“My friends in Denmark sent me photos where they were wearing jeans at work…” 

Bornholm was never the plan, and neither was banking. Ten years ago, Caroline got into the banking industry through her personality and sheer luck:  

“I had finished my bachelor’s degree in psychology in the UK and couldn't find a job, so I was waitressing in London, when I served two bankers from HSBC. They really liked my personality and volunteered to help get me an administrative job via their network. They looked through my CV, sent it to a bunch of their connections, prepped me for the interview, and soon I had a job as PMO administrator in Barclays!” Caroline found her place in the banking sector and worked in both London and Dubai for large international banks. But having started a family, she grew tired of big city life.  

“I had some friends who worked for Danske Bank in Copenhagen, and they sent me pictures where they were wearing jeans and sneakers at work! And male managers could leave at four o’clock to pick up their kids – honestly, that would have been unthinkable in London or Dubai. The work-life balance at Danske Bank just sounded incredible.” 

Bornholm: Fresh air and silence

Caroline and her husband decided to relocate with their toddler to Copenhagen, and she promptly began applying for jobs at Danske Bank. The plan was for Caroline to be the breadwinner, while her husband, who is a primary school teacher from Ireland, learnt the language.

“And then I quite unexpectedly became pregnant, in the middle of looking for a job. Now what? Who was going to make money for our family? What could we do? We decided to move into my family’s weekend cottage on the island of Bornholm. The plan was to take a budget-friendly joint parental leave until our youngest was old enough to start nursery and we could continue with our plan to move to Copenhagen,” she says.

But in Bornholm, things took a turn: They loved it.

“To be in the countryside, away from crowds, cars and noise – it gave us this huge wow feeling. In contrast to Dubai, the fresh air, nature and silence was extraordinary. And we really fell for that. The children attend a nature kindergarten, so they are out walking in the forest, or on the cliffs, or at the beach by the sea. It is an amazing children's life.” 

The commute is extreme, but also very infrequent 

Shortly after Caroline got the job at Danske Bank, another Covid-19 lockdown softened the bank's attitude to working from home even more. So now, Caroline only pops into the office around once a month. She gets up at 4.30am, takes the first flight to Copenhagen at 6.15, grabs breakfast and coffee in the airport, where she also puts on her makeup, and arrives at the office in central Copenhagen at around 8 o’clock. After work, she goes out for dinner with colleagues or friends, and arrives back on Bornholm late in the evening.  

“It is really energising for me – but I am also really tired when I get home!” she says.  

No colleagues nearby – only chickens 

In the idyllic town of Gudhjem on Bornholm, her average workday is very different. Her daily commute is around one minute from the kindergarten and back to her home. The view from her home office is of the family’s chickens strutting around the green garden. Her colleagues, however, are only to be seen on Teams.  

How does she cope with working all by herself without becoming lonely? 

“To be honest, I have worked in lots of open offices, and it’s quite stressful, particularly for introverts like myself. It can be hard to concentrate, since you have people talking around you all the time. Here, it’s nice and quiet, and it’s much easier for me to get things done and be efficient, because I am not interrupted all the time. I am way more productive and less tired at the end of the day,” she says.  

Since she was hired as a senior consultant two years ago, her team has also changed:  

“In my project team, two colleagues are located in London and only one colleague sits in Copenhagen. So, we mainly meet up on Teams. It takes more of an effort to get to know one another and we consciously take time to chat about other things than just work, but it works well for us. And I really thrive on this kind of work life.”