1. Be aware of the common ground required for irony to work

When dealing with cross-cultural communication, at C3 we often score the various cultures on a scale of low context to high context.

People from low-context cultures typically prefer communicating directly and explicitly. For example, if you mean ‘no’, you say ‘no’ directly and without padding. The context of the communication plays only a minor role.

People from high-context cultures typically prefer to communicate indirectly. They do not formulate their message (e.g. a ‘no’) explicitly but allow it to be inferred based on the context of the communication. And then the recipient has the task of deciphering ‘the actual message’.

When we score the Danish culture on the context scale, it is at the very low end, whereas cultures like the Chinese and Japanese are at the high end. 

That also matches the Danish cultural self-understanding very well.

When we ask employees at a typical Danish workplace how they prefer to communicate, most of them say something along the lines of “We call a spade a spade” and “Here, we call it like it is”.

What fewer people know is that in terms of irony, the Danish communication style is suddenly at the high end of the context scale – because you are actually saying something that differs radically from what you actually mean!

When a Danish colleague fires off an ironic comment, you must decode all the small signals embedded in the context before you can understand ‘the actual message’.

Perhaps there is a minor change in your Danish colleague’s tone of voice, or some subtle linguistic signals are used. Perhaps there is a reference to something said earlier in the conversation or a particular form of joking between a group of colleagues.

The problem is just that all the small signals are virtually impossible to decode for non-Danes who are not yet familiar with the Danish language and humour.

At best, an ironic comment just causes confusion. At worst, the non-Danish recipient will take the comment literally and perhaps be hurt or offended.

So next time you are about to fire off an ironic comment to your international colleague, stop and ask yourself: “I might think it’s obvious that my comment is just for fun – but I wonder if that’s just as clear to my international colleague?”

If not, consider communicating your message in a less implicit way!

2. Take responsibility for including your international colleagues in your ‘humour community’

Do you see humour as an important ingredient of the work environment that adds colour to everyday life, increases job satisfaction and makes it easier to handle difficult situations?

Then you are not alone.

Because in Denmark, the general consensus is that humour at work is a good thing.

And if you are like most Danes, you will no doubt want to create a good atmosphere and strengthen team spirit between your colleagues by using humour at work.

But if you have international colleagues, your dash of humour could have the opposite effect:

Rather than including your international colleagues in your own and your Danish colleagues’ team spirit, they actually feel excluded – because they have no chance of decoding your humorous comments and ‘playing along’ on an equal footing.

That does not mean that all humour at the workplace should stop when international colleagues join your team.

As mentioned in the section on irony, awareness of the level of inferred information in ‘typical Danish humour’ is a good place to start.

When you realise this, you can ‘deactivate your cultural autopilot’ and help to take responsibility for ensuring that your international colleagues are included in your ‘humour community’.

Try to be curious about whether and consequently how humour is usually used in the work cultures where your international colleagues come from.

Perhaps you can even develop a shared humour rooted in the shared reference framework in your specific team!

3. When you are on foreign ground: Be careful with humour – and treat especially self-irony with care

What if you are not on your home turf? When making a speech at an international conference, for example?

Our advice is: Think long and hard before bringing Danish humour into play!

Some intercultural experts encourage shelving humour altogether when communicating, collaborating and managing across cultures.

But we believe going that far is not necessary. Just remember to show your humorous speech to a local business partner to ensure that the local audience will also find it funny!

And another warning, if – like plenty of Danes – you are fond of self-irony.

Because, globally speaking, of all the special elements that comprise Danish humour, self-irony is probably the most special! According to humour researcher Lita Lundquist, many languages have no word for the Danish ‘self-irony’.

At C3, we have heard countless stories about Danish managers stationed at local subsidiaries world-wide with work cultures that are far more hierarchical than the Danish culture.

When a Danish manager, in good relaxed Danish style, makes fun of herself, the local employees are left wondering; how can we take a manager like that seriously?!

1. Accept that widespread use of humour is an important element of Danes’ cultural self-understanding

As mentioned in the first half of this blog post, many Danes think that joking with everyone about everything is acceptable.

But the role of humour in Danish culture is even more firmly rooted.

Many Danes see humour as an absolutely essential aspect of life. And that applies to all spheres of life:

• When enjoying some ‘hygge’ with friends and family, ‘having a good laugh together’ is an important ingredient.
• Many Danes highlight ‘good humour’ as an important quality when looking for a new partner in their private lives.
• When you experience a life crisis, you can use humour to tackle the situation.

Also in professional life, as already mentioned, there is general agreement that using humour is a good idea.

Just scroll through any random collection of Danish job ads and you will find plenty of phrases such as “You will be joining a team of dedicated colleagues with a good sense of humour” or “And it won’t hurt if you have a sense of humour!”

Some management experts even pinpoint self-irony as a vital managerial skill! (If you want to read more about this, we can recommend Lundquist and Dyrbye’s book Danish Humour – Sink or Swim).

So regardless of whether or not you are a fan of Danish humour, be prepared: If you work at a Danish workplace, you will probably be unable to avoid it!

2. Remember that your Danish colleague probably has good intentions

When working across cultures, at C3 we always recommend meeting colleagues with other cultural backgrounds with open arms and a warm heart.

That also applies if your global colleagues do or say something that you find peculiar. Actually especially in situations like that!

Let’s say that as an international employee you hear a Danish colleague make a comment that you find strange and perhaps inappropriate.

Take a deep breath, step back and approach the situation with curiosity and an inquisitive mind thinking: “Perhaps what I just experienced was an example of Danish humour?!”

Naturally, we cannot rule out that a Danish colleague was intentionally trying to offend you.

But we would venture to propose that most Danes using humour in a work situation mean well. They actually want to create a good atmosphere and strengthen their relationship with you.

Also remember that Danish colleagues’ ‘rough comments’ in English would often be more refined in their original Danish form. Sadly, the tiny linguistic signals that in Danish hint that something is being said for fun are often totally lost in an English translation.

However, when all is said and done, you are perfectly entitled to object if a Danish colleague, attempting to be witty, oversteps your boundaries.

3. Find a ‘cultural informant’

Even if you follow our advice on meeting ‘strange’ comments from your Danish colleagues with curiosity and an inquisitive mind, decoding whether humour is actually at play here can be hard.

We therefore recommend that you find a ‘cultural informant’ to help you.

The best cultural informants are normally Danes who know Danish culture not only inside out but also ‘outside in’. Most people find it easier to see their own culture from a slight distance and can explain it better if they have lived and worked for a period outside their native country.

Preferably find a cultural informant from your own workplace.

Then the colleague in question can help you to decipher Danish humour in general while also helping you to learn about the ‘humour culture’ at your specific workplace.

So far, this blog post has considered the role that Danish humour typically plays in Danish work culture. And that makes sense because Danish society is very homogeneous compared with many other societies world-wide.

But zoom in and there is, of course, plenty of variation concerning how humour is expressed at different Danish workplaces.

Some professional cultures and sectors may have coarser tones than others. And a cheeky joke that prompts screams of laughter in one company can fall flat in another. 

In addition to that, Danish humour is dynamic and changes. Danish humour is created and constantly evolving as people bring it into play.

For instance, currently, witty comments that Danes from slightly older generations find acceptable can be perceived as crossing well over the line by Danes from younger generations.

In other words: There are plenty of interesting nooks and crannies of Danish humour for you and your cultural informant to explore together!