“Differences in work schedule too: French people show off spending long hours at work, in Germany it’s seen as inefficient to stay too long. It’s also visible in the law: in Germany they are really strict with the working time, and you shouldn’t do too many extra hours (sanctions).”
"I was in Sweden when I received an outlook invitation with the Subject FIKA on it. I than thought it was part of my training and went to the meeting room with my laptop and notebook. When I got there, everyone was chatting eating cake and drinking coffee. It was basically the “weekly FIKA meeting” where people bring handmade cakes and share time together.
"In Sweden people are very quiet during work even in open space. The workplaces are very good as they have the tables where they can sit down or can be stand up when necessary. This is very important for them. Even in Sweden they receive some money to go to the gym."
“It is great that employees get along and have a good communication, but it can also be irritating when too much time is spent on talking about private life during working hours... They take things too personally at work”
"Working on a project in Italy was also very different from Belgium. A lot of clichés appeared to materialise. A meeting scheduled at 9 would typically start at 9.30, a lot of discussions but not a lot of decisions in meetings, a lot of time spent at the coffee machine, etc. It is not that they were not working hard, in the evening they typically stay much later, but to me it seems they have to catch up in the evening for the inefficiency during the day.”
"In Spain improvisation is a common factor, understood as the ability to adapt. In Germany, should be better to be avoided, it is better to plan, to frame.”