Working in Sweden: A Beirut vs Göteborg Special

I thought I'd share a few quirky differences between the work lives in Beirut and Göteborg.. I thought I'd share a few quirky differences between the work lives in Beirut and Göteborg..

Swedish and Lebanese cultures are very different. Well there's an understatement for you.In my previous post on the matter, I described Beirut and Göteborg as complete opposites. Now that I've started spending considerable amounts of time in an office, I thought I'd share a few quirky differences between the work lives in Beirut and Göteborg:Whenever you're tired at the office in Beirut, there is but one movement that never fails to compel you: To rest your head on your desk and take a nice fifteen minute nap to regain your energy. Don't even try to do that in Sweden, I was told it bears a very bad judgement. For all your napping needs, the company provides awithin the office premises. The napping room comes with a bed, yoga mats, etc.. all to satisfy your comfort needs.It is Swedish law that every company should provide its employees compensation for gym memberships, unless it chooses to provide a space for sports within the office premises. Naturally if you choose not to become a member in a gym, that money is simply lost on you. In short, that's the Swedish way of encouraging everybody to stay fit. If you prefer to run outdoors in the morning, don't worry, office showers are also provided to make sure you always smell good around your colleagues.In contrast, when was the last time you heard about one of your Lebanese coworkers keeping a tight workout schedule ? Yeah I thought so too..So not only do the Swedes want you to work out, they want you to eat right too. For instance, the company I work for constantly provides fresh fruits for the office. Bananas, oranges, pears, you name it.. and there's plenty for everyone. If I remember correctly, the only thing in abundance at the office in Beirut where I used to work was chocolate. Of course, the Beirut alternative is more delicious, but did you read that part about the gym ? Do you see a pattern ?It's not easy to explain fika to non-Swedes. "fika" literally means "to have coffee", but it's much more. You can think of it as a chance to have cake, cinnamon rolls, or any other sweet bakeries with your coffee and sit around chatting with your colleagues. I've heard somewhere that the law guarantees your right to two fifteen minute fikas a day without suffering retribution from your employer. If you're working in Lebanon and you're reading this, you're probably thinking "What's the big deal ? We take breaks and talk to each other all the time at the office". Well here's why:Here's an example for you. On my first day, I made myself a cup of tea, and while drinking it, the steel spoon kept sliding on the rim of my cup, which made that ringing rubbing noise spoons tend to make. That noise was louder than anything else in the entire place, I kid you not. Swedes don't seem to talk to each other much while they're working, unless they're working on something together and they want to discuss it.To put things into perspective, we had a basketball ring, a dartboard, a whole lot of stress balls (for throwing at each other, not the usual personal use), a couple toy guns, a Wii, etc.. lying around at the office in Beirut, someone was in charge of the music playing in the room, and we lived on the brink of a stress-ball war erupting between pretty much everybody who had quick enough hands.In Beirut, when you're bored, tired, or just don't feel like working, you can easily get up and talk to someone about anything and everything. In Sweden, you drink coffee.This is a sacred item in Swedish offices. The wonder machine that can make you anything from a coffee to a hot chocolate or mocha. This is the place to go for all bored/sleepy/addicted people.It is not uncommon to have an office dog. It is also not uncommon for someone to bring in their pet with them to work on occasion. Now you're probably thinking "That's got to contradict with that whole silent office thing", but no. You see Swedish dogs might as well be mute. In eighteen months in Sweden I've only heard dogs bark anywhere (street, bus, park..) about twice. And they NEVER misbehave at the office. I don't know how they do it, but those Swedes seem to know a thing or two about raising quiet dogs (and people, for that matter).I can't say that I've ever seen pets at the office in Lebanon, and then again, seeing as they tend to make more noise than their owners like to honk their horn while driving, I'm pretty sure it's better this way.So there you have it folks, my roundup of office life in Sweden. In short, Swedish offices are a great place to get work done. Unfortunately they don't seem to be so great for those moments in between work where you just want to have your mindless fun. Lebanese offices on the other hand are incredibly fun, and great places to make friends. I guess somewhere along all the banter that goes on, tight relationships tend to form. The Swedes are friendly and all, but I just can't picture myself running after one of my office mates having a water fight in the hall.I read somewhere that Scandinavian countries consume about 70% of the world's coffee production.I'm starting to understand why.