A few days ago I attended a workshop called “Typically Swiss”, designed for foreigners to understand unspoken Swiss culture or at least to come to an understanding of why Switzerland is the way it is.
Having lived here for awhile now, I have picked up a sense Swiss culture. The country is known for its precision, punctuality and perfectionism. This itself does give off a sense disliking variety, difficult to negotiate with and inflexible, which are true in some sense. However, that there are several factors that must be considered.
First, if you look at the map directly from North to South, Switzerland sits in Central Europe with no connection to the outside world. You see mountains, mountains and more mountains, that means, people take life pretty serious. If the farmers do not have enough to stock up for the winter, they will not survive. Secondly, it is also the hot spot for big industries such as pharmaceutical, banking, logistics, graphic design, watch and jewelry. Therefore doing things the “right way” would add tremendous value to the people and the country itself. Third, it is perhaps the most, if not, one of the richest country in the world. Switzerland is self-reliant country. We see kids walking to school by themselves all the time, without parents escorting or transporting by the vehicles (I have learned children must walk to school). So this itself already, demonstrates the safety of the country. Although such a controlled, neutral, prideful and transparent country may seemed almost distant, the same lady who yells at you to not drive your bicycle on the sidewalk would escort an old lady who needs help crossing the road. These rules must be followed in order to maintain such a controlled society. Being mindful of what you do and doing it the right way definitely is the their key to longevity and health.
The country is made up of 26 cantons, and it is a federation by choice. The right to private life is so embedded in the culture that almost suffocate me in the beginning. Do people have no social life here? Well, it isn’t that. They value very much to take time off and not being overworked. Thus the stereotype of “everything closes too early.” In general, Swiss people have a morning break at 9AM (already?) and another one at 4PM. Corporation buildings are built so that employees can take breaks. If your colleague see you eating next to a pile of paperwork or in front of the computer at lunch break, they’ll be worried for you. They think you’ll get sick and it will influence the company.
Swiss also has a very peculiar way of logic. I don’t mean that it is bad, I just mean I am always surprise how it self-organizes. Participants in this workshop have complained about elder generation people tend to like to cut the line, especially in Basel area. If you confront them, they won’t think it is a big deal, they’ll just let you go first. They would think it’s strange if you get upset. Yet, I have been in grocery stores where I only have one thing, and the people in front would let me go first, but it isn’t that they have a whole cart, they may have 8 items. At the same time, people do not mind waiting in lines. So I guess their sense of queuing more or less equal out the right amount of time waiting in line.
3 Rules of Bureaucracy:
1) We have always done it this way.
2) We have never done it that way.
3) No exceptions. Default answer is most likely to be NO.
– When negotiating, seek to understand, prove what you are proposing adds value. And never raise your voice. Oh this I have encountered many times. I ask for something in services or hospitality, the answer has always been “No.” “No, sorry we cannot do that for you.” “No, sorry, that is not possible.” “I know this is not convenient, but at this point, there is nothing can be done.” Yes, at some point I wonder how customer service works? Do they put employees or customer first?
The population of the country is 8.1 million with 23% foreigners. 40% of the Swiss marriage are intercultural marriage.
Understatement and modesty are big plusses here. So please, DON’T SHOW OFF.
Having lived in many places, what surprises me living in Switzerland is that for the first time I do not feel like a foreigner here. Yes, perhaps a bit of language issues that can cause some misunderstanding. But never have I felt being treated differently because I am not Swiss/European/Swiss-speaking. The transparency and their neutrality in politics (and of course, low tax rate) after all, must be what attracts foreigners, political asylum or expats living in Switzerland.
