American surprised that a society actually wants you to be happy and healthy lol

American living in Stockholm here. From my perspective Swedes are chillin at work. I feel like people are not working like they 'need this next paycheck' if you know what I mean. In the States it's like if you don't work, you don't eat. Swedes are worried about how they're going to spend the summer. Love it here.

To work hard and to work efficient is not the same thing.

I admire Sweden for their emphasis on work-life balance. I’m from Florida (USA) and the constant pressure to work longer hours, or the worry of being sick and missing work days is awful and does not benefit us as a society. The constant, fast pace lifestyle produces so much anxiety. Companies may think they are benefiting by employees working so much but unhappy employees don’t produce as much as happy ones.

As a fellow American in Sweden, I have loved your videos. I am a nurse from Texas working towards getting my nurse license in Sweden. Great video, I actually had no sick days at all in America working for the hospital. If I got vacation days and if I was sick, it came out of my vacation days. I also found out here in Sweden that if you are 40, you get 6 weeks paid vacation. Pretty amazing.

I came to Sweden from working construction in New Zealand, and the difference is night and day. In NZ I work anywhere from 60-80 hours a week, 6-7 days a week. In Sweden we are only meant to work 40 hours maximum, so I work almost half as much and usually 4-5 days a week. The pace of work is much less stressful and more relaxed, which shows in the workforce. I’ve witnessed far happier workers in Sweden, people are more reliable, healthier and happier. And I would wager it’s smarter and more efficient to have 2 people do a 35 hour week, than 1 doing 70 hours a week. That keeps people fresh and gives them plenty of time to rest and do other activities, and also means there’s more jobs , which keeps unemployment lower. There’s a big focus on technology in construction here, the old term “work smarter, not harder” comes to mind, so machinery is more efficiently utilised and building processes are generally more efficient and safer. It is amazing how quickly a decent building can be constructed in this country. I’m also a workaholic, so the free time is very alien to me, but it is definitely well used by the Swedes. As you say, they have more time for cooking decent food and spending time exercising and raising their family, so their quality of life is really good.

Americans live to work, Swedes work to live.

I (German) used to live and work in the US for a decade and in the very first beginning I was also surprised of how long the Americans hung around in the office. It didn't take long to figure out, that they by far don't work more, the just take longer ....

I think this is the first video he calls Sweden WE and America America.

I’m a Swede living in America. Like you are saying, Americans are work work work and stressful everywhere. And again, you have those people that only cares about work and money and they become rich but unhappy because they don’t experience the family quality life. I did that for 1 year and it almost caused my marriage. Now I work for an incredible company that offers 4 weeks vacation a year and 80 hours of sick time a year, plus holidays. This is company is built on the Swedish work life balance principle. They offers short massages at work, listen to your own headphones while working, flexible hours.

I often see that work hours is used to measure how good you are at working, In my humble opinon I believe if you work crazy amount of hours 70-90h/week you would not be an effective work force. You need to have time off to be able to rest and enjoy yourself for then to be able to give a 100% when you are working. It would be intresting if it was possible to messure the work effectivness between someone who works 40h/week compared to someone who works 60h+/week.

I used to work in an office with 'summer time', that meant, 1 hour shorter work hours 3 months of the year, and 9 months with 45 minutes longer work time. So it is compensated.

The reason you get your work permit evoked if you don’t take out enough vacation days is that Sweden doesn’t want their own work force to have an unfair disadvantage to outside work force.

Yes, Swedes tend to leave work earlier than in other countries, but I noticed that they also often tend to start work earlier as well...

MIght be worth mentioning that Sweden generally have a qualification day (You aren't paid the first day of sickness) to discourage people from staying home from hangovers or whatnot. One of the features discontinued for greater corona regulation compliance though.

I´m very thankful for the 25 days of vacation I get! I believe that the employee, employer and society also benefit from people taking care of themselves. Also you don´t spread your sickness to everyone else at work if you make sure to stay home when you are sick. It´s also safer for people around you if you are not to tired to stay alert at work (some jobs are more sensitive for this than others of course).

Well "summer hours at work" is normally balanced by more hours a day winterttime. On the whole....they still wotk 40hrs week..... Going earlier in winter probobly only happens in places with flexible hours,,,and then they work more hours on days when the weather sucks

I highly recommend a book that just came out called "work won't love you back" and it touches upon this so well and all its roots. Especially for America. It also touches upon the gray areas that are even in Sweden: jobs that ppl dont respect. The arts. I will briefly illustrate it: the hours of the Wallstreet guy are cute compared to studio recording time for artists producers musicans animators engineers. There are many artists in Sweden that i know for a fact have worked themselves to burnout. This is an interesting topic.

