Sweden - Culture, Etiquette &

Business Practices
Facts and Statistics

• Location: Between Finland and Norway in Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea,
Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak.
• Capital: Stockholm.
• Climate: temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers;
subarctic in north.
• Population: 10+ million (2019 est.)
• Ethnic Make-up: indigenous population: Swedes with Finnish and Sami minorities;
foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians,
Greeks, Iranians and Turks.
• Religions: Lutheran 87%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim,
Jewish, and Buddhist) 13%.
• Business Culture: Ranked 8th in the Business Culture Complexity Index™

Language in Sweden

The official language of Sweden is Swedish and it is spoken by the majority

of individuals living in Sweden.
One of two key minority languages is Saami, which is spoken in the Northern regions of
Sweden and finally Finnish. There are also a number of Romanies in Sweden who speak in
Romani.
Swedish is not only the official language of Sweden. It is also one of the official languages
of Finland.
Influences on the Swedish language have come primarily from Latin, German and Danish.

Swedish Culture and Society

 The Lutheran Church
• The Church of Sweden professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity and it has a
membership of almost 7 million people; making it the largest Lutheran Church globally.
• Although over 75% of Swedish citizens are members of the church, only 2% regularly
attend church services.

The Ethnic Make-up of Sweden

• The indigenous population of Sweden is comprised of Swedes with Finnish and Sami
minorities.
• Foreign-born or first-generation immigrants are typically of Finnish, Danish, Norwegian,
Greek, Iranian and Turkish ethnicity.

The Culture of Sweden

• One of the key characteristics of Swedish culture is that Swedes are egalitarian in nature,
humble and find boasting absolutely unacceptable.
• In many ways, Swedes prefer to listen to others as opposed to ensuring that their own
voice is heard.
• When speaking, Swedes speak softly and calmly.
• It is rare that you were witness a Swede demonstrating anger or strong emotion in public.
Map of Sweden
• In terms, Swedes rarely take hospitality or kindness for granted and as such, they will give
often give thanks.
• Failing to say thank you for something is perceived negatively in Sweden.
• Behaviours in Sweden are strongly balanced towards ‘lagom’ or, ‘everything in
moderation’.
• Excess, flashiness and boasting are abhorred in Sweden and individuals strive towards the
middle way.
• As an example, work hard and play hard are not common concepts in Sweden.
• People work hard but not too hard, they go out and enjoy themselves, but without
participating in anything extreme.
• Due to the strong leaning towards egalitarianism in Sweden, competition is not
encouraged and children are not raised to believe that they are any more special than any
other child.

The Family
The family in Sweden is extremely important and as such, the rights of
children are well protected.
• The rights afforded to Swedish families to ensure that they are able to adquately care for
their children are some of the best rights in the world. An overview of these rights is as
follows:
• Either the mother or father is entitled to be absent from work until their child reaches 18
months old.
• Either parent has the right to reduce their workload by 25% until their child reaches 8
years old (and is formally ready for school).
• A parental allowance is paid for 480 days, which is intended for both parents.
• Sixty of these days must be used by the ‘minority’ parents. For this reason, this element of
the allowance is often known as ‘Daddy’s months’.
• You have the right to up to 60 days off per year to care for a sick child.
• A number of people in Sweden however, challenge the degree to which these rights are
truly positive as statistics suggest that women often fall way behind their male colleague
in respect to position in pay.
• Anyone travelling to Sweden will notice the family friendly environment of most
resturants and other such establishments.
• Even trains have a toy and play area!

