The dark side of hygge: acculturation of foreign workers in Denmark

Although Denmark is a prosperous and globally oriented welfare state, foreigners who come to Denmark for work struggle to settle in. To investigate the reasons for this, I first define the term ‘foreign worker’ and present relevant statistics regarding their presence in Denmark. Then, I introduce an acculturation model from cross-cultural psychology, which explores the sociocultural and psychological adaptation process individuals undergo when exposed to a new culture. To investigate the acculturation of foreign workers in Denmark comprehensively, I conduct a scoping review to identify all publications on the subject. Due to a paucity of psychological studies, I include studies from fields adjacent to psychology and organise findings using the acculturation model. The review showed that only eight studies have examined the factors related to the acculturation of foreign workers in Denmark. Among these studies, one originates from cross-cultural psychology, while the majority belong to the field of international human resource management. Moreover, only four studies focus on uncovering unique aspects of the acculturation of foreign workers in Denmark, while the remaining studies address general research questions using data on foreign workers in the country. The main findings shed light on the difficulties foreign workers face in Denmark. The review revealed that these challenges arise due to the country's homogeneous culture that values equality and upholds a clear distinction between private and public life. Foreign workers encounter difficulties in establishing social connections with Danes, navigating the Danish workplace and private sector institutions, and acquiring the language. All these factors taint the foreign workers' perception of how welcome they are and impede their sociocultural and psychological adaptation. In conclusion, it is essential to generate more empirical evidence on the acculturation of foreign workers to enhance Denmark's ability to attract, welcome, and retain them effectively.