This past week was my last week in Stockholm, Sweden. It feels weird being back home in Pittsburgh, but it also feels as though I had never left, despite spending two months over four thousand miles away from home. I learned quite a lot about myself, the direction that I can follow with my career, as well as what a different part of the world is like. My internship this summer was for MyTelescope, which is a tech startup company based in Stockholm. They have created an AI tool for marketing teams to give them insight on where consumer interest is heading within any given market. While the company has made its way out of the startup phase and has made partnerships with large brands such as Volvo, Jim Beam, and even assisted the United Nations during the COVID-19 pandemic, it still remains a small team while maintaining a laid-back approach to accomplishing their tasks. Throughout the course of my internship, I have noticed there is a large difference between the United States and Sweden when it comes to the attitude towards work and the work environment. Although I haven’t held an internship position in the U.S., I have participated in exploratory programs for large banks like Goldman Sachs and other firms such as Blackrock. Through these programs and other experiences interacting with corporate America, I have gained an idea of how the work culture operates. In Sweden, there is an importance and a high level of respect for employees to take long periods of vacation time. According to the Annual Leave Act, all employees are entitled to 25 full days of vacation each year, regardless of age or type of employment. In addition to five weeks of vacation, many employers offer vacation days beyond the 25-day minimum, often leaving an employee with an average of 30 days of vacation each year which is covered by collective labor agreements. Another aspect to this vacation agreement is that employees are allowed to take a continuous vacation of four weeks during the summer months from June to August. This approach to taking time away from work is significantly different than it is here in the United States. It is also expected that after 5:00, that time is yours and you are not expected to continue working after hours or be available through email or Slack. Prior to arriving to Stockholm and meeting my coworkers, I was expecting to be working longer hours considering that I am working for a smaller tech company. It is not unusual working for a tech startup to work after hours and to maintain many different priorities at once. This is typically because the company is trying to launch itself off the ground and start producing revenue and profits to its investors as fast as possible. However, my experience at MyTelescope was quite different. For one, MyTelescope has left its startup phase. The actual AI tool is a functional product, and they have built a large enough customer base to support the company and return profit. The other aspect is due to the working culture in Sweden. Obviously, it is still important to complete your tasks in a timely manner, but it is not framed with the level of importance or urgency that is often done in corporate environments here in the United States. Part of this has to deal with a difference in economic and governmental systems. Sweden does still operate a capitalist economy, but they lean towards a social democracy with a focus of robust social programs and welfare programs, similar to other European countries. These systems paired with a cultural emphasis on enjoying life through traditions like Fika breaks, creates an economic environment where companies aren’t as concerned with generating record-breaking profits each year. In the US, a large driving factor for corporate entities is to drive the market value of the company’s shares for their shareholders. This causes the work culture in the US to push for optimization and maintain high productivity standards. In Sweden, it is much more relaxed. Success in Sweden is not determined as much by seeking greater profit margins or working endlessly to drive growth. Obviously, it is still important for companies to be profitable and to have employees output quality work in a timely manner, but the focus of enjoying life through every step of the way is the main focus. If you can find a way to build something that is unique and interesting to you while generating some form of profits, that is more valuable in Sweden than any other approach towards working.
