top countries globally in terms of GDP per capita and serves as a global leader in renewable energy and sustainability. The green economy is a key driver of growth and innovation. The country is also home to global companies like Maersk, Novo Nordisk, Danske Bank, Pandora, and Lego.
Play is Valued and Expected
When Danes envision thriving, they aim high. During the panel discussion, expats described the goal as “self-actualization” and the culture as driven by an “existential calm. ” A big piece of the Danish culture is crafting your own version of play.
Visitors to Copenhagen quickly notice all the bikes littering the streets, a primary mode of transportation for Danes, including the wealthy. Biking is just one of the many ways play is integrated into the city center. Canal swimming is also a common pastime, representing a way to stay fit and enjoy the city’s waterways.
The Danish government also subsidizes hobbies and play. Residents often join official Clubs, focused on interests like kayaking, knitting, language, and reading for a small annual fee. Danes typically belong to multiple Clubs (one expat claimed her mother-in-law was currently part of 13). Clubs also represent a foundational way for Danes of different social classes and backgrounds to meet and mingle. In addition to weekly Clubs, Denmark also offers one-week immersive courses in subjects like music, drama, and film.
Even companies embrace the culture of play. In fact, Danish company Lego is actually an abbreviation of the two Danish words “leg godt,” meaning “play well.” Each year, on June 16, the organization has a company-wide play day where manufacturers, retailers, and engineers shut down and practice the joy of play.
Further, Danes value experimentation and play in schooling. Many teenagers in Denmark head to boarding school—or efterskole—for a year or two between the ages of 14 to 18. The schools provide “enlightenment for life rather than formal vocational training.” Post-high school, Danes often take two to three years off to travel, strengthening their global perspective—and their play “muscles”—before they commit to next steps in career and life.
Freedom for Family (and Friend) Time
While Danish society values work, time with family and friends holds equal weight. Both cultural practices and formal policy create space for social and familial bonding.
The statistics bear this out. In fact, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), only 1% of Danes work long hours (defined as 50 hours or more a week on average) compared with 10% of other countries in this forum. Expats noted that colleagues who work longer hours in Denmark often don’t get a pat on the pack. Instead, colleagues express concern and confusion: “Why are you working longer? Are you not being efficient?”
Another stark differences between Denmark and the U.S. is its national policy on parental leave. While the U.S. has no formal policy, Denmark entitles mothers to four weeks leave before the birth of a child, and each parent receives 24 weeks leave after the birth—52 weeks in all. With regard to time off in general, the Danish national standard mandates five weeks of paid leave each year for all workers, in addition to public holidays.
When meeting with Damsgaard at Pandora, he recounts taking vacation with his family earlier this year. Many of the company’s employees took a consecutive 4-week holiday to truly disconnect and, while Damsgaard dialed back in a couple of times for key deliverables, he shares his boss set the tone for the team, “He didn’t check in or email. He fully disconnected.”
To student Alex Banoczi, that was inspiring, “A successful, striving executive not only took dedicated time away to recharge, but also held enough trust in those around him to relinquish control. It made me realize that the Danes are truly onto something—when you’re on, be on; when you’re off, take the time to replenish and come back stronger.”
The Future of Work: Reimagining the Status Quo
Now that students are back and the course is complete, Cooley and the Goizueta MBA students are reflecting on lessons learned and what they will bring to their version of the future of work. It’s a timely and thought-provoking question as there are many hurdles to overcome.
A recent study from Deloitte shows 77 percent of respondents say they have experienced employee burnout and 83 percent of respondents say burnout from work can negatively impact their personal relationships.
The future of happiness and fulfillment may just begin at work. Could the Danes point the way?
“It’s a great starting point,” says Cooley. “A workplace that values play, innovation, and the whole human is a wonderful step in the right direction. The MBA students of today will be managing Gen Z and Gen Alpha behind them and these cohorts have different expectations of work/life balance. We need to manage them in a new way.” She continues, “The ultimate goal is transforming workplace culture, teaching a whole new generation how to lead in a way that promotes passion, productivity, and innovation.”
The Takeaway: Culture is Key
For Banoczi, the experience has been impactful. “This idea of being present for every life moment, whether in a professional or personal setting, is something I will bring with me moving forward. I want to incorporate the idea of “no-ego” into my work; we all can learn from each other, so we all must listen actively,” he shares. “Finally, I need to be mindful that throughout my career, I will now be a role model to those around me. My actions today are an extension of their actions tomorrow. We should not see missed vacations as an indicator of commitment. Instead, we should have open discussions to understand others’ values so that we can assist in developing mindful and empathetic working cultures.”
Culture is key. In embracing these lessons, today’s future leaders and MBAs may be the key to shaping workplaces where passion, purpose, and well-being thrive.
Learn More
The Life Design for the Modern MBA course is just one way Goizueta builds experiential learning opportunities into the fabric of its MBA programs. At Goizueta, you’ll work on real projects for real business clients, go on immersive global experience trips, complete hands-on leadership training, and tailor your academics to your career interests. Learn more about the only top-20 full-time MBA that delivers an intimate learning environment in a global U.S. city.
Learn more from Marina Cooley as she discusses life design and the future of work on 2O36: The Podium and the Goizueta Effect podcast.
