Finland

Introduction

Finland (Finnish name Suomi) is a republic which is a member of the European Union. It is bordered
on the east by Russia, on the south by the Gulf of Finland and Estonia, on the west by the Gulf of
Bothnia and Sweden, and on the north and northwest by Norway. A quarter of its territory is north
of the Arctic Circle. Continental weather systems produce harsh cold winters that last up to seven
months in the interior eastern and northern districts, yet long summer days permit farming far to
the north. The climate in the south and west is moderated by the waters of the Gulf Stream and
north Atlantic drift current.

The population is 5.3 million. The capital Helsinki has 5,61,000 residents. The currency used is the
Euro. Official languages are Finnish (95%) and Swedish.

The country is an advanced industrial economy: the metal, engineering and electronics industries
account for about 60% of export revenues, the forest products industry for about 20%.

Forests in Finland cover 75% of the country's surface area of 3,38,000 sq. km. Other outstanding
features of Finland's scenery are approximately 1,90,000 lakes and approximately as many islands.

Greeting in Finland

In Finland when strangers meet for the first time they shake hands and make eye contact. When one
meets someone they already know, a "hei" or "moi" is sufficient. Close friends may hug when they
meet each other. A deep bow denotes special respect. A man greeting someone in the street should
raise his hat. A Finnish handshake is brief and firm and involves no supporting gestures.

When greeting a married couple, the wife should be greeted first, except on a formal occasion
where the hosts should first be greeted by the spouse to whom the invitation was addressed.
Children are greeted by shaking hands too. Embracing people when greeting them is rare in Finland.

Clothing

The weather influences the clothing in Finland. In the winter warm clothes are needed outdoors, but
not indoors. Finns usually wear casual comfortable and practical clothes. In formal situations men
wear a suit and tie and women a dress that matches the situation. In business life the casual style is
gradually taking over the formal suit & tie.

During summers, brighter colours in clothes like shorts and t-shirts are popular and in the winter
warmer clothes and darker colours are typically worn. Finland has many different kinds of national
costumes specific to certain areas, but these are worn usually for performances and special
occasions only.

Use of Alcohol

18 is the legal age to buy most alcohol drinks. Alcohol is, however, a normal part of socializing and a
part of the party culture. When going out it is quite common that people buy their own drinks even
when going out with friends - this way everyone can choose drinks to their own liking. Beer is quite
common. A typical Finnish beer is lager that goes with food or socializing. Wine grapes do not grow
in Finland, so local wines remain a speciality made from available berries.

Beer is available in stores where food is sold, but wines and hard liquor is only sold by government
monopoly shops "Alko" in addition to restaurants. The taxation is based on the alcohol content, not
the value of the product. This implies that very cheap wines are not available, but some of the more
expensive wines may be surprisingly "cheap" in Finland.

Eating Style

Many Finns prefer to eat in silence - "do not speak when your mouth is full." Is what they follow. It is
also considered rude to make noises while eating. If there are a lot of people who sit at a table
together eating, everyone will wait until all have finished their eating before leaving the table.

Finns use the spoon, fork and knife and eat hamburgers etc. by hand. The belief is that you
should eat moderately at regular intervals; starting with a good breakfast at 7-8 am (e.g.
bread, coffee, juice, cheese, oatmeal or cereals), followed by a warm lunch around noon, a
warm dinner around 5-6 pm and a possible evening snack with tea, bread etc before going to
sleep. Both lunch and dinner are typically one course meals that are eaten in half an hour or
less.

If guests are invited for a meal, one tends to sit longer around the dining table and serve a 2
or 3 course meal. At a dinner party, the host determines the seating order if necessary. The
guest of honour is seated to the right of the hostess (or the host, if it is a men-only dinner).
The guest of honour is expected to say a few words of thanks to the hosts after the meal.
Guests should not begin to eat until everyone has been served; usually, the host will propose
a toast at the beginning of the meal, wishing his guests hyvää ruokahalua, the Finnish for bon
appétit! It is not appropriate for guests to drink before this, unless the beginning of the meal is
badly delayed.

Finns seldom make speeches during a meal, but they do so on formal occasions. In such
cases, the speeches are made between courses. During the meal, the host may toast individual
guests, or guests may toast each other, by raising their glasses and making eye contact. Once
the toast is drunk, eye contact should be made again when lowering the glass to the table.

A meal normally concludes with coffee and postprandial drinks are served with it or
immediately after. When leaving the table, the guests should thank the hosts briefly for the
fare when they get the chance.

