This was a human resource academic project on Sweden, done in fall 2016.

1. Sweden
By: Rebecca Mattia, Alyssa Majewski, Min Jeong Lee, Almer
Ljesnjanin, Taewon Kim, Yihan Xu, Cameron Bashner, Justin
Wood, Hanxiao Ye

2. Overview
. Capital is Stockholm
. Population- 9.6 Million. Third largest Country in Western Europe after France and Spain.
. Form of government is a constitutional monarchy
. The Riksdag is their parliament and it consists of 349 members in a single chamber
. ⅓ of the population goes onto higher education (universities, higher education)
. Standard workweek is 40 hours, and minimum paid vacation time is 5 weeks. The labor force participation for men is 68.6 %
and in women it is 63.7 %.
. Their most important export goods are 1.) Machinery and transport equipment 2.) chemicals, plastic, and rubber products, 3.)
electronics and telecommunication products 4.) Road Vehicles and Minerals

3. Sweden’s National Culture
General Info
Egalitarian and tolerant society
Government promotes feminist, anti-racist, progressive, and anti fascist stances
Equal Opportunity- Social classes not prevalent
Predominant of the social democratic party
Many think it limits personal freedom
Anti-Argumentative and Agreeable

4. National Culture Continued
Etiquette in Sweden
Meeting and Greeting
Gift Giving Etiquette
What to Wear?
Key suggestions

5. Conducting Business in Sweden
In Sweden, colleagues address each other in a casual manner.
Titles like ‘Mrs’ or ‘Dr’ are things of the past.
Students and teachers, patients and doctors, employees and employers – everyone is on a first-name
basis.
Shorter chain of command
Swedish companies are less hierarchical than companies in other countries
Employees to take their comments, questions or concerns directly to the boss.
The equality are important and significant at the work environment in Sweden

6. Business Climate
CONS:
Low population
High tax (total tax: 57% corporation tax:
26%)
Hard to manage diverse talent pool
Interesting Fact:
● The lowest income inequality and the smallest gap in gender employment rate
● Although the work hours in Sweden is really short, the productivity of the company are still really
high
● In Sweden, federal law allows men and women to take 3 months parental leave (480 days)
PROS:
Fixed-term contracts
Largest market in Baltic Sea region
Ranks 3rd in corruption-free countries
Well-educated work force
Leader in adopting new technology

7. HR Specific Challenges
Shortage of Staff in a variety of fields:
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Engineering
Science
The education levels in Sweden are relatively high amongst over countries.
Decline:
Mathematics Scores

8. HR Specific Challenges - Continued
Recruitment Process
Considered to be one of the “most highly position-based within the OECD countries”
Implementation of the six hour work day
Decreased work hours means employees need to navigate differently paced work environment
May also bring up new challenges for those paid hourly rate
Studies found that resulting work-life balance increase leads to reduced turnover and improves
employee satisfaction (EX: Toyota in Gothenburg → increased productivity)
Absolute union membership in Sweden is high
Approximately 85% membership

9. Citation
“Interesting Facts About Sweden.” Fact Monster Leslie Gome, 02/05/2016
http://factmontster.com/interesting-facts-about-sweden/
OECD. “Public Employment and Management.” Acquiring Capacity - OECD. N.p., Web. 04 Dec.
2016.http://www.oecd.org/gov/pem/acquiringcapacity.htm
Savage, Maddy. “The truth about Sweden’s short working hours” BBC News. John Reith, 02/11/2015
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34677949
“ Sweden- An Overview.” “Facts and Figures.” Last updated 28 December 2015
Copyrught 2013-2016 Swedish Institute https://sweden.se/society/sweden-an-overview/