Understanding the work culture

Get a clear understanding of the expectations in Norwegian workplaces—and how your background can be an advantage. You’ll develop confidence in communicating and collaborating across cultures.

Meeting guide

⬇️ File: Download the meeting guide here.

📆 Time: [Find a time] (2-3 hours recommended)

📌 Aim: Understand key aspects of Norwegian work culture and how to navigate them.

✏️ Preparation: (15 minutes)

• Read through our introduction to Norwegian work culture. 

• Think through how Norwegian work culture differs from your culture.

💬 Agenda: (2-3 hours)

1. Check-inn (10 min): Any updates, doubts or topics for the end?

2. Discussion (45 min): Discuss how you can adapt to Norwegian work culture:

   1. What traits of Norwegian culture do you find difficult or challenging? A few aspects to consider include: hierarchy, proactiveness, directness, consensus and punctuality.

   2. What can you do to navigate these? 

   3. What are success criteria for fitting in in a Norwegian workplace? What can you as a job seeker or employee do to meet these?

3. Discussion (45 min): Discuss how you can enrich Norwegian work culture: 

   1. What aspects of your culture can enrich Norwegian culture?

   2. How can you turn these into a competitive advantage?

   3. How can you be an ambassador for your culture and for diversity?

4. Check-out (10 min): Share one aspect of Norwegian culture you’ll strive to adopt, and one trait of your own culture you wish to spread to Norwegian culture.

5. Finalization (10 min): Go through the next steps and plan the upcoming meeting. 

🚀 Next steps: (2-3 hours)

• Pay extra attention to cultural differences and make a conscious effort to adopt cultural traits you like, and discard those you don’t. 

• Familiarise yourself with the key differences between your culture and Norwegian culture in this tool. 

• Prepare for the next meeting.