Great video! Just want to point out that even though a lot of jobs manage to cut down on work hours there are still a lot of people in sweden who are working just as hard as people overseas. A family member of mine works as a doctor in a general practice. His work hours are supposed to be 8-17, but in real life looks more like 6-19. And maybe some hours on the weekend as well if he hasn't been able to keep up with paperwork. And nurses and healthcare workers works way harder than anyone should ask if them, especially in these times. Just because rules and regulations are in place doesn't mean that all is sunshine and rainbows. But I do agree that striving for a healthy work/life-balance is a really good thing.

Älskar din kanal! Tack för delning!

About the vacation deportation - this is one of the regulations regarding foreign workers that drives you crazy. As others have stated, there are regulations in place to keep employers from exploiting foreign workers, but the enforcement of the regulations is extremely strict and rigid, to the extent that it sometimes punishes the worker instead of the employer. There have been cases where some minimum salary has been changed and the employer failed to notice at first, so the employee got paid a tiny bit too little for a month or three before the employer corrected the mistake and gave them the missing amount retroactively (we're talking a few bucks in total). Then later on, maybe years later when the worker has perhaps even changed employer or is running their own business, they are deported when that tiny mistake is discovered by some immigration authority. It's happened to people who's been living in Sweden for over a decade. So they deport people for no mistake of their own, people who are working and paying taxes. Just... crazy.

I see Stefan uploads, I clicked and liked 😎

This vid reminded me, i gotta sprinkle a couple of vacation days over this autumn so i can go out and hunt. Nothing is as relaxing as alone-time in the woods in autumn.

Hej, have you ever talked about the apartment hunting & cost of living as an expat? Just found your videos (and instagram) and they are such a joy to watch. Tack så mycket! (my second Swedish class is tomorrow:))

It´s not that 5 week vacation is typical for Sweden. It looks like this in Europe. US is the apart one.

Our system is built around the idea of "folkhemmet". It´s a bit hard to translate but basically, it means a society where everybody can live well no matter who you are and what you do. Everybody has a good standard of living. Can make ends meet and work (at most) one job (35-40 hours per week.) Free universal health care. Free medication. Fre higher education and so on. Historically this came about due to the fact that we had strong unions who fought hard to create this system. Together with the political party, they had close contact with (Socialdemokraterna a.k.a. Social democracy party). Similar to the people's party or the left-wing of the democratic party. The progressive movement. (In USA). Bernie Sanders and AOC are other examples of people who come from the same type of ideology. One really important part of our history goes under the name of how we learned to compromise. Whats made this possible was something called "Saltsjöbadsandan" The spirit of Saltsjöbaden" (Named after the first big deal between the union and the employers' organizations, 1938.) This was the place and the time when they (after a long period of hard fights, where they finally decided to do what has come to be known as the Swedish model.) Two years of negotiation where they decided to always find a common ground and compromise to create the best solution for both parties. No more strikes and firing. Instead one big negotiation every year + local ones from that framework and calm periods in between. Basically the system we still have today. (Remember: This was in a time when many countries had really big problems that treatment not only the workers but also the employer's safety.) Wild strikes, no safety for the workers, and social inequality as the main result. The Swedish willingness to compromise and to accept and respect the other side's option and to separate us as individuals from the opinions without hate after a discussion. All of these steems from this period. We have learned that everybody always wins in the long run if we compromise. The other side isn't our enemy it's our counterpart, striving for a common goal. (From a different point of view.) Instead of; What's the best solution for me we got; What's the best solution for all of us!