The Role of Hospitality in Swedish Culture

Although Sweden is a largely egalitarian and relaxed environment,
hospitality and eating arrangements are often a formal affair.
It is more common for guests to be invited to a Swede’s home for coffee and cake as
opposed to a meal, but, if you are invited for a meal then ensure that you:

• Are punctual as it is considered extremely impolite if you are rude. In the same essence, do
not arrive too early. It is not an uncommon event in Sweden for guests to sit in the car until
the last minute or walk around the block until the expected time of arrival has arrived!
• Dress smartly as to otherwise would be considered disrespectful to the hosts.
• You may be shown around the house but do not ask to see the rest of the house as Swedes
are general very private.
• When eating, keep your hands in full view, with your wrists on top of the table.
• The European eating etiquette should be adhered to in respect to knife in the right hand
and fork in the left.
• You may not eat until the host/hostess has said "varsågoda".
• Do not take the last helping from a plate.
• Finish everything on your plate as it is considered rude to leave any food uneaten.
• Do not offer a toast to anyone more senior to you in age.
• When offering a toast then lift your glass and nod at everyone present looking from those
seated on your right to those seated on your left before taking a sip.
• You should then nod again before replacing your glass on the table.
• It is important that you do not discuss business at the table as Swedes try to distinguish
between home and work.
• During formal events, the guest seated on the left of the hostess typically stands to make a
speech during the sweet, to thank her on behalf of the whole group.
• Always write or call to thank the host / hostess within a few days of attending the dinner.

Business Culture and Etiquette in

Sweden
Meeting and Greeting
• Business personnel in Sweden are typically fairly reserved and as such it is important that
all dealings are formal and serious until it is deemed acceptable by the respective Swedish
personnel to allow events to become more relaxed.

Key suggestions are as follows:

• Ensure that, maintaining eye contact coupled with a firm handshake, you shake hands
with all attendees on both arrival and departure.
• Ensure that you address your hosts with either their professional title or their honorific
title and their surname, although Swedes will always jump to using first names.
• Personal space is important in Sweden and as such it is recommended that you maintain
an awareness of someone’s personal space and that you do not invade it. Avoid any
unnecessary touching.

Gift Giving Etiquette

• If you are invited to a Swede’s home then it is suggested that you take the same type of
gift as you would give in the UK e.g. a bouquet of flowers or, a box of chocolates.
• If you choose to give flowers, then ensure that the bouquet does not include white lilies or
chrysanthemums.
• The reason for this being that both types of flowers are typically given at funerals.
• Since Sweden is such a child centred country, it is always recommended that you take
gives for any children who may be part of the family who you are visiting.
• If you are personally given a gift, then it is custom to open it upon receipt.

Business Card Etiquette

• There are no particular protocols for the exchanging of business cards in Sweden.

What to Wear When Doing Business in Sweden?

 Business wear in Sweden is conservative. As such, we advise the following:

• Men should wear good quality suits with silk ties and shirts.
• Women should wear conservative business dresses or a suit.
• Due to the egalitarian values of Sweden, it is strongly recommended that you do not wear
anything flashy.
• Even senior directors or executives do not dress any more elaborately than average
employees.
• As such, avoid ostentatious or, obvious jewellery.

Business Meetings in Sweden

• Ensure that you give at least two weeks notice if you are arranging a meeting in Sweden.
• Months to avoid if possible, include June, July, August and then late February through to
early March as most Swedes will be on holiday during these periods.
• As with the UK, most Swedes are also absent during the Christmas period.
• Punctuality is absolutely essential. If you are late, then this will reflect very badly on you
and will be viewed as discourteous.
• Swedes rarely engage in small talk at the start of a meeting. Instead, people will move
directly to the topics at hand.
• Meetings are typically governed by an agenda which is distributed to individuals prior to
the meeting.
• There is very little talk outside of the agenda topics.
• Although most meetings are managed by a particular person, all individuals are expected
to contribute.
• Swedish business personnel are extremely detail focused and as such any presentations
should be well prepared with supporting, accurate and relevant data. Be assured that your
hosts will pay a great deal of attention to the detail.
• Swedes rarely make decisions during initial meetings and as such, the first meeting that
you have with your hosts is likely to be fairly general and low key.
• Swedes are direct communicators and as such, "Saying what you mean and meaning what
you say" is both practiced and expected.
• Awkward silences’ are rarely seen as awkward in Sweden and as such, Swedes do not rush
to fill conversation silences.
• If you are trying to sell something then try to tone down the use of emphasis or
superlatives as it is very rare that a Swede will over elaborate during a conversation –
even if they are trying to sell something.
• Failure to adhere to this could result in your delivery being viewed as insincere.

