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10 quirks and perks of Sweden’s famously casual offices

Sweden’s a funny old place. Even if, to the casual observer, it looks like any other European country.

Published: 3 June 2019 17:01 CEST
10 quirks and perks of Sweden's famously casual offices
Photo: Ivanko80/Shutterstock

After all, (other than appearing disarmingly healthy) the Swedes look remarkably like the rest of us. And thanks to Swedish clothing giant H&M, much of the known world can now dress almost identically. The language too, while tough to master, isn’t vastly dissimilar from other Germanic tongues.

But in the workplace, it becomes most apparent that Swedes’ (perhaps not so) little cultural nuances rule. And unless you want to risk a serious fadäs (Swedish for faux-pas) — like being audacious enough to take the last slice of cake when you fika with colleagues — you should really get clued up on their workplace quirks and perks they sometimes keep to themselves.

Protect your income. Click here to join A-kassa, Sweden’s unemployment insurance fund

1. Suits you, sir

Much to the delight of people who prefer sneakers to suits, the Swedish professional dress code is fairly casual. After all, this is a country where it’s basically winter six months of the year and smart office wear offers little protection against the elements!

2. Let’s meet on week 48

“Shall we meet on Wednesday the 27th?”

“Actually, week 48 is better for me.”

Dates are far too straightforward. Who wants to agree to a time that everyone can quickly mark in their calendars when you could lump several days together and confuse everyone who doesn’t know week 8 from 30? Not the Swedes, no siree.

3. Time to fika about

While extended coffee breaks may bring stern looks or straight up reprimands in some countries, in Sweden they’re actively encouraged. In fact, the more coffee, the merrier!

Fika, or grabbing a coffee and cake with colleagues, is even mandatory in some workplaces with designated fika time scheduled during the day. It’s been proven to increase productivity and happiness at work, so they must be onto something.

4. A-kassa

You wouldn’t go on vacation without taking out travel insurance, or drive your car without vehicle insurance — so why would you work without protecting your income? It seems so obvious, yet you probably hadn’t thought about it until you moved to Sweden.

That’s the rationale behind arbetslöshetskassa, or a-kassa for short. It’s an unemployment insurance fund that pays up to 80 percent of your salary if you find yourself out of work.

If you have a bachelor’s degree,the simplest and most affordable option is Akademikernas a-kassa, which is specifically for employees with higher education.

5. School’s out for summer

Outside of Sweden, an employer might frown upon workers taking longer than two weeks leave.

In Sweden, the whole country more or less shuts down between from late June through July when practically everyone takes around four to five weeks off in a row.

Heck, some Swedes will tell you a vacation isn’t really a vacation if it’s not at least three weeks. That’s more than enough time to unwind while you kick back with an ice-cold öl at your summer house in the archipelago….

6. Extra vacation pay

Speaking of vacation, for each day of paid holiday leave you get your normal monthly salary plus a 0.8 percent supplement per day. The idea is that you spend a little more moolah while on holiday, so when you crash back to reality there’s some extra in your pay packet at the end of the month.

How can you not love working in a country where you get paid more to take vacation?

7. AVs

In Sverige, you don’t head out for a quick beer at the end of the working day. Rather you go for an “AV”, which not so obviously stands for an “afterwork” drink — you just have to bear in mind that V and W are practically interchangeable in Swedish. Because vhy vouldn’t they be?

8. Jantelagen

Sure, it might be your pitch that won the company’s new top client, or perhaps it’s down to you that your team met its annual sales quota. But if there’s one rule in the Swedish workplace, it’s that no-one is better than anyone else.

Swedes follow the rule of Jantelagen which means not bragging about your victories, even if you really, really want to. So when you feel extra proud of a professional achievement…keep it to yourself.

Find out more and apply for Akademikernas A-kassa

9. Work/Life Balance

Sweden frequently tops the lists of countries with the best “work-life balance”, and while Sweden’s experiments with a six-hour working day didn’t quite take off, free time is still taken very seriously.

It’s rare to see anyone burning the midnight oil, and those that do are more likely to be accused of poorly handling their workload than being dedicated to their job.

10. “God morgon, Ann-Sofie!”

Swedish workplaces are famously egalitarian with flat hierarchies and no need for airs and graces. That means calling your boss by his or her first name, even if it feels strange at first.

You also might be surprised to find your boss often asks for what seems like everyone’s opinion before taking action. And this consensus-based decision making does wonders for making everyone feel valued in the workplace. It also means that even simple decisions can get dragged out just a little longer than might seem necessary.

It’s just one of the many things you learn to love about working in Sweden.

This article was produced by The Local Client Studio and sponsored by Akademikernas a-kasLisa.

 
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READER INSIGHTS

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who’ve been there, done that

The Swedish job market poses unique challenges for newcomers. The Local's readers share their best tips for cracking the career code.

Published: 10 April 2024 11:32 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:50 CEST
How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who've been there, done that

Network, network, network!

A statistic that often gets tossed around is that seven out of ten jobs in Sweden are obtained through personal connections, and there’s no doubt that a good network is crucial to your job hunt, making the labour market extra challenging for newcomers to the country.

In fact, networking was the main tip mentioned by The Local’s readers.

“The job market is quite hot in Sweden, and talent is in short supply. People hiring do not have a lot of time to find the right talent, and tips from friends, colleagues and former colleagues are the way to first, find out organisations are hiring, and secondly, get your CV on the short list,” said Kyle, a Canadian reader who works in innovation management in Gothenburg.