First of all. When you are sick you get a deduction of you salary. First day of sickness you get 100% off and for the remaining days you will get a deduction of 20% every day. IE if you are sick 5 days you get an deduction of 1,8 days. About "klämdagar" you DONT get them for free. You will have to work for it. So instead of working 8 hours per day you work for about 8 h 10 m.(i do not know the exact ratio) (the "klämdagar" are spread among all other days.) Most workplaces have "FLEX" wich mean i can go home when i want (in certain condition depending on the workplace). Then you will have to work back those hours another day. So if i go home at 3 o'clock i get 1,5 hour "undertime" and have to work extra to cancel them. About summertime. Most places you work longer during winter. So with all those strange things you talk about, in the end, your total worktime should be 40h/week. Generall speaking.(there are some special workplaces with special rules but for the majority in sweden it is always 40h/week)

It's good for me, to know that there's a place that exists where your work is appreciated without knocking yourself out and destroying yourself.Keep the great videos coming, I plan to move to Sweden and you're helping me learn. Thank you : )

Be aware that this is the "ideal scenario" that you're describing about sweden. There are MANY people with chronic illnesses who get NO insurance money whatsoever, many people with serious illnesses

Hi Stefan, I agree with you 110% on this one. As an American who moved to Sweden 36 years ago I have always been super impressed with the Swedish system. You might want to explain more for Americans how it can be possible for Sweden to have such a system. Health care, education, day care services, equality, innovation, entrepreneurship, respect and so much more have created a society of people who enjoy achievement at the same time they appreciate that we all need down time to recharge our energy now and then. Swedes also appreciate that if we have time to nurture our families and private time we can perform better in our jobs. I can go on and on but will save you from that. BTW you live quite near my job. I work at Systembolaget at Sveavägen 66. It would be cool to meet you and compare notes. I am not your typical American (if that exists) because I moved from New Jersey when I was 11 to live in London in 1967. However I am still American and have said to everyone that I will change my passport to a Swedish one if Trump wins again. Near me is a pizza place called "Slice of New York" . I invite you to share lunch there on my "dollar". Beware though as I am so in love with the Swedish system that I am a very active member of the Union, both for Systembolaget and for Unionen.se See you soon , if you dare!

The history behind Swedish work and union system is really interesting. If your interested in a major event(in regards of the labor movement in Sweden) read or listen to people talking about the events taking place in Ådalen like svenska folkets historia podd-episode named Ådalen

I Sverige har vi länge haft en bra relation mellan fackföreningar och arbetsgivare =kollektivavtal. Alla dessa klämdagar eller arbetstidsförkortning är ett resultat av goda förhandlingar mellan de två. Det är inte arbetsgivaren som är nice (i de flesta fall). Kul att följa dig!

I work forest 6 to 7 months a year, six days a week and currently we leave house at 7:15 in the morning and come home 20:00 in the evening. Not minimum wage but we sure wouldn't mind more for our hard work. I'm also the only swede in my company besides the owner.

In my line of work I never get summer time, but I do get 32 days of vacation each year since I turned 50! Not every job in Sweden offers 6 hours work days in the summer time, thats more for people who work in offices or private companies I suppose. 👍

Great and objective insight's about Sweden. Keep going Stefan

Stats: Average workweek: Sweden 39.0 hours. Percent working over 50 hours per week: 1.1% USA: 41.5hours 11.1% Some other: France: 38.9 7.7% Finland: 39.3 3.8% Norway: 38.0 2.9% Denmark (best) 37.2 2.3% Germany: 39.5 4.3% Switzerland: 40.5 0.4% UK 41.8 12.2% Australia 41.8 13.0% Mexico: 48.5 28.7%

I have never worked at a job that had klämdagar. Also, those that I know that have them have a slighter longer work week to compensate.

The July thing... It's not nearly as closed down as it used to be. It's common to take the brunt of your holidays in the summer because of the climate. It's important that people are out and about when there is actually a bit of sun; otherwise they'll be ill in the winter and work less. That's also why you are entitled to three of your weeks in the summer.

My experience of ”klämdagar” is that you are not given them. You are just moving hours. For instance, if you are supposed to work 8 hours a day, you will work 8.2 hours each day, so when the next klämdag happens, you already worked those hours. It's like those extra vacation money you get when you are on a vacation. Those are your own money, they were just saved for your vacation, kind of.

As a Swedish company, we have a great system and approach to balancing work and family life.

In Sweden: If you get sick on your vacation you can actually pause your vacation, get paid sick leave instead and save a couple of vacation days.

I have seen you around torsplan so it can't be too far from were I live :)

We have many workplaces where employees work very long working days just as you describe in the US. With an 80-hour work week, and where the work does not necessarily end just because you have come home or it is a weekend. Do not know any workplace where you can go home at 3 in the afternoon both summer and winter. Maybe it is a workplace in that case with a slightly freer type of job, where you can work from home or from a café, but that is not common. It will be a bit wrong, if you describe it as if it were standard in Swedish workplaces

A study a couple of years ago found that Americans go to work for longer, but their time/work efficiency was through the floor, in other words the employees got "burned out" and just goofed off or didn't work effectively. I.e: They spent a ton of time at work but only actually working a small amount of the time.

