ECONOMY
Business etiquette
Business people usually speak English, and sometimes German. Business cards are common, and punctuality is very important in Sweden, a country located in Europe according to zipcodesexplorer. Almost all businesses close in July, the traditional holiday month.
Stockholm
Swedes pride themselves on their cooperative, egalitarian attitude in the workplace. In theory at least, issues such as status and hierarchy are of much less importance than in many other European countries. Most people address each other by their first name at work. The management style is not authoritarian because decisions are made with the employees. Since Stockholm became the capital of Sweden, it has set the tone and pace for the rest of the country in its own opinion. Although Swedes have a very relaxed relationship with power and authority, punctuality is extremely important both at work and at private meetings. The Swedes get down to business quickly and only have private conversations when the business is completely over. Business people generally still dress conservatively, but in the new branches of industry, including IT and the Internet, casual clothes are now more common. Meetings with colleagues rarely take place at home, but in bars and restaurants. At business lunches in the evening, people often drink a lot, but at noon they usually stick to water or other non-alcoholic drinks.
Opening hours
Business hours: Many companies have flexitime; Lunch break is usually between noon and 1 p.m. The business hours are usually from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (core working hours).
Economy
Swedish Chamber of Commerce
Berliner Allee 32, D-40212 Düsseldorf
Tel: (0211) 862 02 00.
Internet: www.schwedenkammer.de
Swedish Foreign Trade Council
Goethestrasse 85, D-10623 Berlin
Tel: (030) 893 60 60.
Internet: www.swedishtrade. com
Swedish Foreign Trade Office
Wiplingerstrasse 24-26, A-1010 Vienna
Tel: (01) 40 23 51 50.
Internet: www.swedishtrade.se
Swedish Foreign Trade
Office Splügenstrasse 12, CH-8002 Zurich
Tel: (044) 287 30 00.
Internet: www.swedishtrade.se
Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
Box 240, S-101 24 Stockholm
Tel: (08) 58 86 60 00.
Internet: www.chamber.se
Other chambers of commerce for regions and cities.
Business contacts
Swedish Chamber of Commerce
Berliner Allee 32, D-40212 Düsseldorf
Tel: (0211) 862 02 00.
Internet: www.schwedenkammer.de
Swedish Foreign Trade Council
Goethestrasse 85, D-10623 Berlin
Tel: (030) 893 60 60.
Internet: www.swedishtrade. com
Swedish Foreign Trade Office
Wiplingerstrasse 24-26, A-1010 Vienna
Tel: (01) 40 23 51 50.
Internet: www.swedishtrade.se
Swedish Foreign Trade
Office Splügenstrasse 12, CH-8002 Zurich
Tel: (044) 287 30 00.
Internet: www.swedishtrade.se
Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
Box 240, S-101 24 Stockholm
Tel: (08) 58 86 60 00.
Internet: www.chamber.se
Other chambers of commerce for regions and cities.
COMMUNICATION
Phone
The country code is 0046. There are no telephones in the post offices, but in the so-called Telegrafbyråer (telegraph offices). Telephone cards (Telefonkort) are available from newsagents, tobacco shops, kiosks, hotels, shops or from the Swedish telephone company. Telephones that accept credit cards are marked “CCC”. Public telephones are increasingly being displaced by mobile phone use, so most telephones can be found in public places, in hospitals, at train stations and at airports.
Cellphone
GSM 900/1800. Mobile phone companies include TDC (Internet: tdc.se), Orange (Internet: www.orange.com/se/startsida) and Telia (Internet: www.telia.se). There are international roaming agreements. Larger companies have contracts with local providers. Network coverage is almost complete in southern Sweden. In northern Sweden there is reception along the main roads and along the coast.
International roaming can be used within the EU at the Euro tariff. Customers of all European mobile network operators automatically make all calls in and from other EU countries at the Euro rate. However, the Euro tariff does not apply to other mobile communications services such as SMS, MMS and data transmission.
Internet
The main provider is, among others, IP-Only (Internet: www.ip-only.com). Internet cafes can be found in almost all cities. Mobile surfing on the Internet is made possible by the Goodspeed Wi-Fi hotspots, which are subject to a charge (Internet: goodspeed.io/de/index.html). Public Internet stations can be found in most airports, train stations, bookhouses and hotels.
Post Office
Some post offices are closed on Saturdays in July. The mailboxes are yellow. In addition to post offices, stamps and aerograms can also be bought in many bookshops, newspaper and stationery stores. Airmail letters within Europe take around 3-4 days. You can write poste restante to almost all post offices. Post office opening times: Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat 10 a.m.-1 p.m. In rural areas the opening times are often shorter.
Radio
Since the use of shortwave frequencies changes several times over the course of a year, it is advisable to contact Deutsche Welle customer service directly (Tel: (+49) (0228) 429 32 08. Internet: www.dw-world.de) to request.
SHOP
Overview
Glass and crystal goods, steel and silver items and Hemslöjd (handicrafts) and wood carvings.
Shop opening times: Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sat 9 a.m.-4 p.m. In the big cities the department stores are open on certain evenings until 8pm / 10pm, some also on Sundays from 12pm to 4pm. In the country, the shops / petrol stations close at 5:00 p.m. / 6:00 p.m.
