Sweden is a country in Europe, which got huge respect in the field of culture, innovation, architecture, technology, education, job opportunities, and more. Many foreigners travel off to Sweden to fetch lucrative jobs, being the Swedish climate and the work environment much more friendly than that of many other countries. They have taken innovations to the next level of superiority. While the Swedish benefits are considered as the best in the world. Let’s discover the reasons to work in a Swedish company.
1. Salary and Facilities
A Swedish employee gets a job with a higher pay scale as compared to the other European countries, and some of the UK, and the US companies too. Not only the salary part but the facilities they get at the workplace are quite envious.
● A Friendly Work Environment
● Less Working Hours
● Freedom of Speech
● Similar Rights to All The Employees
● Friendly HR Policies
● Highest Number of Annual Leaves
● No Dress Code
The facilities mentioned above are enough for an employee to work somewhere in spite of the fact that Sweden citizens have to pay a higher amount of income
tax to the government than that of most of the other countries in Europe, the UK, or in the US.
We’ll talk about those facilities and about some more in detail in the following part of this article. So be there if you have any plans to go to Sweden and work there as an employee. Also, there is some good news for entrepreneurs in the latter part of this content.
2. Innovation and Global Leaders
Globalization has affected the country very much as companies like-
● Ericsson
● Spotify
● IKEA
● Skype
● Solvatten
● Ocean Search, and a lot more
Have emerged with prosperity and their leadership qualities have amused the world.
3. Taking Family With Government Support
One of the best parts is once a person gets employed in Sweden, he/she will also get the chance to bring his spouse in Sweden to stay along with him. He can also bring the children if their age is below 21 years. The government will also help to provide the helping hand in terms of the child’s education, and job opportunities.
4. No Discrimination
The Sweden work environment follows the global standards where there are no such discriminations based on-
● Citizenship
● Religion
● Mother Tongue
● Gender (4th largest country in the world in terms of gender equality)
● The Complexion
● Living Standards, or any other things.
Even foreigners can leave peacefully for years without facing any kind of disturbances by the local citizens. It has been seen that a foreigner living in Sweden for years without even knowing a single bit of the Swedish language. One can easily manage with the knowledge of English, as
that is the most familiar language in the country after Swedes. And the Swedish people being the native English speakers are very well-acquainted with the language.
5. Strong Unions
Sweden has a very rigid labor union system that works and stands in favor of the employees. Around 70% of the total employees are members of the Trade Union, making the lives of the employees much easier.
6. Longest Holidays
In a year, a Swedish employee generally gets a minimum of five weeks of paid leave, while in some companies, they even provide leave of six weeks which is quite more when you compare it to the other countries. A leave of maternity is granted for around eighteen months, where the husband also gets an allowance of 90 days. The couple will also get options to divide the entire leave equally. The system provides the opportunity for the husband to be there next to his spouse when the newborn is at home.
7. Dress Code
There is no specific dress code to maintain, and the employees can dress however they feel like, of course, it has to be a decent one. They can choose from a wide variety of casual fashionable outfits made of cotton, wool, or fabric. Though synthetic wears are not famous in Sweden as the climate doesn’t favor the synthetic apparels. Casual T-Shirts with jeans and even skirts with suits are quite famous for office wears. Sweaters, jackets, and skull caps are good during the winters.
8. Awesome a-Kassa (unemployment benefit funds, that is)
A wonderful innovative plan, where a post-secondary candidate can become a member of an organization that guarantees the employment of the candidate. If in any case, the candidate loses the job and sitting idle, then he will be paid at least 80% of his last withdrawn salary by the organization. This excellent system provides complete security to the employee.
9. Learn New Skills
In the year of 1974, the Employee’s Right to Educational Leave Act was passed which stated that an employee, if wants can leave the job temporarily and go for the higher
studies or some short term courses to upgrade his skills. He/she will be provided with this facility only when he/she has already worked for at least six months in that company. The best part of this act is that the job which he leaves, for the time being, will still have an opening for him when he completes the course and comes back to rejoin the position once again. This is such a beneficial opportunity for the employee to upgrade his/her skills. Such facilities can hardly be seen in any other country.
10. Long Lunches and Fabulous Fika
Fika is somewhat extraordinary in Sweden’s professional life. Those are the short breaks of five to ten minutes after every five hours of continuous work. A Fika break is given for refreshment and relaxation in order to bring more productivity in the work. It also allows the employee to concentrate on the work more without getting bored. Within a Fika break, he/she can also hang-out with friends and the officials or can get involved in official discussions-all that are allowed. Apart from these short breaks, there is a lunch break of a minimum of one hour. All these breaks during an entire working day bring comfort.
11. English is Common
The Swedish citizens are the world’s second-best speakers when they speak English as a non-native language. A person knowing only the English language will never face any kind of issues in Sweden, as each and every corner is familiar with the language. But for good practice, it is better to know the national language, the Swedish when someone lives in Sweden for the long term. Swedish is very similar to English, and it will take very little time for a person(who already knows English) to learn the language. Other than a few irregularities, the grammar and sentence formation of both languages are almost the same. Swedish for Immigrants or commonly known as SFI is an organization that helps foreigners in learning the Swedish language.
12. Friendly HR Policies & Regulations
The friendly HR Policy is the heart and soul of retaining the employees to work for the company. HRs of the companies do check for the employees benefits the most. There’s no work pressure while the Fika breaks are allowed after every five hours of work. Many employees take a vacation of more than a month during the summer holidays. Also, in case the employee is sick, a paid leave of a maximum of thirteen days can be granted as per the HR policies. The parental leaves are given upto 120 days to both the couples if they opt for sharing the leave equally.
13. Start-Up Friendly Atmosphere
A lot of fairs happen in the country for entrepreneurs, where the angel investors come to get connected with the small start-up ideas and help them to kick start with their innovative thoughts. So to be an entrepreneur, Sweden can be your ideal place to be in. The investors will listen to your ideas, do the initial hand holding, mentoring, provide the required fund, and will gradually take your business to the next level of advancement.
14. Easy to Connect Work Atmosphere
There is no boss system when you work as an employee, and also there is no hierarchy maintained. Everyone will be assigned separate projects which they can even discuss with the CEO of the company during a Fika break. Everything is crystal clear within the system with no hesitations and boundaries. This extraordinary feature makes the work atmosphere too friendly and a beautiful place to show your creativity. There will be appreciation if someone brings innovative thoughts. They encourage innovations which is very rarely seen in the corporates. Such an Open and Collaborative Atmosphere is the reason for their growth.
15. Work-Life Balance
Sweden offers a very peaceful environment for citizens across the country. There are friendly people who get mixed with the foreigners who also get blended in the Swedish culture. The work environment is managed in such a way that every person can enjoy the beauty of their personal lives, keeping the work part aside. Many companies have made it mandatory for the employees to work only for five hours in the office so that they can spend the rest of the day for their family and for themselves. This system, in turn, has brought much efficiency in the work and Sweden has become one of such countries that has the least amount of working hours with the highest productivity rates.
