Finnish people are known as shy and quiet, but we also are the happiest country in the world (according to UN World Happiness Report 2018). In Finland we speak mainly Finnish and Swedish as our native languages, but most of us speak good English, too.
We tend to market our country with three S’s, Sauna, Sisu and Sibelius. Sisu is a Finnish term, meaning strength, perseverance and resilience. Sisu could be taken as similar in meaning to the English saying, ‘just do it.’ Sisu is very important to the Finns, as they feel that it is part of what makes them unique. Sibelius in other hand is our most famous composer, whose classical music is known world-wide. And as for sauna, we Finns love relaxing in a hot room filled with steam – if you haven’t yet tried, you should!
Some other interesting facts on Finland:
- Most employee friendly working hours (European Company Survey)
- Greenest country in the world (Yale University)
- 3rd in Global Gender Gap Report 2017 (World Economic Forum)
- Paid maternity and paternity leave
- 1st in skill development at work (European Working Conditions Survey)
And, did you know that Santa Claus lives in Korvatunturi, Finland?
Working in Finland
We Finns like to be timely and punctual. We like to act informally and regardless of the position at work we like to call each other by first names. Equality is at the very heart of Finnish society and you can expect to be treated equally with others and trust even spoken agreements. Here is more information about Finnish working culture:
https://www.infopankki.fi/en/living-in-finland/work-and-enterprise/finnish-working-culture
If you are a non-EU citizen, you usually need a residence permit to be allowed to work in Finland. Read about residence permit, exceptions and application process here:
http://migri.fi/en/working-in-finland
If you are a citizen of an EU Member State, a Nordic country, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, you do not need a residence permit to stay in Finland. You can stay and work freely in Finland for up to three months. You need to have a valid identity card or passport. However, you need to register your right of residence at the Finnish Immigration Service if you stay in Finland for longer than three months. Read more here:
https://migri.fi/en/eu-citizen
In Finland we have quite high cumulative taxation: the more you earn the higher your tax percentage is. The taxes are used to provide free education, subsidized health care and day care for children, social benefits, elderly care and pensions etc. You can find more details about taxation in Finland here:
https://www.vero.fi/en/individuals/tax-cards-and-tax-returns/arriving_in_finland/work_in_finland/
Once you work in Finland, you are entitled to paid holidays up to 2,5 days/month and additional holiday bonus. We have strong and functioning unions, which provide you information and look after your rights. You can find more information about employment in Finland here:
http://www.tyosuojelu.fi/web/en/employment-relationship/foreign-employee
http://www.te-palvelut.fi/te/en/index.html
Here is more information on Finnish language courses:
http://www.cimo.fi/programmes/finnish_language_and_culture/links_to_finnish_language_and_culture