Conversation

In an international context, Finns seem to be relatively quiet. They have a high self-esteem and do
not like making grammatical errors that tend to be evident when talking in a foreign language. In
Finland, it is impolite to interrupt the person who is talking and it is also impolite to whisper/talk to
other people when someone else is talking, so people are happy to wait for their turn to say what
they have in mind. Considerable weight is attached to the spoken word – words are chosen carefully
and for the purpose of delivering a message. Finns place great value on words, which is reflected in
the tendency to say little and avoid ‘unnecessary’ small talk. They consider verbal agreements and
promises binding, not only upon themselves but upon the other parties too, and they consider that
the value of words remains essentially the same, regardless of when and where they are uttered.
Visitors should remember that invitations or wishes expressed in a light conversational manner such
as “We must have lunch together sometime”) are often taken at face value and forgetting them can
cause concern. When talking, there is direct eye contact.
Shared hobbies are a natural topic for conversation and exchange of opinions in Finland as
elsewhere, and it can be easy to strike up a lively conversation with a Finn about culture and the arts
on the one hand and about sports on the other. Sports is a particularly feasible topic because in
recent years Finns have enjoyed success in sports other than the traditional long-distance running
and winter sports

Sense of Humour

People like to joke but they try to be sensitive to the feelings of others. Racial/discriminatory jokes
should be avoided. Finns like a good laugh but also appreciate "silent" or "discreet" humour.
Sometimes the humour by Finns may appear sarcastic or cynical as common vocabulary in a foreign
language does not fully convey the original idea. British and American movies and TV shows may also
influence how Finns perceive humour to be used in the English language. Finns also like to build
strange stuff for fun, such as a sauna into a small car, towable hot tub or floating duck boat just to
mention a few.

Respect for Authority

Finns have a very strong sense of national identity. This is rooted in the country’s history – its
honourable wartime achievements and significant sporting merits and is today nurtured by pride in
Finland’s high-tech expertise.

They have a high respect of authority like police, paying the taxes or European Union. In personal
relations people use the first names very often and the corporate office culture avoids hierarchy and
is very flexible.

Being realists, Finns do not expect foreigners to know a lot about their country and its prominent
people, past or present, so they will be pleased if a visitor is familiar with at least some of the
milestones of Finnish history. Finns would be happy if visitors knew something about the
achievements of Finnish rally drivers and Formula 1 stars, their footballers, sports personalities etc.

Finns are chronically insecure about whether the wider world is aware of the achievements of this
northern nation. Finns love reading things written about them abroad, and visitors should not feel
uncomfortable being asked repeatedly what they think of Finland. However, although Finns are
ready enough to criticize their own country, they do not necessarily wish to hear visitors doing so.

Tipping

Tipping has never fitted very comfortably into the Finnish way of life. This may have originally been
due to the traditions of a religion which emphasized frugality; today, the rather blunt reason for not
tipping is that the price paid includes any unusual instances of service or politeness i.e. the view
taken is that “service is included”. Tipping does nevertheless exist in Finland, and you can feel safe
that while nobody will object to being tipped, very few will mind not being tipped.

As a rule, service is included in restaurant bills. However, an extra service charge is often added to
bills which are to be paid by a customers’ employers. Those who pay for their own meals and in cash
often choose to round the bill up to the nearest convenient figure. This does not require any
complicated arithmetic from the customer, as no one cares whether the tip really is 10-15% of the
total bill.

Tipping at hotels is fairly rare. If you know that you have caused extra inconvenience for the room
cleaner, it would be regarded as an appropriate to leave a tip. Receptionists should be tipped only by
long-term guests at the hotel. Like their colleagues across the world, Finnish hotel porters will be
glad to be tipped the price of a small beer.

Taxi drivers do not expect to get a tip, but customers often pay the nearest rounded up figure to the
actual fare. Major credit cards are usually accepted in taxis, and in this case tipping in cash is
practical.

The Sauna
In Finland, both men and women bathe in the sauna, but never together except within the family.
There are no mixed public saunas in Finland. A visitor hesitant about having a sauna should
remember that if it has been heated specially for him or her, it is a matter of pride for the hosts, and
only medical constraints are an acceptable reason for not trying it.

https://finland.fi/life-society/a-guide-to-finnish-customs-and-manners/

http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Finland.html

http://www.swyaa.org/resources/handbook/Finland.htm

Business Meeting Plan

Business meetings are often set up by e-mail or SMS-message. For more formal meetings, a notice of
meeting is usually delivered by mail two weeks in advance. In the invitation the time and place of the
meeting as well as the agenda and participants should be stated. When setting up a meeting, one
should also ensure that all the technical equipment and refreshments needed are available at the
meeting place. Coffee, tea, soft drinks and biscuits are usually served.

