A new trend in the labor market: More Danes opt for part-time
An increasing number of Danish employees are choosing to work part-time, while fewer are working 48 hours or more per week, according to new figures from Statistics Denmark’s Labor Force Survey, analyzed by Berlingske. In 2023, 26.2 percent of the employed worked part-time, up from 24.8 percent in 2013.
Professor Nina Smith explains that this trend is not only seen in Denmark but also internationally. Economic prosperity leads more people to prioritize leisure time over material goods. “The richer we become, the more we want what we call leisure time. When the material goods are fulfilled, it is vacation, leisure time, and the like that we want more of,” she told Berlingske.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has previously sparked debate with her statements about Danish work ethic, especially when in March this year she mentioned that she was not sure if “everyone should go home from the assembly line at 4 pm.” Frederiksen, however, has denied that there is an issue with Danish work ethic, even as the debate continues.
Minister for Immigration and Integration Kaare Dybvad Bek has also participated in discussions about working hours and family life. In an interview with Jyllands-Posten, he emphasized that picking up a child late from daycare does not make a person a bad parent.
Despite this debate, the figures from Statistics Denmark show that fewer Danes are working long workweeks. In 2013, 200,500 people worked 48 hours or more per week, but this number had fallen to 175,250 people in 2018.
Laust Høgedahl, associate professor and labor market researcher at Aalborg University, predicts that this trend will continue. He points to an increasing awareness of living more sustainably and consuming less as one of the reasons why more people are choosing to work fewer hours.