Many North Americans, South Americans, Australians and New Zealanders visit Norway for a longer period or stay there to work or study. Some arrive due to family ties. Others brave the loneliness and darkness of a new and rather cold and reserved culture.
They all belong to a group of immigrants to Norway and other countries with the least and shortest-term unemployment and with the highest frequency of entpreneurship.
While there are certainly those who have much positive to say about their experiences in Norway, there is a growing discrepancy between the positive hype, often produced by Norway itself and by other Nordic countries and what westerners are actually experiencing. Obviously this needs to be addressed, because people are arriving with absolutely no advance warning av what could lay ahead. Also, many American, Canadian, Australian and other agencies which are suppposed to be dedicated to helping and serving expats are sticking to a pollyannaish friendship diplomacy or going native on Norwegian, Danish, Finnish and Swedish soil.
Here is a general run-through of factors for westerners (in particular North Americans) to consider when dealing with and visiting the Nordic countries, including Norway. It is based upon a lecture given by our CEO Gunnar K. A. Njålsson who is currently planning a pilot project to build a pan-Nordic network for North Americans, Australians and New Zealanders for business and self-reliance. More about that later.
1 Don't expect a culture that respects excellence and merit
Regardless of how good you are at what you do, how well you speak the languages, how well you have done in school and in particular how internationally well-known you are, don't expect praise or preferential treatment in any of the Nordic countries. In fact, in some cases a boss, official or awarding body may actually side-step you out of irritation!
This phenomenon is one o the worst kept secrets in the Nordic countries. It is sometimes referred to as Janteloven or Jantelagen. Take it seriously, as it has all-encompassing consequences for your future and well-being in any of the Nordic countries, including Norway.
Whether it is a Socialdemocratic phenomenon or a principle hailing from the strongly agrarian roots of all of the Nordic countries is irrelevant. It is very real.
2 Think of Norway/Sweden/Finland/Denmark as if it were smalltown America/Canada.
This is actually the frame of mind you will be dealing with. Regardless of the presence of metropolitan areas or ancient cities or villages, most of these countries have a very limited experience of the rest of the world. They are not Athens, Rome, Jerusalem or Shanghai; most are indeed relatively "new" on a global scale.
Don't be suprised if "Mr Karvonen's daughter is elected Corn Queen three years in a row despite very good competitors". This is a phenomenon typical of all smaller and currently/previously isolated societies which often view themselves as the centre of the world. You'll find the exact same phenomenon in the Falklands or Jersey as you will in many a small village in Nebraska or Saskatchewan.
But it can be particularly painful in an executive, academic or even a legal setting where one expects results to be based on a "neutral" process. And it does happen alot in Norway and elsewhere in the Nordic countries.
The problem cannot be solved by anything you yourself could do. You were not born here, you did not go to school with Terje Johansen or Grete Hilde Kallbakken in Porsgrunn. You're out of the loop, just as you would be in any small insular town, just about anywhere.
Most of the Nordic countries (including Norway) were relatively recently industrialized. They were (and in many ways still are) agrarian societies with a spurt now and then of social mobility and new technologies. Don't let this fool you into thinking you are dealing with a second England or even Germany or Italy.
If you want to shine, you'll have to first do it globally in order to do it locally. More about that problem-solving method later on.
3 Make your own opportunities, stop thinking about yourself and help others
You can beg for work all you want. It may even turn some Norwegian employers on. But they are going to help their own before they help you. Why? you ask. Because they can. Because there is nothing in practice stopping them, like a highly developed and cheat-proof recruitment system or EU/local legislation which places the burden of proof upon the employer when the smell of fowl play is in the air. This is not just a labour issue. In fact numerous complaints have been launched by businesses both large and small against Norway for pro-local discrimination in the public procurement setting. And the country has received fines and warnings.
Still, the problem continues.
Embassies and American chambers of commerce have not taken the problems of expat business and labour seriously. Many seem to be going native and trying at any cost to avoid sour faces at the other side of the coffee table. That's not in your interest. They are supposed to be looking out for you. That's what they get paid to do.
On the other hand, most expats who have very legitimate complaints about their treatment in the Norwegian labour market and in business make no effort to have their experiences recorded by those who eventually could bring about change, however slowly.
This is a very serious shortcoming, because it allows the problems to continue and to fall onto the shoulders of the next arrivals.
If indeed there is a serious issue of Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish discrimination of American and Canadian labour and businesses, this is an issue for embassies, chambers of commerce and policy-makers.
Suffice it say that should the problem continue and legitimate horror stories reach the highest levels of Canadian, US, Australian, British and New Zealand government action might be taken. Should the same countries who have provided Scandinavians, including Norwegians with a home and living for centuries begin to react and shut their borders and markets, it is hardly the Americans or Canadians who could suddenly discover a wet spot.
But expats are largely in the same position as the proverbial dining table guests in the story about a certain man's visit first to hell and then to heaven. In hell the super-long spoons prevented the miserable and starving guests from eating their own marvelous meal. In heaven, on the other hand, the guests where using the same long spoons to feed each other and largely enjoying their feast as a consequence.
Expats may have a lot of what they do not need, but which other expats are completely without, whether it be a certain type of social capital, physical goods or a flat. They need to learn to meet, exchange information and find out about each other's needs. There also needs be an organized effort to coordinate information and services, supported by those agencies who are supposed to be interested in the welfare of their citizens.
For those in these expat forums who feel they are fighting a hopeless uphill battle, the prospects don't have to be that bleak. But there needs to be an effort to look at what one has to offer, find out what others need and express one's own needs clearly.
In the near future, if there is enough interest we are planning on offering a service to build a pan-Nordic expat network based upon entrepreneurship, intelligent planning, exchange of information, service and goods bartering and mobilization of embassies and chambers of commerce to meet this growing problem. Those organizations, agencies and expat leaders who are interested are welcome to contact us and coordinate this effort!
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