“If you are going for a major employer like Volvo, network gets you in the door, as HR does not have much to do with hiring… the hiring managers do all of it and have no time, due to the insane number of consensus meetings. If you are looking for smaller organisations, they have even less time to find people, and networking is their primary way to find talent,” he added.

NETWORKING IN SWEDEN:

Some of the networking tips readers mentioned were going to job fairs, getting an internship to help you establish connections in your preferred field, joining clubs (this could be anything from your local gardening association to meetups for coders, but focus on clubs that may be popular among people working in your chosen field), and drawing on your organic network of friends, neighbours and others.

Don’t neglect the groundwork

The saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is getting worn out (and people may look at you funny if you turn up to interviews in a Batman suit), but there’s truth to the notion of making sure you know what you want – and preparing for it.

In other words, don’t wait for a job ad to appear before you start to customise your CV and figure out what skill set you need. Create your CV now so that you’re ready to tweak it to your dream job – you could even have a general look at job ads in your field to see what requirements are needed. And don’t forget to spruce up your LinkedIn profile so that it fits with your career goals.

“I believe that several factors contribute to successfully landing a desirable job in Sweden. It’s essential to prepare to meet the requirements beyond just having a university degree. Many individuals realise these requirements only after completing their studies when they start searching for a job, which can be too late,” said Adnan Aslam from Pakistan, who works as a food inspector.

“I recommend identifying the job advertisements for positions you aspire to hold in the future and then preparing for those requirements during your studies. For me, acquiring a basic level of proficiency in the Swedish language and obtaining a Swedish driving licence were crucial. I pursued these goals during my studies and was able to secure a desirable job before graduating,” he added.

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Felipe Cabral even has a GPT assistant trained on his own CVs and old cover letters, and said the set-up only takes ten minutes if you already have your documents. “With that in place, you can give instructions like: Read this job description and create a tailored version of my CV and letter for it. (…) Remember to always review and ask it not to create data aside from your documents.”

Be flexible and ready to adapt

Moving to a new place inevitably means having to learn not just the practicalities such as how to write a CV or which websites to use to look for job openings, but also learning how to navigate a new culture with all its unspoken expectations.

Swedish workplaces are generally less hierarchical than many other countries, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without anyone raising an eyebrow. Swedes are usually direct, but be careful of being too abrasive or boastful: raising your voice, even during a spirited argument, or banging your own drum to show off your skills may not go down well.

“Talk, deliberate, complain like a Swede and you’ll come across like you know what the job entails, so your trustworthiness increases,” said an Indian data analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.

“Office politics are just as strong in Sweden as anywhere else. The flat hierarchy is deceiving as social hierarchy is enforced quite a bit in that lack of formal hierarchy. Take your time in learning these dynamics wherever you work before revealing your talent and capabilities. Expect those internal politics to happen, and they won’t hurt so much when they do,” said Kyle, the Canadian reader in Gothenburg.

This article about Swedish office politics may be useful.

Stay true to yourself

Adapting to your surroundings is one thing. Completely changing who you are is another.

For one thing, your happiness is as important as your career progression, and for another, your foreignness need not be an impediment: it’s also a skill that sets you apart from the rest. It means you have unique experience, and also, in the right setting, provides an opportunity to sometimes violate those social rules we mentioned above, because people assume you will, anyway.

“Trust is key. Build trust in your network, work with integrity. It’s OK to violate jantelagen if you are maintaining integrity. Sometimes your outsider and more honest/open opinion will burn bridges, especially those that may feel threatened by talent. But it will build trust with other colleagues who see it as brave and more trustworthy to work with,” said Kyle from Canada.

Hunker down for the long haul

We don’t want to scare you, because there are plenty of examples of people who quickly find their dream job in Sweden and settle into their new workplace, enjoying perks such as long summer holidays, generous parental leave and the famous work-life balance.

But if you do find it tougher than you expected: know that you’re not alone.

Several readers who responded to the survey said they were still trying to find a job in Sweden.

“I found jobs all over Europe but not here. They say they have a lack of experienced senior engineers but the don’t seem to be doing much to solve this,” said a Brazilian in Gothenburg.

A reader from Bangladesh said she was “at a loss” as to how to make a career change from her current AI role in Stockholm, despite many years of experience as an IT project manager.

“Over the past 18 months, I’ve submitted over 600 applications to various organisations. Unfortunately, despite being overqualified for some positions, I’ve faced rejections at every turn, from both large and small companies. The job market here, especially for foreign-born women, feels overwhelmingly challenging,” she said, adding that the struggle had impacted her mental health.

The Local has on several occasions reported on foreign residents’ struggle to get a foot on the Swedish job ladder, with many facing hurdles such as employers’ unfamiliarity with international degrees, discrimination, or a lack of network that can provide paths into a company.

So during the job hunt, don’t forget to care for yourself. Share your concerns with fellow job-seekers, ask for help and join networking groups – this is good not just for creating new contacts, but also in terms of your social well-being and meeting people who are in a similar situation.

And finally, as one British reader in Stockholm advised, keep looking: “Be open-minded with the opportunities that present themselves. It isn’t an easy market to enter and doesn’t feel inclusive.” But he added, “don’t give up”.

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