Business culture

In a Swedish workplace it is common to wear jeans and people usually call the boss by her or his first name. Informal is probably the best word to describe it: dress is casual, work hours are flexible and discussions are open.

Swedish business culture can seem oddly relaxed to the outsider. Given all the meetings, coffee breaks, holidays and paid leave, many are surprised by the fact that Sweden enjoys one of the most productive and innovative labor forces in the world.

In general, it is considered important to have a healthy balance between work and private life; for example, in many office jobs it is usually okay to leave work a couple of hours early to pick up your kids from daycare provided that your work a couple of hours from home instead.

This type of openness might be one explanation for Swedish productivity, and it applies to every aspect of work. Swedish workers rely on a broad sense of teamwork and individual responsibility to get things done. In Swedish culture, it’s also very important to remain humble, show mutual respect and always be on time.

A unique example of this is the Swedish “fika,” or coffee break. It’s an opportunity for employees and their bosses to meet on common ground and talk informally about their work and private lives. The fika gives colleagues a chance to listen to one another, freely discuss ideas and openly resolve conflicts.