Switzerland has a business culture that values punctuality, direct communication, and maintaining a work-life balance. Meetings require scheduling appointments in advance, and negotiations are precise with persuasive arguments and documentation. The Swiss are also family-oriented, environmentally conscious, and respect privacy and education.

1. SWITZERLAND
BUSINESS CULTURE

2. Switzerland
Capital: Bern Largest city: Zürich
Official languages:
German, French and
Italian
Area: 41 825 km2
Population:
8 826 725 people
Life expectancy:
around 83 years
Type of government:
Federal republic
Religions:
62,6% - Christianity;
29,4% - atheists;
5,4% - Islam
GDP per capita:
$92 434 (7th in the
world)
Currency: Swiss
franc (CHF)

3. Swiss are…
■ Friendly and polite
■ Respect privacy
■ Time conscious
■ Family-oriented
■ animal and environment lovers

4. You should…
■ Be punctual
■ Maintain eye contact
■ Return an invitation
■ Keep the environment clean
■ Not express cruelty towards animals

5. Greetings
• Use formal greetings
• Handshake and eye contact
• Light kiss on the cheek 3
times
• Address someone by their
family name unless told
otherwise

6. Meetings
• Always make an appointment beforehand
• Arrive at least 10 minutes earlier
• Call if you might not be on time or
reschedule
• 8:00-17:30 typical office hours

7. Education
• Education is decentralized
• Strong vocational
education
• Bilingualism
• Private and public schools
• High standards
• Education is mandatory

8. In class students must…
■ Ask questions
■ Actively participate
■ Engage in discussions
■ Contribute to group activities
■ Not bully others

9. Work
Environment
• Work-life balance
• Punctuality
• High productivity
• Multilingualism
• High salaries
• High standards of
professionalism

10. Work etiquettes
• Swiss workplaces tend to be quite formal
• Strong respect for hierarchy
• direct in their communication
• strong focus on quality
• high standard of professionalism

11. Negotiation style
• Humor and socializing are not typical, except for
French and Italian-speaking Swiss.
• Swiss people are cautious and precise, and hard
but fair bargainers.
• Business negotiations require patience and
persuasive arguments with detailed
documentation.
• Presentations should be clear, concise, and
summarized first.
• Providing a summary in the local language is
advisable.

12. HOFSTEDE’S SCALE

13. Power Distance
• At 34, Switzerland
sits in the lower
rankings of PD
• Being independent
• hierarchy for
convenience only
• Equal rights
• Superiors accessible
• Coaching leader
• Control is disliked
• Communication is
direct and
participative

14. INDIVIDUALISM
• Relatively high on this dimension at
68
• High preference for a loosely-knit
social framework
• Offence causes guilt and a loss of
self-esteem
• The employer/employee relationship
is a contract based on mutual
advantage
• Hiring and promotion decisions are
supposed to be based on merit only

15. MASCULINITY
• Switzerland scores 70 in this
dimension
• Highly success oriented and driven
• Live in order to work
• Managers are expected to be decisive
• Emphasis is on equity, competition
and performance
• Conflicts are resolved by fighting
them out

16. UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE
• Switzerland scores 58 in UAI
• Maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior
and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior
and ideas
• An emotional need for rules
• Time is money
• People have an inner urge to be busy and
work hard
• Innovation may be resisted
• Security is an important element in
individual motivation
• Decisions are taken after careful analysis

17. LONG TERM
ORIENTATION
• With a high score of 74
• Pragmatic
• People believe that truth
depends very much on
situation
• An ability to adapt traditions
easily to changed conditions
• A strong propensity to save
and invest

18. INDULGENCE
• Switzerland scores the high score of
66
• Willingness to realize their impulses
and desires
• They possess a positive attitude and
have a tendency towards optimism
• They place a higher degree of
importance on leisure time
• Act as they please and spend money
as they wish

19. Resources
■ Business culture in Switzerland: a guide for expats | Expatica
■ Switzerland - The World Factbook (cia.gov)
■ Education in Switzerland: Here’s What You Need To Know
■ Work Culture in Switzerland
■ Switzerland - Hofstede Insights (hofstede-insights.com)

20. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!