What happened when simple human principles met real care work. In 2023, I stepped into two Danish care homes for elderly residents with no clear idea of what awaited me.
I knew the elderly care sector was under pressure. Staff shortages, sickness absence, stress and burnout were part of everyday reality. And care workers carried some of society’s heaviest emotional responsibilities — often with very little recognition.
What I did not know was how much simple human principles, applied with care and respect, could shift something in everyday working life.
88% believed change was possible
Across the two care homes, I conducted coaching-based development programmes with 110 care workers. After observations, conversations, workshops, exercises and reflection days, the programme ended with a simple question:
Do you believe you can create a better and more joyful working life using the principles in this book?
88% answered yes. The programme was rated 7 out of 10 on average — a result that genuinely surprised me. Skepticism is natural when someone enters a workplace from the outside, offering reflections on behaviour, communication and mindset.
And yet, something resonated. I followed shifts from early morning to late evening. I witnessed the pace, the unpredictability and the emotional labour. This was not romantic work. It was demanding, intimate and often invisible. And too often, the people doing it felt unseen.
One of the strongest insights from the programmes was not about productivity or performance metrics. It was about meaning. Through simple coaching exercises, staff were invited to speak more openly with each other about the small, moving moments in their daily work — moments that usually disappear in the rush.
As one participant told me: “It was good to talk about the touching moments we experience with residents and their families We forget to talk about that.”
Professional foundation of my book
That, to me, is where simplicity works. Not as a slogan. Not as a quick fix. Not as another model imposed from above. But when simple ideas are translated into real situations, real conversations and real human contact.
My own search for a good working life has taken me from Western psychology and leadership thinking to Eastern wisdom traditions. But what surprised me most was this: Ideas only truly come alive when they meet everyday reality. That is where work becomes life.
The project with 110 care workers became part of the professional foundation for my 2024 book Power of Smile.