Then there's also friskvårdsbidrag, but I feel like you've covered that before. Just mentioning it cuz it weaves into the work-life balance imo 👍

I live and work in Sweden and Asia. In Sweden I do 5 days per week 6-10 hours per day. In Asia I do 6 days per week 10 - 14 hours per day. And Im pretty sure the locals dont have sick days at all.

I think Americans would work less if they made a living wage working 40-45h/week

I'm happy for you to have found people next door that can relate to your culture! That's priceless. ^^ Say, I thought of something I think might be another Swe/US culture difference that potentially could be fun for you to ask around about maybe although it's a small thing, I don't know but thought I'd pitch it in case you'd find it intriguing. When we were in like preschool and such there was an hour of the day where we had fruktstund which kind of is like a kafferast but the children eat fruit. I thought of it today and I was wondering what US relation to healthier options would be if there was a similar kind of culture of normalizing for example fruit. A few of my friends said "I'm so bad at eating fruit" and for a moment that sounded so odd to me and I suspect maybe it tied down to this little structure habit in a young age. I don't know if it's still happening now but I don't see why it would go away since I was a kid. In my preschool classroom there even was a compost for the fruit peel so we got to see worms digest the peels as a learning experience through glass and an open top. I'm sure it wasn't common for everyone but I liked it. :) If you mention fruktstund to a Swede though most of them might be hit with nostalgia and fondness because it was a highlight of the day. ^^

As a Sweden I never noticed any dips in services in July because I am on vacation anyways like most other people haha

Great video! What about the comparison of salaries?

I live in Göteborg and I'm familiar with what it takes to run a business on the other side of the Atlantic. Sometimes I just wonder how hard it must be to keep a company's financials balanced under these conditions. It most definitely has an effect on the price of things made or sold in Sweden!

I agree 100% that the quality of life in Sweden surpasses that --- for 90%+ of Americans. Sure, if you're mega-wealthy from inherited money or something, maybe America has more to offer you. But for the vast majority of Americans, paying higher taxes (so we have a universal, single-payer healthcare system, universal child care, low to no-cost college or trade schools, etc.) and getting an overall much higher quality of life, and the ability to lead a healthier life, would be worth it.

I am working as an computer engineer in Sweden, and I work more hours than 9-17 because that's how you get opportunities for better positions and salary. I take all my vacation in cash (semesterersättning), and sometimes take unpaid vacation when I want and my schedule allows it

I lived in Sweden from 1-5 and don't really remember it but deep inside I have this warm feeling towards the country... after watching your video... Let's all move to Sweden :-) :-) :-) I'll move back!

Even if you have the so called “summer times” doesn’t mean that you have less of work to do, just a smaller time to do it in

Exceptional presentation thank you!

I am Canadian - we are somewhere in between Sweden and the US. The number of paid sick days depends on your profession. We have free basic healthcare but other benefits are through your work (not every job has this) and then most prescriptions are covered when you turn 65. Parental leaves are 1 year and you collect unemployment insurance during that leave. We have to pay for daycare and post secondary education (or apply for student loans - OSAP in Ontario where I live). Our taxes are less than Sweden but higher than the US. We rely too much on cars like the US because if you don't live near a major city like Toronto, the public transportation is not very reliable. Whether you work long hours or 9-5 and get a pension plan or not depends totally on your job and whether it's government or private, whether you have a union, etc. So we have people who live like Americans, and people who live more like Europeans.You have to choose your work accordingly.

haha I drink beer with my neighbour every friday. Started to know each other last year. Tradition since. /Swede.

What’s interesting is productivity compared to hours worked, this gives a different picture than you give. Work / life balance seems to contribute to higher productivity per hour worked.

It sounds like we barely work at all here in Sweden haha. We do work a lot, and many people work late and have a very stressfull jobs. Though we do often have flexible hours and yes we have looong vacation. So when we have a lot to do many work like 7am to 11 pm but when we dont have a lot to do we can leave early or take what we call flex hours ( when you work overtime you write how many hours plus you have and you can use theese when you want a day of or leave early). Not everyone has this though. So when you have a lot to do we work alot but when we dont, we dont work as much...

