Finland - Personality

Many describe the Finnish "personality" as an extremely shy quiet people. If they don't know you, they don't smile often, but after getting to know them, they are warm and kind and in many cases, you have made lifetime friends. They love Americans and anything you can tell them about America. They are an extremely literate society and possess an incredible amount of knowledge regarding the USA. The social activity the Finns use on a regular basis for "relationship building" in the work area: the sauna.

There is a high degree of equality between the sexes in Finland, as can be seen in the relatively high number of women holding advanced positions in politics and other areas of society. There is a high degree of equality between the sexes in Finland, as can be seen in the relatively high number of women holding advanced positions in politics and other areas of society. Finns have become accustomed to politically correct language in which traditional masculine terms are replaced with gender-neutral ones (e.g. ‘chairperson’); or the third person singular pronoun is offered in both forms (he/she) when they exist. In Finnish the latter problem does not exist. Instead, the third person singular pronoun hän covers both genders. There are also many titles ending with the suffix –mies (man) that are not considered gender-specific.

When asked to describe their own people's culture and personality, it was described as honest, straight-forward, thinking before answering, inert, not very talkative, means what he says, keeps his promises, not good at small talk. The Finns are proud of their quality both at the organizational and individual level. At all managerial levels people are accustomed to trust that the given tasks will be done. Individualism is the key word. It is almost a rule that whenever a task is given, the individual starts thinking "how could I do it easier, better, faster, cheaper". Giving tight orders without explaining why only leads to bad cooperation.

Finnish customs and manners are clearly European, with only a few national variations, and attitudes are liberal. There is very little chance of a visitor committing fundamental social gaffes or breaches of etiquette that would fatally damage relations between himself and his hosts. Such breaches are viewed by Finns with equanimity if committed by their own countrymen and with understanding or amusement if committed by foreigners. Codes of behaviour are fairly relaxed, and reputations – good or bad – are built up over time as the result of personal actions rather than conforming to norms or standards. It is difficult in Finland to make or break a reputation with a single social blunder.

Finns have a very strong sense of national identity. This is rooted in the country’s history – particularly its honourable wartime achievements and significant sporting merits – and is today nurtured by pride in Finland’s high-tech expertise. Finns are chronically insecure about whether the wider world is aware of the achievements of this northern nation. Finns love reading things written about them abroad, and visitors should not feel uncomfortable being asked repeatedly what they think of Finland. However, although Finns are ready enough to criticize their own country, they do not necessarily wish to hear visitors doing so.

Finns have chosen such harsh nothern land as their place for location. Their choice has played an important role in the forming of some trates of their character, which not only helped them to curb snow elements in the past as well as to get on with the nothern nature and not just to survive, but also to achieve rather good results. The habit of Finns to overcome difficulties and their diligence were formed in the long process of adaptation to the conditions of cool North.

Finnish literature of the nineteenth century Tsikarius Torpelius distinguished four main components of the self-consciousness of Finnish nation: wariness, stubbornness, insularity and calmness. What are they in real life - these are jokingly called, “hot Finnish guys”?

Such feature as slowness is in Finnish national character. Their life passes unhurriedly, in a measured way. This nation is able to enjoy every moment in the life. Finn in hurry on city streets is almost supernatural phenomenon, the exception to the rule. There are many jokes on this occasion and slightly insulting nickname – “brakes”. However, the braking system is a very important component of security in automobiles. So the slowness of Finns can be regarded rather as a reasonable caution, meaningfulness and gravity.

Moreover, these qualities play not the last role in the organization and punctuality of Finns. Order, schedule, timetable are not just words for them. This nation appreciates their own and another's time. They live by the clock in Finland. Lateness can not coexist with the rules of good manners in this country. Sometimes everything depends on the punctuality.

One must also pay tribute to the industry of Finns. Their hardworking is laid down in their blood. Finns have a clear understanding, that the success in life can be achieved only through hard work. Laziness is trditionally considered to be a vice in the Finnish culture. However, Finns can not be called the workaholics. This nation is able to relax and realizes all the importance of a healthy balance between work and rest for their labor efficiency. Their working time Finns don’t spend on idle talk, so they can afford the longest holidays in Europe - 39 days. At the same time they don’t work round-the-clock. Every task is done as much as necessary - not a minute more.

In spite of their wariness and gravity, Finns are an open-minded people. This nation loves sport and understands its benefits. Moreover, they don’t just follow the rules and regulations, while sporting. They do it enthusiastically, willingly and in all the year round. Finns are also very fond of traveling - they like to discover something new.

Extraordinary thriftiness is another distinctive feature of Finnish national character. Many people consider Finns to be greedy. But it’s not so exactly. It looks like more as frugality or prudence, which were developed in harsh conditions of the North. Finns are thinking about tomorrow and planning their lives. And it is not worse than thoughtless waste of money. Besides, as we know, money must be counted. Personal freedom for every Finn is something sacred. That’s why there is an unspoken rule to observe a certain distance during communication, namely, not less than 1m. Closer distance is regarded as an encroachment and is allowed only in the case of intimate relationships.

Finns don’t like wasting gab. They are very reserved and taciturn. Finns are better at listening than at talking, and interrupting another speaker is considered impolite. A Finn does not grow nervous if there are breaks in the conversation; silence is regarded as a part of communication. Finns usually speak unhurriedly, even in their mother tongue (the pace of newsreading on Finnish TV is a source of amusement for many foreigners), and although many Finns are competent in several foreign languages, they may be wary of the speed at which these languages are spoken.

Every Finnish word has its weight in gold. But this fact doesn’t describe their love of written language. Newspaper articles replace the human communication and information exchange. In addition, Finns are not accustomed to throw words to the wind. They are very responsible and reliable people. Before taking any promise, a Finn will thoroughly consider and comprehend everything for several times.

“Iron” will, endurance and obstinacy of Finns are also appeared in their actions. If they have an aim, they’ll try to do all their best in order to achieve it. Finns have never abandoned the case without compleating it, in spite of any dificulties and circumstances.