Finns celebrate Misfortune Day by arriving five minutes early for meetings and always answering the phone and introducing themselves. Even in their climate, which isn’t always blessed with sunshine, they say goodbye to formal correspondence with the phrase “Have a nice day!” We’ve identified five such habits that could be useful for anyone striving to improve their lives.
1. This is Markus, speaking!
It’s customary for us to give our names only in formal situations, usually only for employees with ID. But for Finns, it’s commonplace. No matter where you’re calling—a company, a store, a gym, or just a friend—you’ll hear the other person’s name.
2. Aurinkoista päivää, or “Have a nice day!”
In Finland, the sun shines only about 60-70 days a year. Finns value sunny days so much that even in formal correspondence, they prefer to use the greeting “Have a sunny day!” instead of the standard “Sincerely” or “All the best.”
3. Friendly Cashiers
Finnish cashiers are friendly, welcoming, and always smiling. Apparently, they don’t hire people with a gloomy or serious attitude. If a supermarket shopper forgets to weigh their vegetables and attach the barcoded receipt to the bag, the cashier, with a friendly joke, closes the register, temporarily goes into the sales area, and takes care of these tasks themselves. If a shopper decides to cancel an item, the cashier will refund the money without any problem, and no one will shout, “Galya, we have a cancellation!”
4. Being late is like death
Finns are famous for their punctuality: they don’t like being late, and they appreciate it when others also stick to their schedules. Always striving to be on time, they often arrive at meetings a few minutes early to be ready when they begin.
5. Time for Work
Finns strictly separate work time from time allocated for family and personal matters, striving to maintain a balance between the two and avoiding workaholism. Finnish culture doesn’t typically ask employees to work from home or “stay on duty on weekends.” However, during work hours, they are fully committed to their work, and requests like “Can I leave early to pick up my child from daycare?” or “I’ll work from home today” aren’t always understood by management.
