5 Weird Things About Life In Sweden

In this video I discuss that latest cultural differences that have been on my mind as an American in Sweden.

[Hikusaak]

I'm born in Sweden and have lived here all my life, and the numbered weeks still trip me up. I know Week 1 and Week 52. That's about it.

[hansj]

Week numbers are mainly used in education and workplace settings.
It's a very convenient way to schedule work as you can easily see the amount of weeks between deadlines.

[bjornneuhauser]

I don't think we swedes actually count the weeks in our heads, we just look at the calendar, and there's a week number. Relaying that week number causes less confusion than trying to say "Third week in June, second week in august" etc

[andreasboe]

Norway counts weeks too. It is also possible to have Norwegian & Swedish citizenship.

[ollebrandt]

Hi Stefan! So glad that you are back! I (as a typical Swede) can say that I have problems with eating in darkness, too.... Thanks for a nice clip!

[willowraevynwood]

Wow! It's been a minute since you posted last! 25 days until my husband and I step foot on Swedish land (land of both our ancestors) and visit Stockholm. I finally get to meet my cousin Bjorn whose family didn't immigrate to the U.S. with my family in the 1880's.

[helenjohansson]

Hi. "Provanställning" is not only for the employer, but it is also a way for a person to try if the workplace, the workculture, the wages etc is the right fit etc. The notificationtime is the same. No explanation is required if you don't feel like giving one

[lindaeriksson]

Weeks is easier because you dont have tp remember the dates. Each year there is Sports vacation from schools in Sweden week 7, 8, 9 and 10. Week 7 for the area Im from every year.. I dont need to remember any dates and we just book holliday for week 7. The swedish industrial vacation is most often week 28 -31. Again if you want to travel, book a holliday, rent a holliday home.. you book by the week.

[olle]

I do not like to eat in a dark room either and i´m from Sweden:) one strange thing for me in Sweden is that in the USA the first day of the week is Sunday.

[antoniajuel]

As a Swede, I require just a little bit more light to eat. 8-12 candles in a candelabra are usually okay, maybe with a couple more individual candles you can move around where you need extra light. (My family has an off-grid cabin, so we're well practiced with the absence of electric lights.)

Regarding alcohol, I frequently encounter people abroad using the Nordic countries and the UK as examples of bad/harmful alcohol culture. I don't think it's a bad thing that we as a country try to stop people from using even more alcohol, whether it's by limiting access or limiting advertisement.

[SwedePlaysGames]

Yeah, the week numbers are confusing for everyone. If you don't have a calendar right in front of you, it's really hard to intuitively know exactly when a certain "week number" is.

[bjornh]

Easy hack for week numbers: week 13 is usually the last week of March, week 26 last week of June, week 39 last week of September and week 52 - well, I leave it to you to figure that one out. That makes it easier to ballpark when a certain week is.

As for low light levels while dining: I prefer to have more than a single candle. At least three for a party of 4-6. My wife is American, and after eight years in Sweden, she doesn't need the lights at full blast. It's probably a cultural thing, because when you see an apartment where there's this cold white light, you can be pretty sure there's people from the Middle East living there, as the seem to prefer LED/fluorescent tubes. Swedes usually prefer more subdued, warm white or yellow-white light.

[drlatham]

The 2024 appointment calendar book that I have (here in the US) has the weeks numbered.

[elisaa]

Average labor productivity is higher in Sweden than in the US. So it's not about working more and harder, but to work more efficiently (and produce higher quality, which you do on average with easier access to higher education).

Also, the trial period seems to have been managed poorly by your employer. Remember that it goes both ways, and the employee is free to leave on a very short notice if they get a better offer or if it's not a good fit, too. So, if you get a "star, " you would be wise to offer them a regular contract as soon as possible. Also, in a well-managed workplace, the employee shouldn't be nervous about that six month deadline. There should have been evaluations along the way to avoid unpleasant surprises.

About the numbered weeks, it's easier if you grew up here: sportlov (sport's holiday?) is always week 9 in Stockholm (8, 9, or 10 depending on where you live in Sweden), and autumn leave ("höstlov") is always week 40, so there you have two "ingrained" markers. You know that week 9 is at the end of February/beginning of March, and week 40 is at the end of October/beginning of November.

[ParanoidPirate.]

I honestly think that the numbered weeks is pretty common, just not in the US. When i first moved to Sweden from US i had such a hard time to learn that. But eventually i did ofc.. but when i then moved back to the US after a couple of years i still used the numbered weeks since i was used to it. The problem then was that whenever i talked about it, people looked at me like i was slow in the head or something. 😆


Totally agree about the "mysigt"-level.. sure, it's nice when it's a bit dark around you, with some candles lit, when you watch a movie and eat chips or popcorn and so on.. but when i eat acctual food i want some light around me.

Anyways.. great to see you back here! You were my kinda "to go to-guy" when i first moved to Sweden. Learned so much from you whenever i felt kinda unsure what to do. And now when you upload again, im back in the US. 😆

[lindaha]

In Germany, we also count weeks. I always keep a calendar with the numbers next to me at work ;-)

[BjarneDuelundTV]

Here in Denmark we also use weeknumbers all the time. Week 42 is always school autumn holiday.

[ane-louisestampe]

Dane here!
School holidays: winter week 8 - easter is fluid - summer week 26-35 - autum week 42 - x-mas week 51-1
Learn it!

People in health care eg often work only every second week. For decades all our family gatherings had to be in "odd" weeks. Two sisters had ensured they worked the same weeks - else all family life breaks down!
They are now retired, so I, working in hospitality, could easily shift weekends with a collegue, who's sister works in health care.

Sounds complicated? It is!
Love your videos 🤩

[epbeket]

The Netherlands uses numbered weeks as well. There are differences - why not make things complicated? 😉: some countries use the first week that has at least 4 days. Since in Europe countries usually start the week on Monday, that would be the first week containing a Thursday.
It can also be the week that contains January 4th or the first complete week (mon-sun) of the year.

[thequlm]

Counting weeks is a Nordic thing (north of Europe in some cases). The most logical explanation of usage of it is that it simplify the planning in the future, if you are in the end week 1 and have a deadline in week 11 you easily can figure out that you have 10*5 (50 workdays) workdays to get it done. The place you come across week number planning is in construction, industry and project management where you need align and coordinate a lot of tasks to make it more efficient.