Hi your KZfaq channel is really useful thank u so much, I gonna immigrate to Sweden and ur videos are vary interesting and useful , It’s said that finding a job in Sweden is really hard I was wondering if you make a video how we can find a job in sweden ( Stockholm ) Best regards

They've struck a good balance as well as taking into account the climate and daylight hours of the country. Other European countries like Spain also have their own way of doing things, siesta, late meals and drinks, etc to live with the hot weather.

I’ve lived and worked in the USA for 12 years. And even though my longest vacation was 3 weeks I never missed longer vacations, due to all the 3 day weekends you have. I was in my twenties then and no kids, well I had a baby 2 years before I moved back home so I got to experience the no family leave that you have. Luckily my husband and I could work alternate hours so one could be home with the baby (who was very sick). Now I live in Sweden since 20 years back.

I do follow your posts on KZfaq Stefan, it's very spot on and insightful. I have done the reversed journey, living in Sweden for 50+ years, and 4 years ago moved to US Regarding the work environment Sweden vs US: - In Sweden we did have more vacation days, preferably taken in July when the weather is nice But, we didn't have the "personal holidays" that adds apprx a week to the yearly time off - Sick days in Sweden: your get around 80% salary when being sick, in the US you get full pay for being off for the first XX days After a few days you'd need a doctor's note, same in Sweden and US Summarizing, social benefits differs a bit When it comes to work/life balance, it's basically not a big difference In the US employees spread their time off during the year, in Europe there is a tendency to gather it to summer months

I have lived and worked in the US and i definitely prefer the Swedish way.

In some professions, the older you get the more vacation days you have. I work in preschool and since I'm 57 years old now, I have 32 days of vacation.. So a bit over 6 weeks of paid vacation and if I won't take out them all one year, I can save them to next year..

If you don't take 5 weeks vacation, you can save what you have left for later time or even years! If you never take them as vacation, they will pay money instead which is great. BTW, @stefan you can also talk about the parental leave, shorter or longer sick leave, also about VAB (when you take care of sick child) or taking care of older parents, all these things are paid! Unemployment compensation as well.

Your video answered to my questions about work in Sweden. Except one thing: how easy employer can fire employess vs. US? About work-life balance, I totally agree with you.

I worked in the restaurantbusiness (Sweden) most often 90-100 hours/week, sometimes saturday and sunday of.. And no vacation, at all 😂Some days I worked 20 hours a day.. It was a family business. Couldn't get more pay than the regular 100% hours, even though I worked many more % than that. But... Now I've been sick for year's, trying to get back to work.. Can't wait until I feel better, and can work again. 😊

I personally think people in Sweden might work less hours BUT they work intensely when they work. So at the end they can get the job done well! It's like doing stop and go when you sprint

My absolute dream is to work for Kobalt Music in Stockholm

Fast paced! Well is at productive in the USA? Specially long term!

I think the Swedish system is great, but I talked to someone working for a Norwegian company. They have the same number of holidays and similar social care infrastructure. But they also had a model where they split the annual pay into 13 installment so you would get a double monthly pay before your summer holiday so you would always have money to relax and enjoy your time off. I don't know how common this model is in Norway, but I think it is an interesting idea.

The sickdays-system in America must be terrible in the corona situation. Do you know if the did any changes?

Pardon me for asking but i'm curious, have You read ”Utvandrarna” av Wilhelm Moberg?

Wow, what an interesting video, I’m very surprised. America it’s work work work. But I think it makes it competitive and also gives you freedom to get more money if you want.

Minimum in Sweden is 5 weeks+ 2 days... There is also a rule that you need to take at least 3 weeks but think this is a bit flexible if there is a need. The employee has all the right to take out 3 consecutive weeks during the period June-August..

Would you like to make a comparison video of let´s say the 5-7 biggest cities in S or have you done sth like that? - Very useful information here!

I wonder how long does the man who used to work at Wall Street work now in Sweden? as a finance graduate I'm expected to work for more than 80 hours a week (which is normal in this industry) also I'm planing for taking a charter in the field which means I have to study approximately 2 hours daily. basically, I won't have a life for the next 2 years :) By the way, I like your videos.

