Finnish culture values equality, honesty, trust and individualism. Finns are typically modest, punctual and value personal space. At work they are hardworking, diligent and pay attention to quality and details. Communication is direct and to the point. Small talk is avoided and silence is normal. Nature is an important part of Finnish culture. Coffee, saunas and summer cottages are an important part of Finnish life. Good manners include being on time, not wearing shoes inside, and eating everything on your plate when visiting someone's home.

1. Finnish Culture
HOW TO MADE YOUR COLLABORATION BEST

2. Content
General
information
Country
contrast
Key values Communication
Work approach Everyday Life Good manners References

3. General Information
GEOGRAPHY. SOCIAL. ECONOMY. HISTORY.

4. Scandinavian / Nordic
NOT Scandinavian. Scandinavian: S / N / D
Nordic: S / N / D / F / I
Very different in languages with D/N/S

5. Geography

6. Key facts

7. Key geo data

8. Social /
Demography

9. Key figures

10. Key Figures

11. Economy overview

12. Enterprises overview

13. Identity
Very strong sense of national identity
You have to know their history
You have to know their key persons
Honorable wartime achievements
Pride high-tech
Sport

14. Religion
83% Evangelical-Lutheran Church, 1.1% Orthodox
Woman as a priest (@ELC)
People in general are fairly secular.
Personal religious views are respected
Church held in high esteem

15. Seasons
Hard winter, especially north. Aurora time.
Spring with late green
Summer. Hot and very wet summer days . Midsummer.

16. History till WW2
First mentions: 12-13 centuries
500 years under Swedish control (from 1323). As a buffer against East
1809-1917 part of Russian empire. Status of Grand Duchy
1812 Helsinki become the capital. Old capital – Turku was destroyed in a fire (1827)
6 Dec 1917 – declare independence
1918 civil war: Red vs White
After 1917 under German sphere of influence
1939 Nazi and Soviet decide that Finland under Soviet sphere of influence
During WW2 Finland fights against Soviet. Never occupied by Soviet

17. History after WW2
After WW2 under Soviet union influence / constant fear
1952 Olympic games
1991 worst economic crisis
1995 join EU
2000 1st place in Literacy / PISA
2002 Euro currency adopted

18. Languages
Finish – main
Sweden – 2nd, < 10% - joint official
Saami – last official, 8000 native speakers
English – used VERY widely and well adopted

19. D/N/S/F in comparison
PORTION OF BLACK HUMOR WOULD BE ADDED

20. Short
Overview

21. Denmark
Sale / Trade / Do Business
Agriculture
Happiest / Friendly place / Most Open / More Social
Design. Attention to detail
Dress poorly compared to Swedish
National identity. Patriots.
Easy of going. A lot of freedom. Less political correct
Lack of control
Shocked things (sex, drugs, kill animals)

22. Norway
Oil money. Fishing. Shipping.
Comfort
Shy / Private
Soft power
“Mountain monkey”, explorers, outdoor activities
Reactive, brave, fast decisions
Do not fight if lost

23. Sweden
Industry, workers
Organization / Cooperation / Hierarchy / Rules for everything /
Planning ahead. Strategy. Risk should be taken care of in advance.
Empire / Old brother
Pragmatic. Do not fight if lost
Stylish / Well dressed / Extravert
Prussians of the North
Cheap

24. Finland
Sisu
Introvert / Melancholic / Reserved / Calm / Patient / Never complaint
Mix of Scandinavians culture and East hardwork
Best education
Cheapest / Welcoming
Most grounded in reality
Competitive
Border between Scandinavian and Russian
Agrarian / Fighters. Fight and stay for last person

25. Jokes about
them
If 4 year old boy fell and hurt his knee :
◦ Danish parents: hug, caress and console the boy
◦ Norwegian: wipe dust and tell that big boys do not cry
◦ Swedish: shocked, run home and found committee to avoid
such incidents
◦ Finish parents: ask to repeat to adopt / or not comment at all

26. KEY VALUES

27. 3. Key values
Equality /
Egalitarian
Punctuality Promises
Fairness Trust Own spaces
Individualism Modesty SiSu

28. 3.1 Equality
Gender equality.
Gender equality is strongly emphasized in Finnish working life and is underpinned by legislation.
78 percent of men and 73 percent of women work.
Impact on languages – masculine terms replaced with gender neutral
Everyone has the right to participate in the activities of society.
There is freedom of speech in Finland.

