In Poland, for long years Scandinavia has been associated with good labour conditions, which is confirmed by many reports, like Global Workforce Happiness Index Ranking. But why exactly is Scandinavia perceived as kind of heaven for employees and the Scandinavian companies are considered as the best place to work at?
Polish and Scandinavian work culture do differ. Scandinavian managers come from a less structured, less status-oriented culture, and the local employees and employers tend not to maintain a strict formal relationship. Those traits seem attractive to many, and as a result, Scandinavian companies get more and more alluring in the public eye.
The pillars of the Scandinavian labour market are a high degree of equality, security and consensus. People from Nordic countries highly believe that ensuring work for all and basic income security are the State’s tasks. With the general agreement to those issues, relatively high taxes are socially acceptable.
Employees’ expectations are much different than 20-30 years ago. Nowadays employees, beyond high salary and stable workplace, value such traits as the flexibility of employment and work-life balance. Scandinavian people more frequently decide to take a part-time job. 80-90% of employers in Nordic countries offer flexible working hours, which attracts potential workers. In Sweden, there is a possibility to shorten working hours by 25% in the case of having a child under 8 years old. In Norway, mothers can work part-time if they have a child under 12 years old. For those reasons, people in Poland consider Scandinavian companies as flexible and full of possibilities and alternative solutions.
Moreover, Scandinavian companies usually offer plenty of additional benefits, which makes working there more pleasant and relaxing – for instance, Danish company VELUX looks after the health and well-being of its employees and their families, it promotes a healthy lifestyle and supports physical activity. The other example of Swedish company SKANSKA can be proof of taking care of the workplace. The working area has been changed so that the office would precisely address employees’ needs.