“Our family would love to stay in Denmark”

Although Finland has edged Denmark out for a couple of years in the ranking of “The World’s Happiest Country”, Denmark’s happiness brand remains intact.

At least in Kazi Deluwar Ahmed’s view.

Originally from Bangladesh, he has previously lived and worked in Singapore, Canada and China.

When the opportunity arose three and a half years ago to move to Denmark for work, the decision to relocate his family to the small Nordic country was an easy one.

“I’ve worked in the life sciences industry for nearly 20 years. Primarily in Asia and Canada, but never in Europe,” says Kazi.

“You always hear that Denmark is the happiest country in the world."

“You always hear that Denmark is the happiest country in the world, and whenever I spoke with my Danish colleagues, they were always extremely positive – so I thought, why not explore the opportunities in Denmark?”

A trained dermatologist, Kazi now works as Global Medical Affairs Lead at Leo Pharma. He already knew the Danish company well, having previously worked at its office in China.

When he decided to pursue his dream of working in a European country, it made perfect sense to apply for a position at Leo Pharma’s headquarters in Ballerup.

The role involves extensive cross-organizational collaboration and has provided Kazi with a broader professional platform.

“Previously, my focus was exclusively on China. Now I have a global perspective. For example, I look at how colleagues in different countries can learn from one another.”

Work–life balance and a flat hierarchy

When describing his experience of the Danish labour market, Kazi’s list of positive impressions is long.

“The first thing that comes to mind is trust. And it’s not only in the workplace – Danish society as a whole operates with a remarkably high level of trust,” he says.

“Everyone is met with trust, and that’s something many other countries are truly lacking.”

Another positive aspect is the flat organizational structure he has encountered at the Danish headquarters.

“In other countries, we’re used to a significant gap between you and your manager. Here, our CEO sits next to us in the canteen, and everyone is addressed by their first name. That’s quite remarkable.”

"Our CEO sits next to us in the canteen, and everyone is addressed by their first name. That’s quite remarkable.”

Kazi also highlights the strong work–life balance as a major advantage of working in Denmark.

“I don’t think you see anything quite like it in many other countries,” he says.

Difficult to form close friendships

Although the list of positives is long, relocating to Denmark has not been without challenges.

Kazi received practical support from his employer in connection with the move and was also offered temporary housing for the first three months. After that, however, the family had to find a place to live on their own – and that was no easy task.

They eventually found a lovely home in Roskilde, where Kazi now lives with his wife and three children. However, the housing search – and not least Denmark’s high cost of living – was a significant adjustment in the beginning.

“It takes time to get used to what things cost in Denmark. Everything is really expensive here. When we lived in China, for example, it was much, much cheaper to hire an electrician or a plumber,” Kazi explains.

Practical matters are one thing. But something that has been far more difficult for the family is navigating Danish social culture.

Everyone is kind and friendly, Kazi emphasizes – but it is hard to truly get close to people in Denmark.

Building a social network takes time – and forming close friendships with reserved Danes takes even longer.

“It takes time to understand Danish culture and to integrate socially,” says Kazi, continuing:

“In our Asian culture, you might call someone in the morning and say, ‘Hi, shall we meet for lunch today?’ In Denmark, everything needs to be planned well in advance – it’s completely normal to schedule a dinner several months ahead.”

“Danish isn’t that difficult”

When Kazi took the job in Denmark, it was not only a major change for him – it was equally transformative for his wife and three children.

Fortunately, the children have settled in well – two teenagers in school and the youngest in kindergarten – and they have experienced the move to Denmark as a great adventure.

Initially, the plan was for the two teenagers to attend a regular Danish public school. However, it proved too challenging to learn Danish while simultaneously keeping up with the curriculum in 8th and 9th grade. They now attend an international school in Roskilde.

“The real challenge in Denmark is that everyone speaks such excellent English, so you’re not forced to speak Danish."

“The youngest attends a 100 percent Danish kindergarten – and he teaches the rest of us new Danish words every single day,” says Kazi.

He himself is also learning the language. And while many people say Danish is nearly impossible to master, Kazi is more optimistic.

“When I lived in China, I learned Chinese – and compared to Chinese, Danish isn’t that difficult,” he says.

“The real challenge in Denmark is that everyone speaks such excellent English, so you’re not forced to speak Danish. That actually makes it harder to learn the language properly.”

A future in Denmark?

Kazi continues to work on improving his Danish – particularly because he is convinced it will make it easier to expand his social network.

And that is exactly what he wants to do.

For now, the plan is for him and his family to remain in Denmark – at least in the short to medium term.

”We dream of staying here and enjoying the high quality of life and the strong work–life balance."

“Our family would love to stay in Denmark. The challenges we faced at the beginning, we’ve overcome,” he says, adding:

“We’ve adapted quite well to life in Denmark, and the children enjoy their school and have made good friends. Of course, you can never predict the future, but we dream of staying here and enjoying the high quality of life and the strong work–life balance.”