I'm a Swede working in China. My standard hours are 9:30am-7pm. With commute and overtime (unpaid), I usually get home at around 9pm. I have Chinese holidays off and 5 paid vacation days per year. It's fine for me at the moment but I couldn't imagine starting a family here with hours like this.

the klämdag or summer hours are all calculated into the annual amount of work hours. It is usually agreed in the deal with the union (kollektivavtal). So it is not that the company is just giving away free time.

Regarding the sickness it's common in many jobs in Sweden that you'll get one day without salary and the rest of the days with a reduction of salary (about 80%) during the days you're ill. After some time you'll have to provide a paper from the hospital that comfirms that you're ill -but most common is that the workplace see that if you're sick then you are sick and need to get well. The HR deparpment need a "proof" that you are sick when it goes longer than 5 work days and you need to provide a checkup from the hospital (etc) that shows that you're ill... However our rules have changed during the corona situation that if you're sick you just stay home. If you feel fine you'll still have to stay home for at least two days before returning to work -and you don't need to provide papers that you're sick even if longer than 5 days. For myself I have a job that don't require me to be at the office so I've been working from home for months now and even if I'm feeling a bit down I can still work without risking my colleagues health. I think it's a good system... :) But regarding the vacation I tend to take about three weeks of vacation during the summer and then take the extra two spread out during the rest o the year around christmas and the earster.

Never worked in a place where employeers give you the day off on klämdagar (or heard about it) . Typically people use their vacation days on those occasions.

An interesting thing to consider; Take a countrys GDP, and divide it by avarage work hours per person per year for that country... most countries with stricter work-life balance are more effective than countries that work more.

Omg! Pretty sure we had a class together in college at WSU.

Just a fact for you to ponder on: apart from rights to 5 weeks played vacation the worktime law in Sweden stipulate 40 hour weeks. On top of that the law allows the employer to demand 25 hrs overtime per month. So if you are working less than that, it’s up to your employer. Unless the employee ”steals” time from his employer. And as for ”klämdag” in my working lifetime experience, I had to add overtime hours to compensate for being free on a ”klämdag”...or any other working day I wanted to be free.

I have 37,5 hur work week. Six weeks of vacation and allot of 'klämdagar' feels like I don't work one full week during spring time, since there are allot of hollidays then. Like Kristi himmelsfärd dag, I only work Monday and Tuesday, then the rest of the week off, anorher word for 'klämdag' is 'arbetstidsförkortning ' 😉 negotiated by the unions.

So firstly I would like to point out that "working hard" as americans like to say is not nessesarily the same thing as working many hours and overtime. In many jobs (especially office ones) its possible to get the same amount of work done in fewer hours than normal if you get more breaks and/or are more rested from more spare time than someone working standard hours or overtime. Secondly while it certainly can be annoying that everything in sweden severly slows down in june-august because of summer vacations there is a flipside to this that it allows students who have their summer break then to more easily find summer jobs during this time. Summer jobs can both provide extra income that all students need but also valuable experiences.

I actually know 2 people that have been deported for not using Vacation days. But I agree with their concept of having sufficient rest. It’s nice 🧸

I took 5 weeks + 2 weeks for the kids so i had 7 weeks vacation in total this summer 😅☀️

Ha i am swedish and work in retail, I work til 8pm sometimes because we are starting to fallow the American system, before we used to close at 6pm at the latest. So not everyone gets off at 3pm.

America is absolutely terrible when it comes to works IMO. It feels like Americans live to work while in Europe we work to live. Life quality and personal time is really important. I rather work less than get more pay

There’s a good saying that is “don’t work hard, work smart”. That being said, and I’m sure it has been commented already, 6 hour days can be more efficient than 8 hour days at work. Studies have shown that people working 6 hours instead of 8 actually does work more in effective time. As you know, the Fika in Sweden is quite ridiculous and everyone is running for coffee every 1-2 hours, stopping my the colleagues office or station talking smack for 5-10 minutes here and there. That’s more common at a 8-hour day than the 6. I also think having the work/life-balance is also a something that benefits the employer just as much as the employee. Which is why most people in Sweden also has about 2000kr to spend on “healthcare” but meaning like getting a massage, gym membership or the tennis club fee as an example. It allows the employee to work out and stay healthy meaning less sick days which results in more gross profit for the company. That being said, unfortunately I do also believe that the younger generations are exploiting the system more so now than ever. My grandfather worked between 16-65 years of age and had a total of 6 sick days. Now 6 days is almost common to be sick at one occasion. I just think the good old work ethic that some still does have and gets from their parents are going away with the vast majority of younger people.

where whould you be standing at doing a practice work experience around middle sweden?

