Working to Live, Not Living to Work

For many Norwegians, work-life balance is incredibly important. The ideal Norwegian maintains a delicate balance in his or her life, optimizing both for efficiency and optimal relaxation time.

This is best described as working to live and not living to work. The greater joy is taken in getting to the ski slopes or just enjoying a quiet evening at home with some candles lit, rather than working extra hours to advance in the workplace.

Not Lazy, Just Efficient

This sometimes leads to the perception that Norwegians are lazy, which is not entirely accurate. You don't often meet many lazy cultures that enjoy four-hour mountain hikes and a multitude of other types of physical punishment like cross-country skiing.

The truth is more that the modern Norwegian is actually highly efficient in the workplace which makes it easier for them to put work aside and get back to enjoying life. They also take great pride in their work, so even if it takes longer to accomplish, that's perfectly alright in this society. It's better to plan to expand the time needed in all projects, just in case the sun comes out and you need to make sure you are miles away from the desk.

The Quiet Office After 4pm

If you ever need a very quiet place to sit, I would recommend visiting a Norwegian office after 4pm. They are often as quiet as a soundproof library. Unlike other business cultures, there is almost no pressure in the Norwegian office to work late nights.

Where I might feel guilty slipping out of work early in America for example, this is totally acceptable in Norway. It's especially true if any matters of attending to one's family are concerned, such as picking up the kids from school. However, it also applies to simply getting a head start to the winter cabin on Friday.

Though when it comes to cabin culture in the workplace Norwegians often start talking about the cabin trip on Wednesday and leave as early as Thursday after lunch to beat the traffic.

The Dirty Little Secret

There is, however, a dirty little secret among the Norwegian workforce, especially the corporate foot soldiers. Many of them will jump back online around 8pm and tend to their various work-related matters before bed, although in most Norwegian organizations it's better your colleagues don't know about your late-night keyboard cramming.

It's more important to give the impression of being efficient in what you do. Achieving the desired result with the least amount of effort can earn you extra status.

Scheduling Considerations

So, as you do business in Norway it's important to try to avoid booking meetings too late in the day. Your attendees are likely to be eyeing the clock and anxious to get home.

You'll also want to avoid trying to close deals around the many Norwegian holiday breaks and basically anytime in July and most of August. During this time the entire country has pretty much checked out and is headed to various spots around the world.

Just like in the Viking days, Norwegians take great pleasure in traveling for holiday and do it as often as possible. Thanks to their strong economy and focus on quality of life, Norwegian workers receive some of the highest amounts of paid vacation days in the world.

A Different Approach to Success

In most cultures you're taught you need to work incredibly hard to succeed. In America and Japan you need to put in some long nights and really push yourself to get ahead. To be wildly successful, you'll need to push even harder than everyone else.

Either way, you'll need to make some fairly substantial personal sacrifices to win, many times at the expense of your own health and relationships. This is especially true for foreigners who find themselves in a country other than their own. However, this is not how Norwegians see it.

Work is important, but in Norway the quality of the work is actually more important, even if that means it will take longer to complete. This keeps the stress levels for most Norwegians incredibly low.

Lower Stress, Different Expectations

You won't find many Norwegians complaining about work stress or being overworked and stress levels are certainly much lower than what I was used to coming from fast-paced work environments like Los Angeles and San Francisco. In Norway most foreigners find they can breathe a little easier and their busy minds may slow down just a bit.

That's not to say that Norwegians don't get stressed out at work, but it just might appear from an outsider's perspective they shouldn't be. After all they don't appear to be working too hard or missing any vacation.

But as you work with Norwegians, and especially for those coming from highly competitive business markets, you may need to adjust your perception of the stress tolerance of others. In Norway, what might not be stressful to you may create great stress for a Norwegian.

This might include things like missing a deadline, being late to a meeting or, even worse, having to share a crowded elevator with strangers.

Reluctance to Ask for Help

This is further compounded by Norwegians' reluctance to ask for help. Being from a proud and independent culture, Norwegians don't like to owe others or indeed have debts of any kind.

This can include something as simple as getting extra help when the workload is piling up. As a foreigner you'll have to navigate when it's best to step in or identify when a colleague needs your help, as they're not likely to ask for it directly.

Hitting the Wall

In the cases where a Norwegian has experienced extreme work related stress they refer to it as "hitting the wall". While it's not extremely common, it does happen and there is a general acceptance of it.

There's also very little stigma around mental health issues. Norway takes care of its own. So if a citizen needs a break to recharge their batteries, that is generally provided as part of a health care package given either by the employer or the state itself.

Getting Koselig

Some have said that work life balance is difficult to achieve in the modern age. After all, we're always just an e-mail or Facebook notification away when needed. Norwegians, on the other hand, have done well to ensure they take ample time to shut off work and enjoy life.

This usually takes the form of trips to the cabin, enjoying nature or simply getting cozy (known as getting koselig in Norwegian) at home with a nice book and the candles lit. The work will get done but not at the risk of impeding on this valuable time away from it.

Learning to Adapt

For a foreigner this might be frustrating at first if you come from a fast paced work cultures at home. And while it does significantly slow the development and innovation process in almost all areas of business, I recommend learning to both understand and respect it.

Over time as I worked more in Norway I started to acclimatize to my surroundings here. I felt less guilty about sneaking out of the office early. I didn't check my e-mails for longer periods of time and I have to say, it feels pretty damn amazing.

As a former ruthless capitalist, who worked far too many hours in America, I was for the first time starting to understand this whole quality of life thing. Spending a work day afternoon in the park instead of buried in my laptop unsurprisingly improved my work and even my rapport with colleagues.

Instead of showing jealousy at my relaxation time, they understood. After all they would have done the same, especially on a rare day when the sun is shining here in the cold North.