Last Week in Denmark

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿ø𝘃𝗲 𝗶 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗸 𝟯 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗲𝗱?

🔎 Have you registered for the May or November Danish language exam? Do you feel overwhelmed and don’t know what to study first? Above all, calm down and don’t worry, because compared to other language exams, the Danish one is said to have lenient grading.

🔎 Some of us need to achieve a certain score to obtain a visa, but to pass the exam, all you need is an average grade of at least 2.0. Both the written and oral parts of the exam correspond to the B2 level, so no one expects you to speak perfectly fluently or write like an academic.

🔎 Our tip? For the written section, it’s important to follow the text structure, and for the oral section, to align with Danish values.
If you’ve paid to register for the exam and are preparing on your own, you’ve surely been sent login credentials for the platform where you can practice with past exams.

🔎 A week before the oral section, we recommend taking an intensive conversation course, or you can find Facebook groups like Danish Language Exam (PD2/PD3) Candidates and Dansk eksamen | Danskprøver | PD3 | PD2, where other students will recommend plenty of materials, share their exam experiences, or invite you to join conversation groups.
We’re crossing our fingers for you, and don’t worry—you’re not in this alone!

By LWID Writer, Lucie Dobešová

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱?

🔎 We see the same scenario play out time and time again. Foreigners come to Denmark in search of higher wages, a better standard of living, a better work-life balance, or to be with a family member. Few have a job lined up in advance, so their first job in Denmark is often as a warehouse worker, hotel employee, restaurant worker, cleaning service worker, courier, or supermarket employee. No one cares that you have a PhD in psychology or that you’re an engineer. At that moment, you don’t care either, because you need to earn money for your first month’s rent and the deposit.

🔎 But when you’re doing such physically demanding work, it’s very hard to muster the energy to look for a new job. You wouldn’t take a physical job in your home country at your age, but in Denmark, you get paid two to three times as much for it. And so you’re stuck in a cycle, constantly hearing that networking is the most important thing. Really? But how do you do that when you don’t know anyone?

🔎 Everyone will start recommending unpaid volunteer work or an unpaid internship so you can expand your network. Has anyone actually landed a job this way?

🔎 Plus, when you look at job listings, many are in English, but they often include the requirement “Danish required,” even though it’s not necessary for the job. Do employers even want any international workers? Aren’t they working against their own interests when they’d rather hire an inexperienced Dane than a qualified international worker with experience?

🔎 And what would help international workers? Just as there are immigration quotas, there could be quotas for the number of international workers in Danish companies. Or do you have any other advice? What about a name change to Pedersen?

By LWID Writer, Lucie Dobešová

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱?

🔎 Work absence due to stress in Denmark is equivalent to 37.000 full time positions. Stress is not just about feeling busy. It can impair sleep, concentration, mood, relationships, and physical health, leading to more severe conditions like anxiety, depression and burnout.

🔎 Work-related stress arises when there’s a mismatch between the effort you put in and the rewards you get back. Denmark’s outlook might seem positive at first, since salaries are high and working hours are low.

🔎 But there is more to effort than overtime: responsibilities, deadlines, multitasking, AI disruption, work trips and complications balancing work schedules and family are all stress factors. Similarly, people need more than financial compensation: recognition, stability, autonomy and a chance to develop their skills, to name a few.

🔎 For a long time, stress was treated as an individual failing. Only recently has the idea (championed in Mark Fisher’s “Capitalist Realism”) that modern work-driven lifestyle systematically affects wellbeing begun to gain traction. Denmark’s plan for subsidised psychological help is a welcome initiative, but also one that focuses more on symptoms than causes, and one that corrects rather than prevents. Perhaps we should consider addressing the pressures contributing to psychological distress in the first place.

By Juan Álvarez, LWID Writer