Finns are often described as reserved. The description is not wrong, but it is not the useful part. What matters when you work with Finns, or for them, is a small set of habits that are unusually consistent across the country, from a start-up in Espoo to a sawmill in Kainuu.
Time is a promise
Punctuality is taken seriously. A meeting set for nine starts at nine, and arriving ten minutes late counts as late, not normal. Schedules, plans and deadlines are treated as commitments, and Finns expect the same of the people they work with.
The same goes for what you say you will do. Honesty and keeping your word are values Finns themselves name when asked what matters. If you promise a reply by Friday, send it on Friday; if you cannot, say so before Friday rather than after.
Flat, first-name workplaces
Hierarchies are flat. Managers work alongside their teams, people use first names — often right up to the chief executive — and anyone can put forward a view regardless of age or position. Finnish has a formal "you", but in working life it is rarely used. Men and women are equal under the law, and discrimination at work on grounds such as age, origin, nationality or religion is prohibited.
A flat hierarchy comes with trust. Employees are expected to work independently, and a Finnish manager will usually agree the goal and leave you to reach it. Checking on someone too closely is seen as a lack of trust. If you manage Finns, define the objective, the responsibilities and the deadline clearly, and then step back.
Plain speaking, and silence
Meetings get to the point after a brief greeting. There is little small talk and no need to fill a pause; silence usually means people are thinking, not that something has gone wrong. Nor should you expect a response to everything you say. A comment that gets no reply has often simply been accepted.
Directness is not rudeness. Finns are expected to mean what they say, and a plain "no" is a clearer answer than a polite "we'll see". Being modest about your own achievements goes down better than selling them hard; confidence is fine, boasting is not.
How decisions are made
Finns gather information carefully before deciding, and to an outsider, this can look slow. The upside is that once a decision is made, it tends to stick, and changing it again without a good reason is hard work. Meetings are where you have your say; argue your case there, not after the minutes are written.
Breaks, holidays and the sauna
A normal working week is 40 hours over five 8-hour days, with a lunch break and coffee breaks. Most employers expect people to take their holidays, and July is the month when much of Finland is simply not at work. Plan any deal that requires a Finnish signature around it.
If you are invited to a sauna with colleagues or business partners, go. It is a sign of trust, it is where a lot of relaxed conversation takes place, and nobody will talk shop at you for long.
What goes down well
- A sense of humour, including about the differences between your culture and theirs.
- A genuine interest in Finland, and knowing something about it before you arrive.
- Respect for personal space and privacy; do not drop in unannounced.
- A firm handshake with eye contact.
If you are setting up here yourself, the formal side is covered in starting a business in Finland, and the job search in finding a job in Finland. For everything else about the move, start at living in Finland.
