What is it like to work in Finland, ranked the happiest country in the world for the fifth time in a row? While our happiness may not be about the tearing-my-shirt-off-and-jumping-into-the-fountain type of joy (except when Finland wins the ice hockey world championship), overall wellbeing and high quality of life make workplaces rather happy, too.

Here are a few reasons you should consider working in Finland, especially with us at Advance B2B. So that you don't only hear it from a Finn, I've included some thoughts of our non-Finnish Advancers, too!

Getting groceries with the president – Flat hierarchy all around

Finland has a very flat hierarchy across the society. You may run into the president doing groceries or taking the dog for a walk along the shores of Helsinki – not for a PR stunt but just because it's a chore that needs to be done.

This love for flat hierarchies can be seen in workplaces, too. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report, Finland ranks very high in willingness to delegate authority, meaning that decision-making is allowed on all company levels. You can present your ideas to upper management even if you're at the very beginning of your career.

If Finnish companies generally have a flat hierarchy, I believe that Advance B2B takes it to a whole new level (pun intended). For us, manager titles or seniority do not equal importance. What matters is finding the right role for everyone and letting them thrive. Even if I have a fancy-sounding title, I don’t think that I’m better than anyone else or “above anyone”. We’re all in the same boat.

“I value a diverse and multicultural workplace, and I truly feared I wouldn’t be able to find it here in Finland. It turns out I was wrong. I found a new place I can call home, and it is called Advance B2B. Next challenge: (try and) learn Finnish!”

– Clément René, Brand & Content Competence Lead

Gone skiing in the middle of the day – Solid work-life balance

Finland is known for its beautiful nature and nightless summer nights. What would be the point of living here if you didn't have the time to enjoy these?

In Finland, full-time workers get a minimum of five weeks of paid time off every year, of which you are entitled to take four in a row. In addition, the working time act protects employees' free time, and the family leave system allows both parents to spend time with their offspring.

We at Advance let everyone decide what working style works for them. If you want to go skiing or take the dog for a walk (president optional) in the middle of the day, that's perfectly fine. The most important thing is to get the job done, not that you sit by your desk from nine to five. And if you don't want to work in our office in Helsinki (which is ranked #1 on the list of best cities for work-life balance, by the way!), you can work from home or the summer cottage, whatever works for you.

However, we know that growth marketers are passionate people who love their work and care about their clients. That's why we make sure everyone takes time off – and by this, we mean proper holiday, not reading emails or answering clients' calls.

This is possible thanks to our sprint-based style of working, thorough planning, and having an extended family of freelancers to help out when needed. We also offer a holiday bonus (a common but not mandatory perk in Finland) for our staff. And if you're new and haven't yet accumulated holiday days, no worry: we always give our new employees two weeks' paid holiday.

(This is by the way true for the “top management” as well. My work partner Sari and I both have a four-week summer holiday, during which we can trust the other one to handle everything. Everyone needs to rest and disconnect, even the CEO.)

“I’ve had the opportunity to study and work in five different countries. What I like about Finland is that the companies are truly caring about their employees and work-life balance is highly important and achievable. It gets even better when a company like Advance B2B lets you own your work responsibilities and be flexible in your working time. This not only gives you the chance to be with your family when they need you but also improves your motivation and working efficiency. So it’s a win-win for both sides.”

– Amir Moslemi, Growth Technology Strategist

Shrovetide sledding and Culture Days – Becoming more diverse

As a growth marketing company, good ideas are our business. That's why we need people with different backgrounds, viewpoints and ideas. Currently, we are a team of 45 marketers from 12 different nationalities, and we keep growing and becoming more diverse.

Thanks to the free, high-quality education (and TV shows that are not dubbed!), English is spoken widely in the workplace and government offices. Nine out of ten Finns between 18 and 64 say they can speak English.

English is our official company language at Advance. We understand that not speaking the local language can easily make you feel excluded, and that's why it's written in our culture code, too, that if there are any non-Finnish speakers in the room, we always speak English.

We're proud to be Finnish, but our thinking is global. We want our foreign employees to learn the best of Finnish culture (like Shrovetide festivities with the classic Shrove bun), but we also want to learn more about where they come from. 

So we have recently launched "Culture Days" (the pictures in this post are from there!), a concept where we once a month dive into the culture of our foreign colleagues and get a taste of their cuisine (even if Finland is one of the best in many different areas, we don't rank #1 on the list of tastiest traditional cooking!)

“It’s not always easy asking someone to switch to a different language so that I could be part of a conversation. But I love how I NEVER have to do that at Advance B2B. My coworkers could be having a conversation in Finnish but would flip over to English at the speed of a light switch as soon as I’m within earshot. After years of getting used to being excluded from conversations, this gesture meant the world to me! ❤️”

– Serena Chan, Content Marketing Specialist