29. 3.2 Punctuality
Punctual
Prisoners of time
Very important to be at time
10-15 minutes late is very late, impolite
Diary full of meetings is a matter of pride and a status symbol

30. 3.3 Promises
It is important to keep your promises
All what you say you promise
Even “I will come to you once this year” is a promise

31. 3.4 Honesty, Fairness
Tell the truth
Honesty is appreciated in Finland.
Clearly state numbers

32. 3.5 Trust
It is common for Finns to trust other people
Trust to authorities.
For others (foreigners) – recheck multiple time

33. 2.6 Own space
* Value their privacy
* Value own space
* No questions regarding salary
* Young people are encouraged to become independent and move into their own homes.

34. 2.7 Individualism
Respect Individualism
Very tolerant to individuals
No comments on unusual behaviour
As long as it is not disturbs others

35. 2.8 Modesty
Esteem modesty highly
People tend not to distinguish themselves in a group;
Take others into account and listen to them.
Will minimize own inputs, downplay their own
accomplishment
Will refers to the external forces that help

36. 2.9 Sisu
Stoic - being calm and almost without any emotion. You
don't show what you're feeling and you also accept whatever
is happening.
Tenacity of purpose (Упорство цели) - achieve goals and
objectives
Grit (Выдержка, мужество) - you have courage and show
the strength of your character
Bravery - being able to confront frightening things
Resilience (Упругость) - is how well a person can adapt to
the events in their life. Ability to bounce back more quickly
and with less stress
Hardiness (Выносливость) -

37. Communications

38. 4.1 Greetings
Handshake, equally
man and woman
Look to eyes Repeat name if it is
hard to understand
Hugs for friends Almost no kisses

39. 4.2 Start to talk
No fucking “How are you” – they really do not like stupid
questions
Hard in small talk, almost no small talk
Greeting words and say your name is a small talk
Do not like to start to talk with strangers
Share business card

40. 4.3 Communication approach
Start a conversation
by going straight to
the point
Say clearly and
simple
Speech is direct and
straightforward
Expected to truly
mean what they say
Believe what you say
and expect you to
act accordingly.

41. 4.4 Discussion behavior
Serial communication. No
interruption at all
Business immediately.
Silence. Silence if nothing to say.
Do not fulfill this moment if
nothing to say
No emotions. Do not show your
emotions in public.
Normal voice. It is considered
rude to raise your voice when
speaking, especially in a public
place.
Yee contact. When you talk to
others, look them in the eye.
Looking someone in the eye
communicates that you are being
frank and honest towards that
person.

42. 4.5 Key points
No walking around, no wasting time at useless
communications
Weight each word, great value on words
Words are chosen carefully
Ask questions that really demands answer
Always answer on asked question.
Speak unhurriedly
Social avoiding is common
Lack talk is common
Silence is ok. Long pause ok. Silent group is ok.
Speak softly. Never loudly, never aggressive,

43. 4.6 Talk about
No taboo Books. Read a lot Shared Hobbies Culture and arts Sport (football,
racing drivers, winter
sports)

44. Work Approach

45. General
WORK HARD. LOVE TO DO BUSINESS INNOVATIVE

46. Work
approach
Highly qualified
tech / competent
Perfectionists /
Quality of product /
Attention to details
Flexibility in
meeting customer
demands
Quick decision
making
Tolerant
Less comfort with
partnership. Inbuild
suspiction.

47. Values for employees
Working and diligence in high regard.
During business hours there is no time for small talk.
More overtime
Less part time work
Never complain
High quality
Sisu applied at work

48. Scandals, Gossips
Don’t do scandal. At all.
Very little gossips about
Do not consider your private life and your relativese.

