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Tag archives for commuting

Shoes in the Swedish Workplace

31 comments
shoes next to red wall

A female co-worker left her indoor shoes under a whiteboard for awhile...

 

There’s been some previous discussion/posts about shoes and shoe customs on Sweden.se so I thought I’d chime in on the shoe situation in the workplace.

Personally, even before the snows came this winter, I found it hard to wear the same shoes to work that I was going to wear at work in Sweden. This is because the winter streets and sidewalks are almost always wet and there is lots of sand and grit everywhere (to keep tires and feet from slipping).

But that’s just me.

I saw women wearing high heel (non-snow) boots on the train even after it began snowing. I have also observed men on the train platform wearing dress shoes that they are probably going to wear all day at work as well.

I am proud to say that I made some accurate predictions about what shoes/boots to bring to Sweden and I have not had to purchase any here. (A good thing since I am on a budget and shoes—and for that matter, socks—are expensive here.) I brought along a low pair of wet weather boots that I bought super-cheap online (in the off-season) a few years ago but never found a purpose for in San Francisco. I purchased a set of wool footbed liners and as long as I wear extra socks, these babies are perfect. They are not fashionable but they are easy to get on and off and they insulate me well from the cold train platforms and various levels of rain, snow, and cold. They would not be good boots for any kind of deep snow and for that I brought with me other (even less fashionable) boots.

In her Expat blog, Kate wrote in her hilarious style:

Swedish people have pretty strong feelings about walking around indoors with your shoes on. In short: don’t do it.

If you really want to question this fundamental rule of behavior, be prepared for the looks you’ll get: bewilderment, horror, and—most of all—disgust. When I confirmed that yes, in the United States, we do wear shoes indoors, one of my friends gave me a look that inexplicably called to mind the image of healthy green plants withering and disintegrating away into brown crumbles of nothingness in hyperspeed. It was frightening.

When I get to work, I do take off my shoes but I then put on another pair. This is the work equivalent of “removing your shoes at the door.” I peel off the extra socks, and change into a pair of black flats that I leave at work. Despite the policy of taking off your shoes in Swedish homes, in the workplace, people do seem to wear shoes. But most people, at my job anyway, switch to another pair.

Sweden.se published an article about business culture five years ago in which the author said:

Work attire is often conservative, but casual. Employees may wear sandals or tennis shoes at the office, switching back to sturdier outdoor shoes when they head home.

Althea Boman, a teacher and businesswoman in Örebro who moved from the USA 15 years ago, remembers being quite surprised to see sandals at the workplace. She says: “In the States, people are not interested in seeing your toes, no matter how nicely pedicured they are. That certainly took a little getting used to.

I don’t know which state the author moved from 15 years ago, but in California, no one would think twice if a woman wore an open sandal to work.

At my Swedish job, which has a very relaxed culture, many men switch to sandals with socks when they get to work. Laid-back footwear for men at work in the US would be much more likely to be sneakers. Even in California—land of the people who wear Birkenstocks—few men wear them to work. With or without socks.

men's shoes at work

I took these pics of mens' feet at work...They think I'm nuts, of course...

 

I like the way Swedish men are willing to wear crazy socks with their sandals. They just go for it. Or maybe I am over-dramatizing the level of sock courage since one co-worker told me that the only reason he was wearing socks with little moose on them was because he hadn’t done his laundry and he had no other choice.

But that does not explain all the striped socks I see…

For my own fashion statement, maybe I should change into a pair of “Swedish Hasbeens” a cool shoe brand that Sabrina talked about in the Fashion blog.

Still with me? I’m telling you, people like to discuss shoes and even look at pictures of shoes. Here are some pictures from the Photo blog:

Red shoes

Hanging shoes

Kristin Lund - Work

February 3, 2012

Commuting to Work

59 comments

Central Train Station

Photo by: Kalleboo (CC BY 2.0)

Nearly two months ago, I published a post about my commute in San Francisco. Wow! It feels like that was two years ago, not two months. Back in November, I speculated about what my Swedish commute might be like and since I am now an official Swedish commuter, I thought I’d write about my daily commute between Uppsala and Stockholm.