Summer time between mid-June and mid-August should be avoided due to the holidays. Also other
holiday times need to be taken into account. In some organizations Friday afternoon may also be an
unsuitable time for a meeting because people often wish to hurry home to their family right after 4
o’clock.

Negotiation process

As Finns are very punctual, they appreciate this quality in others. It is considered as a sign of respect
and efficiency. Business negotiations in Finland are often held in offices and business meetings or
negotiations in restaurants are very rare. Between or at the end of a meeting it is usual to go for
lunch.

Finns do not usually make small talk when negotiating but tend to get straight to the point. The style
of discussion is often factual and intelligent debate is respected. Finns also value a critical attitude
and do not hesitate to express their dissenting opinions. This is considered less rude than honest.
Criticism is regarded as to do with one’s work and not as a personal attack. It is possible to have fun
together immediately afterwards.

Finnish business culture is relatively egalitarian. Great efforts have been made to promote equality
between men and women as well as between managers and their subordinates. You may find out in
negotiation situations that even junior managers often have considerable independent decision-
making authority. This informality facilitates the exchange of ideas and therefore provides plenty of
opportunity for new innovations

Meeting protocol

When greeting, the parties shake hands, nod their heads and make eye contact. Business cards are
usually exchanged when meeting for the first time. There is no special etiquette as to how the
business cards should be exchanged.

Running a business meeting

At the beginning of meetings small talk is brief or sometimes non-existent. Being good humoured is
acceptable but being humorous should be kept to a minimum. Modesty and sticking to facts are the
watchwords. The chair of the meeting should take care that the meeting is kept to time and to the
agenda.

Finns are modest about their achievements, and one should be the same. Do not expect immediate
feedback or a lot of questions. The silence indicates they are thinking about the words said. Silence
in conversations is considered an accepted aspect of social interaction.

Presentations should be so comprehensive that no questions are needed for clarifications. Clear
goals, both in meetings and work strategy should be set and Finnish counterparts should be
encouraged to work independently. The Finns display a great deal of initiative, discipline, stamina
and accountability, and expect the same of their business associates. Body language is subtle and
negotiating positions often vague and understated. Once the Finns have made a decision they will
seldom change it.

Virtually all Finnish business people have a good knowledge of English and interpreters are rarely
required.

Follow up letters after client meetings

The minutes of the meeting will be circulated afterwards. All important tasks and completion dates
should be stated there and often the individuals responsible for those tasks will be set out in the
minutes. The participants are expected to work independently and report their accomplishments to
the persons in charge.

It is important to keep to one’s commitments and to the time-scales agreed upon. In cases when this
is not possible, all parties involved should be informed about any problems or delays.
Business meals

In Finland, breakfast is not a place to conduct business and the most common mealtime to be shared
with your business partners is lunch. In Finland, it is appropriate to discuss business during lunch
unlike in some cultures where meal times are reserved for non-business related topics. Hardly any
alcohol is consumed at lunch time and the busy pace of working life has shortened business lunches
to 1-2 hours. Lunch time at restaurants is usually between 11 AM and 2 PM. However, Finns still eat
most of their dinners at home with their families. Dinner is served between 6 PM and 8 PM as a rule.
If invited to dinner it is important to be on time regardless of whether you are invited to restaurant
or your business partner’s home. If you are meeting in a private home you should bring flowers,
chocolate or a bottle of wine.

The dining etiquette is very much the same in Finland as in most of other European countries. Table
manners are Continental. The best rule for most situations is to use common sense, general dining
manners and simply following the host’s / hostess’s lead. The same guidelines apply to dining at a
restaurant or in someone’s home.

The Finns appreciate fine cuisine but consume it in moderation. Gastronomic delights and healthy
habits go hand in hand. Finnish cuisine is a mixture of European, Scandinavian and Russian dishes.
Ingredients from nature – berries, fish, mushrooms and game – are widely used and dishes are rarely
unfamiliar to western visitors. The Finnish diet has become lighter and healthier in recent times and
upmarket restaurants can today cater for a wide variety of dietary requirements.

Coffee drinking is an essential part of Finnish culture.