Happiness At Work

 Those who are Polish surely know this scene:

BUT THIS STORY IS DIFFERENT....

I first stumbled upon Meik Wiking quite a while ago, casually adding a couple of his books to my ever-growing “to-read” list (which, I must admit, is getting slightly out of hand). It was only recently, however, that I finally got round to sitting down with The Art of Danish Living: How to Find Happiness In and Out of Work. And once I did, I found it rather difficult to put down.

What struck me almost immediately was a small yet thought-provoking detail: in Nordic cultures, people often wish each other “good work” or express a genuine hope that the other person will feel motivated and fulfilled in what they do. It’s such a simple idea, yet it stopped me in my tracks. It got me wondering—what about us? What do we actually say to one another before heading off to work? And perhaps more importantly, what do we really mean by it?

Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to carry out a tiny, thoroughly unscientific (and admittedly biased) survey among friends and acquaintances. I cast the net a bit wider than just Poland, reaching out to people living and working in different countries. I asked a straightforward question: what, if anything, do you wish each other before work? And—here’s the interesting bit—does the reply carry even a hint of irony?

The answers were, to say the least, revealing.

Among my fellow teachers, the go-to phrase is usually “Have fun.” Now, before you jump to conclusions, it’s not that we don’t take our work seriously or spend our days simply messing about. Far from it. Beneath that seemingly light-hearted wish lies something far more meaningful. When we say “Have fun,” we are really hoping for engaged students, lively discussions, moments of genuine connection—those instances when a lesson takes on a life of its own. That’s where the real joy kicks in.

And believe me, as someone who works with both adults and children, I can say without batting an eyelid that truly eye-opening conversations can happen even with four-year-olds. Yes, four. They have a knack for cutting straight to the heart of things, often catching you off guard. So you’d better stay on your toes.

Then there’s another group—let’s call them “the office crowd.” Interestingly, their responses seem to follow a similar pattern regardless of where they are based: Poland, Bulgaria, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey—you name it. They are, in a way, a hard nut to crack. On the surface, many of them claim to enjoy their jobs and feel a sense of belonging within their organisations. And yet, when it comes down to it, work is still… well, work.

When greeted with a cheerful “Have a good day,” the reply is often tinged with a touch of resignation: “Well, at least the weekend is coming,” or “Thursday is the new Friday.” It’s all said half-jokingly, of course, but there’s often a grain of truth in it. The subtext is clear—people are counting down the days.

And so, it seems that for many, life is measured in relation to the weekend: how far away it is, or how quickly it is slipping through our fingers.

If I’m being completely honest, I’m not entirely sure what your weekends look like, but mine tend to pass in the blink of an eye. One minute it’s Saturday morning, full of promise, and the next it’s Sunday evening, and you’re wondering where on earth the time has gone. The slightly sobering reality is that they’re usually filled with perfectly ordinary “adulting”: shopping, cleaning, cooking, ferrying children to their extracurricular activities, squeezing in a quick catch-up with friends, and—every now and then—perhaps a bit of entertainment if time allows.

Which brings me back to a Danish word that doesn’t quite have an equivalent in English: arbejdsglæde—the joy of work. A concept so simple, yet so elusive.

So why is it that the Danes consistently rank among the most satisfied when it comes to their working lives? Is it a matter of mindset, culture, work-life balance—or something else entirely?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you look forward to your work, or are you counting down the days until Friday? What do you wish others before they start their working day—and what do you really mean by it?

Let’s continue the conversation in the comments below.