A new survey from ROCKWOOL Foundation reveals that significantly more women than men are dissatisfied with public childcare, schools, and elderly care in Denmark. Many of those who are unhappy with these services also want to work fewer hours.
Two out of three Danes are content with their current working hours. But nearly one in five wants to cut back. The pattern is clear. People dissatisfied with childcare and schools are more likely to want shorter work weeks. This is especially true for parents with children under seven.
The findings come from a spring 2025 survey of 1,739 employed people aged 25 to 74. The research was conducted by ROCKWOOL Foundation and published this morning.
The Welfare Contract Under Pressure
Denmark’s social contract has long been straightforward. You work full time. You pay high taxes. In return, the state provides quality childcare, education, healthcare, and elderly care. That bargain allows both parents to hold down jobs without worrying about care responsibilities.
But when the quality of those services falls short, the contract starts to crack. As researcher Peter Rohde Skov puts it, quality public services are “a precondition for us all to contribute this effort in the labor market.”
When citizens feel let down by the welfare state, some reduce their use of public services. Others switch to private providers. And some, according to this survey, consider pulling back from the workforce itself.
Women Are More Disappointed
The survey asked Danes to rate their expectations and experiences across four key welfare areas. Healthcare and childcare scored highest for quality. 65 percent of those satisfied with their current working hours also rated healthcare quality as high.
But when expectations are compared to actual experience, most areas fall short. Folkeskole and elderly care disappoint the most. Childcare and healthcare perform better but still leave gaps.
Women report greater dissatisfaction than men across all four areas. They also express higher expectations to begin with. Men set the bar lower and are therefore less often let down.
Age matters too. People over 45 are less critical of elderly care and healthcare than younger respondents. But researchers cannot confirm whether older Danes base their views on personal experience or secondhand accounts.
The Link to Working Hours
The connection between service quality and desired working hours is striking. Those most dissatisfied with elderly care show more than a full point difference between expected and experienced quality. Many of them want to work less.
Parents unhappy with folkeskole show similar patterns. In contrast, those satisfied with public services are more likely to want to keep their current hours or even work more.
18 percent of respondents want to work more hours, assuming higher pay. That desire is strongest among part-time workers. 15 percent of women and 23 percent of men fall into this group.
But for the nearly one in five who want to cut back, dissatisfaction with welfare services appears to play a role. If you cannot rely on the daycare center or the nursing home, working full time becomes harder to justify.
What This Means for Expats
I have watched this tension build over years in Denmark. The promise of high-quality public services is one reason many international families move here. It allows dual-income households without the crippling cost of private childcare or elder care found elsewhere.
But that promise depends on delivery. When institutions are understaffed, when schools feel stretched, when elderly relatives do not get the care they need, the trade-off starts to feel unbalanced. You are still paying the taxes. But the return feels thinner.
For expats, this matters in practical terms. If you are considering Denmark based on its reputation for work-life balance and strong welfare, know that the system is under strain. Quality varies. Expectations are high. And many Danes, especially women, are reconsidering how much they can or want to work within this framework.
The survey does not prove causation. It shows correlation. But the pattern is hard to ignore. When public services fail to meet expectations, people pull back. That is a warning sign for any welfare state.
Sources and References
Ritzau: De er utilfredse med børnehaven, skolen og ældreplejen – og de vil ned i arbejdstid
The Danish Dream: Childcare in Denmark Guide for Expats
The Danish Dream: Danish Healthcare Explained for Tourists and Expats
The Danish Dream: Surge in Violence Against Healthcare Workers in Denmark
