Sweden

Greetings

Man greeting Man - Men shake hands when greeting one another while maintaining direct eye contact. A firm but fairly brief handshake is the norm. With friends, a simple hello will suffice. If you have not seen someone in a long time or with good friends, a hug is common. Most men will opt for a half-hug with a macho-like back slap.

Woman greeting Woman- At a first meeting, women generally shake hands while maintaining direct eye contact. With friends and people that you see often, a simple hello will suffice. If you have not seen someone in a long time, a hug is common.

Man greeting Woman- At a first meeting a regular handshake will do. With friends and people that you see often, a simple hello will suffice Good friends may engage in a light hug.

Communication Style

• Swedes usually speak in more direct terms, while maintaining a polite tone. However, as is common when flirting, one never says exactly what they want to say, relying instead on creative interpretation skills.
• Swedes will generally avoid any conflict or confrontation, so it’s best to avoid raising your voice or showing anger.
• Personal questions are generally not asked, so a typical, “What do you do?” may be construed as too forward.
• Periods of silence are common in conversation, it is best to not try and fill in the gaps.
• It is considered rude to interrupt someone during conversation and it is important to really show interest in what they are saying.
• Swedes are also generally modest. They usually do not boast about their accomplishments or how much money they have.
• If Swedes say that they are good at something it usually means that they are actually an expert or at a professional level. If they say they are okay it tends to mean are actually excellent.

Personal Space & Touch

• A little more than an arm’s length of personal space is common during conversations. Even when amongst family and friends, individual space is maintained.
• Swedish people really like to have their own personal space. For example, in elevators they tend to stand as far apart as humanly possible.
• Light touching is acceptable when conversing with friends and family; a hand on the arm or elbow is not uncommon.

Eye Contact

• When meeting someone, direct eye contact is very important. If you don’t look the other person in the eyes, it indicates that you are not interested.
• When drinking together, it is always important to look someone directly in the eye when you are toasting one another.

Gestures

• Swedish people generally don’t show a lot of emotion in public, so gestures are not very common. One might show anger by looking away or stopping talking.

Views of Time

• Punctuality is highly valued, it important to be on time, especially in business settings.
• For dinner parties or get-togethers with friends, it is best to arrive relatively on time, certainly not more than 30 minutes late.
• Transportation services usually follow a tight schedule and are almost always on time.

Gender Roles

• Women are still paid less for the same work as men but they are accepted in all the same fields and managerial positions.
• Husbands and wives generally share the responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, shopping, caring for the kids and earning money for the household.
• It would be rare for a Swedish woman to never accept a man that expects her to do all the work around the house.
• It is becoming more common for the father to take paternity leave while the mother goes back to work.
• It is hard to find a woman that stays home with the children and does not work.

Law & Order

• One must be 18 to be served alcohol and at least 20 to purchase.
• Most everyone drinks and you will most likely be asked questions if you don’t. Kids generally start drinking around the age of 13 or 14.
• Nightclubs generally require a minimum age of at least 20 or 23 to enter.
• As Swedish people are generally very organized and well-behaved, drinking is a way to let loose and if anything stupid happens, they can blame it on the alcohol. “Oh, I was drunk,” is a very valid excuse.
• Smoking is not allowed in any public indoor place, such as restaurants, train station or bars. Always go outside to smoke if you are invited over somewhere.
• Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines.

Dress

• Swedes value being well dressed and nicely groomed.
• For Men: Conservative, dark or medium colored suits with shirt and tie are acceptable.
• For Women: Stylish yet conservative business suits or dresses/skirts and blouses. Pantsuits are also acceptable.
• Accessories are usually worn, but it's best to stay on the subtle side. Wearing anything overly flashy or expensive will most likely be looked down upon.
• Jeans and other casual attire are generally not acceptable in business situations.

Titles & Business Cards

• Most people greet one another by their first name. It is acceptable to call someone Mr. (Herr) or Mrs.(Fru) followed by the last name.
• There is no specific protocol surrounding the giving and receiving of business cards. It is always best to treat the card with respect.

Meetings

• For meetings, one must be on time. Being late is looked down upon heavily.
• Meetings generally follow an agenda agreed upon in advance that is adhered to strictly.
• There is usually not much time allotted for small talk.
• Periods of silence are common in conversation, it is best to not try and fill in the gaps.
• It is considered rude to interrupt someone while they are speaking.

Negotiations

• Decisions tend to be made by group consensus and may take awhile to be reached.
• Most decisions are discussed and depending on the issue some meetings may be continued the following day till a fair negotiation is achieved.
• Swedes do not tend to display anger or other emotions in public situations, so it is best to remain calm during the negotiation process.
• Avoid hard selling and any sort of conflict or confrontation. Swedes tend to respond much better to the honest straight forward approach.

Gift Giving

• Gifts are generally not brought to an initial meeting.

• State regulations are that it is fine to accept business gifts up to about $200 per year but anything more than that is considered a bribe.

• If invited to a Swede’s home, it is appropriate to bring a nice bottle of wine, liquor, or good chocolates/sweets.

• It’s a good idea to have gifts nicely wrapped and expect them to be opened right away.

In the Classroom

• The first semester at most schools usually starts around the beginning of September and ends the 20th of January. The second semester starts at the end of January and finishes the first week in June. There is generally a fall break, a Christmas break (even though there is generally a lot of work given over the holidays), a week vacation in February and summer vacation.

• Dress depends on the subject studied. For example, economics and poli-sci majors usually dress nicer than social science majors. Often times one can guess someone’s political leanings based on their style of dress.

• Looking nice and clean is important.

• Grades are based on a four grade scale: fail, pass, good and very good. No numbers are given. There is discussion about further dividing up the grading scale in the near future.

• While lecture is a common form of teaching, there is a lot of group work and discussion as well.

Other Observations

• Public transportation tends to be quite expensive.
• is a part of the vodka belt, and their specialty is called brannvin (literally burn-wine), distilled from grain or potatoes, the highest quality of which is Absolute.
• The Swedish government has a monopoly called Systembolaget for the sale of all alcohol stronger than 3.5%; the stores are closed on Sundays, are open 6pm on weekdays and until 2am on Saturday.
• By and large you don’t just talk to any one you feel like, people tend to want to keep to themselves.

• Often when studying in Sweden, exchange students are paired with a local student who can help them adapt to student life.
• Most everyone speaks English and while universities have associations for foreign students, it may be more beneficial to break out of your comfort zone and get to know other Swedish students.
• Swedes are independent and self-sufficient, and while they will help you if asked, they expect you to be self-sufficient as well.