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Five things you
should never say to
your Swedish boss
Have a job in Skellefteå or planning a move? Paul Connolly shares his top tips
for the conversations you should steer clear of as you adapt to Sweden’s unique
work culture
1. ”NO THANKS, I CAN’ T
S TA N D C O F F E E ”
The Swedes take their coffee very
seriously. Per capita, after the Finns,
the Swedes are the second-largest
consumers of coffee on the planet.
They may not be a religious people
but don’t take the name of Java in
vain. If you don’t like it, well, you’re
going to have to lump it because the
sacred ceremony of ’fika’ (coffee and
cake – dieters you must also abandon
all hope) is celebrated at least twice
a day. And you don’t want your new
Swedish boss to think you’re not a
team-player, do you? Tea drinker?
Nope, it doesn’t count.
Take lunch. Have coffee breaks (see
above). Go home on time. Many
parents in the office will likely have
already gone to pick up their kids
from school at 3.30pm, so there
might only be a skeleton crew left by
4.30pm. Don’t be a hero - don’t think
that your boss will be impressed by
the fact you’re prepared to put an
extra hour in. They won’t. They’ll just
think you’re a saddo with no friends.
3. ” I S M AT T I A S S T I L L O N
PAT E R N I T Y L E AV E ? ”
Mattias (or Tomas or Tobias, you
get the picture) is almost certainly
availing himself of the generous
16-month parental leave which can
be shared out between mothers and
fathers, with three months of that set
aside specifically for each parent.
It’s not an uncommon sight in
Skellefteå to see a clutch of men
pushing buggies round the city centre
before stopping off for an afternoon
latte. Mattias might be your favourite
colleague but you’ll just have to chill
out. You may not see him for quite a
while yet.
4. ”A D E S K W H E R E YO U
2. ” W H E R E ’ S E V E RYO N E
S TA N D U P ? W H AT ’ S T H E
G O N E ? I T ’ S O N LY 5 P M ”
P O I N T O F T H AT ? ”
It’s time to disentangle yourself from
all your previous working practices.
Standing desks have become
commonplace in Sweden. There are
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