The Norwegian Meeting (norskmøte) Part 1
A few months ago, I went back to Norway to take a project. The project went fine, but as you might expect, being me, I managed to piss off the entire office before I was done...
Background before we get started today...
It's been almost 4 years since I've been back to Norway, and I have to say, it's wonderful coming back.
However, in some respects, I sort of feel that in Norway (or Norge), work and social etiquttes are EXACTLY opposite to that found in Asian cultures.
Work Etiquette
It's common knowledge that in Japan/Taiwan business, the boss is essentially GOD and employees basically have to do whatever insanity he/she says.
There are numerous examples of fictional or real-life Japan/Taiwan managers that give absurd requests to their subordinates (picking up their dry-cleaning, running errands at 3AM, etc), who basically have to obey them (not doing so basically means getting fired). In addition, being direct at work is considered very bad. If you need to say "NO" to anyone here, it's usually "COVERED" with several layers of confusing polite phrases and incoherence.
This is not the case in the Nordic countries. Employees here generally have SO much more authority than their Asian counterparts, you often find that bosses here need to "ASK" their employees if they "HAVE TIME" to do a particular task. Moreover, being direct at work is totally okay. If Scandinavian employees feel a particular task cannot be done, they have no qualms about simply saying "NO" to their managers.
Social Etiquette
Oddly with regard to relationships between friends, the two cultures are also opposite, but in different directions.
Among friends in Asia, they can be very direct and will generally ask anything. There are numerous examples of westerners being shocked when Asians ask them extremely personal questions ("How much money do you make?" "Why don't you have any kids?", etc.). But this is generally ok in Asian culture.
Conversely, in Nordic countries, due to people generally being a bit more reserved, and the general political correctness of the society, the relationship with friends tends to be a bit rigid.
People are so terrified of saying something that would offend others that a large part of the daily discussion is about the weather (which is considered SAFE). Also, they tend not to ask "How are you" when they greet each other, since that would force the other person to give "personal information" about themselves, which they may not want to do. Instead they simply say "Hei", which only requires the other person to say "Hei" in return.
When I lived in Oslo, it was only after 5 years did my neighbors actually say "Hei" to me (the first year there was nothing, between years 2-4 I just got the "nod" when we passed each other in the entrance). During the sixth year, they started talking to me about the weather "fint vær i dag, ikke sant? [nice weather today, isn't it]"
OK let's get started ....
[Gardermeon Airport - Oslo]
"Hei John! Velkommen tilbake til Norge. Jeg heter Ronnie. Det er min sjef Lars" [Hi John. Welcome back to Norway. I'm Ronnie. This is my boss Lars]
"Hyggelig. Tusen takk!" [Nice to meet you guys. Thanks!]
 |  |