Such insightful thoughts. Michael ,Gothenburg

In my workplace - Winter worked longer days to get shorter summer workdays. Do not know anyone that works shorter days both winter and summer. We are equally sufficient and deliver better quality in our projects

Yes the work life balance is so much better in Sweden

First off, cool Aloha Shirt...lovin' it! I've heard about Sweden's work/life balance. I wish the United States would be more into that type of lifestyle, but this country is all about "living to work," not "work to live." At least Hawai'i has a more laid-back attitude when it comes to working too much.

Hi, I really really like this video!!! And I want to talk about the Chinese work- life situation. What is it like to live in China after living 4 and a half years in Spain? Work, work, work ... Noise, noise, noise ... Traffic jam, traffic jam, traffic jam ... Stress, stress…. Alone. Goodbye, Madrid. (crying on the subway to Madrid-Barajas airport) Hello, Beijing. It's very weird, right? A Chinese woman feels very lonely in her own country and suffers from depression. Well that girl is me. (It was never embarrassing to admit that I was depressed.) Who am I? Well, I am a "weird" girl, like a volcano, like a cat, like a super happy goat ... and, in fact, I don't know who I am, I always have that question, Who am I? ? Well, let's get back to the point, why did I return to China after living so many years in Spain? (... and also, it is a magnificent country, which taught me what life is, what empathy is, and what love is ...) Well, the answer is very simple, it is for work. After I graduated from my master, I had a very good opportunity to work for a larger mobile company in China. And that work was sent to Latin American countries. As I am a girl who likes to explore new things, so that opportunity for me was great. (* I mean fucking mother ...). At the time, I thought I was the luckiest and happiest person in the world. But I guessed the beginning but not the end. The result is, that gigantic company told me and other interviewees that the positions you were applying for no longer existed ... and at that time, I did not have a visa to continue working in Spain because I rejected some Madrid companies. And from that moment on, I had a very serious depression. I started to doubt myself. Who I am? Who I am? Who I am? (At that time, my best friends in the world had helped me a lot to cheer me up, thank you very much !!! my loves, really.) And so, I took the plane to my homeland ... I don't want to say that living in China is a horrible thing, but just in my case, I'm not happy living in that society (especially in Beijing) so stressed, nervous ... but for many people , they love living in China (Beijing). Now I am going to describe how my normal day is: every day I get up around 7:30, and at 8:30 I have to go to catch the bus to the office, around 9:40 I arrive at the company (here I want you comment something, well, look, normally from my house to the office, taking the bus only takes about 10 minutes to get there, but because of that bad traffic jam, every day I need an hour and ten minutes to get there, and that makes me feel very tired and nervous). This is not over, do you know what time I get off work? Normally between 8:00 pm, 8:30 pm or 9:15 pm, and on top of that I have to work every month twice on Saturday ... in China that type of work is called 996. And if unfortunately you are ill, go to the hospital to leave, the company would withhold your salary. Some colleagues work overtime, but they don't pay the fucking company a penny. And that's the status quo for Chinese companies. And Eos makes me very ashamed, because I don't see anything of human nature and social empathy. And the only thing that makes me feel better in that city is learning languages, Spanish, English and French, which makes me feel alive. Because I don't want to get into that society one millimeter. Because I don't see human nature. What I see is how everyone turns into robots and nobody resisted. Nobody from that society is going to say that, because they are afraid of losing their job or other things, so I will be the first to eat tomatoes, I will defend myself! Believe in what you want and fight to make it possible.

Depends totally of what you're working with. If you want any kind of career, start a business or earn more, you have to work a lot harder than the normal Joe. Especially in the beginning. Everything is about what your ambitions are. I think without any knowledge really, not my area ....they're working really hard in the trading business in sweden to if they want to be among the best. Especially in the beginning to get in to the business. It's competition here too for the most popular jobs. But one thing we know (also company owners), for the long run, it's not good for a persons health (we have sick leave, but you're not payed for the first 2 days) and not good for the company (burned out people is a cost) if people work too much. People tend to not work smart and effectively if they are tired. And in the end it's not about how many hours a day you work it's about what you get done during the time that's important ;-)... and for your example, you happens to have a good boss.