49. Work efforts distribution
10% work a short
week (less than 34
hours)
50% work a normal
working week (35-40
hours).
30% works 41 to 49
hours per advanced
work per week;
10% works over 50
hours per hard work
week.

50. Work time
Work time: From 8:00 (9:00) to 16:00 (17:00)
Could work at home. Lack of people at office at 5.
Bank closed at 4: 15. Post at 5:00
Meetings: could start 8:30. Should be finished before 3:30

51. Business Lunch / After business meeting
Lunch – early - 12-13. Could even start
at 11. Lasts between 1 and 2 hours.
No alcohol
Business talk seems to go on.
Dinnertime - around 5 - 6 pm. Sauna time

52. Work or Life
Work life balance in Finland is a big and important topic
Family life is highly valued in,
concept of family is becoming increasingly elastic.

53. Holidays
NY
1 Jan.
Epiphany
6 Jan.
Good Friday, Easter
Mar.–Apr.
Labour Day / May Day –
May 1
May
Pentecost – May /
June (31 May 2020)
May–June
/ Carl Gustaf Emil
Mannerheim + Finnish
Defense Forces Flag Day
4 June
Midsummer Eve / Day
+ Finnish Flag Day –
June, Friday between
19-25 -> than
VACATIONS
June
Independence Day
6 Dec.
Christmas Eve /
Christmas Day / Boxing
day – Dec 24/25/26
24 Dec.

54. Nature
Nature is very important to Finns. Many Finns enjoy spending time in
nature, summer houses, sauna at
forest, camping
Picking berries. Fishing. Everyman’s rights - people have
free access rights in nature, and do
not need the landowner’s
permission for all outdoor activities.

55. Coffee
Coffee is #1 at
Finland
Finns drink a lot of
coffee
Love everything
related to cofee

56. Alcohol
Monopoly (Alko) Vodka country Alcoholic drinks are
fairly expensive
Average rate per
person
But could drinks
much
Beer applied to
outdoor activities
Wine for weekend
meals

57. Recycle
All recycled Cans and bottles
taken back to store
Separate trash Reusable parts
from gift returned

58. Restaurant
Order everything you
want in once, directly
and clearly
They can bring what
they think would be
better for you
No tips Round bill up

59. Sauna
Around 2M sauna Could be proposed after
the business meeting
You should not decline You could decline if you
have filled timetable or
health hazards
Being naked is not
sexual

60. What wear
Dress practically Only ugly people need to dress
up
Stay warm - wear the right
clothes or do the right activity
or thing to keep yourself warm

61. Spare time
Sauna Holiday cabins Vacations at
home
Family festivals

62. Other
Distant neighbor relationship – do not want to disturb
Fragrance free – sensitive to perfumes, wear it lightly
No tips but it is ok to round up
Help yourself
Santa is Finnish. If you other opinion you will be killed by elves.
No smoking rules.
High penalties related to your salary.

63. Good manners

64. Gifts
Coffee related gifts
Biscuits / Sweets
Getting recyclable parts of gifts back (back pot, silk ribbon)

65. How to come home
Only if agreed, no surprise visit. Arrive on time
Do not use shoes indoors. Take second one for party
In most cases come with own alcohol
Flowers. No potted plants. Do not give White or Yellow flowers – used at funerals
Greet wife first

66. How to eat
Take what you want.
You decide your portion size. But do not take too much for you.
Water and milk.
Do not leave anything on a plate
Do not give salt and pepper to hand. Put on table.
Eat it all! Otherwise you produce waste
Place your knife and fork across you plate with the prongs facing down

67. Other suggestions
Check what you can bring to home (alcohol, dish)
Offer help
Keep your jacket on
Keep you hands visible
Take seats only when offered
Start eat when offered
Do not discuss business at home visit
Thanks to host before goodbye
Honor to be seated to the right of the hostess / host

68. References

69. Resource / Shared at Teams
Book Feedback Web
Resources
Quora Reports