Negotiating with Swedes

• It is essential that you are cool and controlled during negotiations and that you do not
demonstrate any emotion as this will be perceived negatively.
• Additionally, always bear in mind that the egalitarian nature of Sweden means that
decisions and consensus are made across teams.
• As such endearing yourself to the most senior executives and directors will be of no avail.

Being a Manager in Sweden

Effective cross cultural management will bear in mind that the Swedish like to treat all
people with equal respect and deference.

• Avoid "hard sell" techniques and use direct communication without hyperbole or
superlatives.
• Focus on arriving for meetings punctually and making the most productive use of the
available time.
• Swedish like to get down to the business at hand as swiftly and efficiently as possible.
• They generally say what they think and expect others to do the same.

The Role of a Manager

Cross cultural management needs to recognize that Swedish value the specialized
knowledge that employees at all levels bring. In Sweden, as in most egalitarian cultures,
positions of authority are earned largely on the basis of individual achievement and
people at all levels of the organization, while respecting authority, are free to aspire to
those positions.

• The role of the leader is to harness the talent of the group assembled, and develop any
resulting synergies.
• The leader will be deferred to as the final authority in any decisions that are made, but
they do not dominate the discussion or generation of ideas. Praise should be given to the
entire group as well as to individuals.

Approach to Change
Sweden’s intercultural competence and readiness for change is low, meaning that social
change is difficult to bring about and the idea of it is not received with enthusiasm. The
underlying belief is that change may threaten the social fabric.

• Even though they are cautious in business, they are some of the most rapid high-tech
innovators in the world.
• In order for change to take hold, however, it needs to be perceived as good for the group
and be accepted by the group.
• Intercultural sensitivity is needed as Sweden’s attitude toward risk is dramatically
impacted by the negative ramifications of failure on both the individual and the group.

Approach to Time and Priorities

Sweden is a controlled-time culture, and adherence to schedules is important and
expected.

• In Sweden missing a deadline is a sign of poor management and inefficiency, and will shake
people’s confidence.
• People in controlled-time cultures tend to have their time highly scheduled, and it’s
generally a good idea to provide and adhere to performance milestones.
• Effective cross-culture management skill will depend on the individual’s ability to meet
deadlines.

Decision Making
Swedish organizations are relatively flat with few management levels. Matrix
organizations are common and employees often report to more than one manager.

• Swedish management style is based on the premise that all work has value and that
employees come to work wanting to do a good job.
• Swedish managers see themselves as coaches rather than as autocratic rule-makers. They
guide subordinates and pride themselves on being good listeners.
• Subordinates are free to solve unexpected problems without referring the matter to the
manager.
• Status is not very important in Swedish companies. Any employee of a company can
approach the Managing Director.
• Employees downplay their achievements and do not expect to be praised for doing their
jobs well.
• Cross cultural management needs to understand the Swedish fundamental belief in an
egalitarian society. This means they support a participative management style.

Boss or Team Player?

The role of the leader is to harness the talent of the group assembled, and develop any
resulting synergies.

• The leader will be deferred to as the final authority in any decisions that are made, but
they do not dominate the discussion or generation of ideas. Praise should be given to the
entire group as well as to individuals.
 Communication and Negotiation Styles
Cross cultural communication should be relatively straight forward when dealing with
the Swedish.

• Swedes prefer to get down to business quickly.

• Swedes are tough negotiators.
• Mid or low level managers can make decisions. Decision-making is often slow because
Swedes are consensus driven.
• Efficiency is important. Proposals will be viewed from this perspective.
• Swedes avoid confrontation. Be alert for a non-committal phrase that denotes a negative
response.
• Swedes use silence to think before speaking and to avoid confrontation. Do not continue
speaking simply because the other party is silent.
• Swedes do not interrupt others who are speaking.
• Verbal contracts will be followed, although written agreements are quite common.