Right now, I take the train from Knivsta to Stockholm. Knivsta is one stop closer to Stockholm than the Central Station in Uppsala. I live on the outskirts of Uppsala and it is going in the opposite direction to take a bus to downtown Uppsala in order to get the train at the Central Station. My preferred way of commuting is to catch a ride with one of three friends who drive their cars to Knivsta and then catch the train from there.

I must say, it’s tricky getting the bus tickets you need. I cannot pay with my cell phone as many people do and I am unclear on whether my “junior” bankcard works in the machines yet. (still working on the personnumer and the Swedish ID card needed for the bank account). You cannot pay cash on the buses in Uppsala.

On the bus, you must pay with either:

  • a pre-paid card
  • an SMS ticket (pay with a text message; it withdraws the money from your bank and sends you your ticket code)
  • a ticket from a ticket machine (but these are only at the large stations)
  • a ticket from a ticket reseller (don’t know who these are yet)
train and bus tickets

The long yellow one is for 10 trips on the subway which I currently don't take to work but it's handy for traveling around Stockholm.

 

It is, of course, much cheaper to buy a block of tickets at once or even better a monthly card, if one travels regularly. Since I get a ride sometimes, it doesn’t work to get a monthly card. Additionally, I need two different bus cards, one for the inter-Uppsala buses and one for the bus to Knivsta which (obviously) leaves Uppsala and is therefore a different bus system requiring a different ticket.

I miss the Translink card I had in San Francisco which worked on all kinds of transportation regardless of the company and regardless if you crossed county lines. The card also had the advantage of automatically refilling itself when its value dipped below a pre-set point. You might recall, however, that I noted in my previous post that the card made a gal feel a little paranoid about how easy it is to be tracked with one of those cards.

Out of Synch
The bus to Knivsta is supposed to arrive four minutes before the train does but the bus is usually late and I often miss the train. Then I wait for a half hour on the freezing, dark platform. I don’t know why the buses are not synched a little better with the train, but they aren’t. That bus only goes once an hour and then, not even all day. On the return, the bus is scheduled to leave one minute after the train’s arrival so if the train is late, I have the same problem. In fact, even when the train is on time, one minute is not enough time to jump off the train, sprint down the stairs and through the tunnel under the tracks and sprint up the bicycle ramp on the other side. This is why I prefer the car ride to and from the Knivsta station even though it means I am at the mercy of the other person’s schedule.

Here’s what I have observed about my Swedish commute:

Buses

  • The bus to Knivsta is quite large yet it doesn’t seem to have that many seats. The seats are heated which is really nice after you’ve been waiting at a cold bus stop.
  • The buses have electronic signs noting the next stop and there is also a recorded announcement of each stop.
  • Always exit out the back door of the bus.
  • You can greet the driver when you’re sliding your ticket into the machine, but don’t shout out thanks when you leave. Simply not done.
  • You should know how the payment system works and make sure there is value left on your card before you board the bus.
  • You need to know which card goes with which bus.

Trains

  • If you’re the first one to enter a train car, you will have to unlock and slide the door open. This can be a bit tricky. Best to be the second person in line.
  • Don’t try to talk to your seatmate. Most people go out of their way to avoid eye contact even when you are sitting next to them. I once had a woman sit perpendicular to me on the bus seat.
  • Yes, the people on the train who set their bags on an empty seat do know that the seat will be needed but they want you to ask if the seat is available anyway before they will move it.
  • No one seems to react when people speak really loudly on their cell phones. I am always surprised that the cell phone talkers aren’t embarrassed that everyone can hear them.
  • Before you board the train, you must register your trip by swiping your pre-paid card in a special machine on the platform.
  • Have your ticket or monthly pass ready to show the conductor. They rarely actually scan the cards to see if you registered your trip but I imagine it must be really embarrassing if they catch you with an unpaid trip. Then you have to pay a fine.
  • I haven’t noticed the “men sit with men, women sit with women” tendency I noticed in the US. But the train feels different than the bus anyway. It’s so much larger and less intimate so I think that’s why.

train platform

The Knivsta platform looks a great deal like this one. Photo by: Kalleboo (CC BY 2.0)

Kristin Lund - Work

January 10, 2012

Commuter Bus Etiquette

33 comments
Boarding the bus

Boarding the commuter bus...

 

A few days ago, I had a whispered conversation with my future Swedish boss on my cell phone. The reason I had to whisper was because I was on the commuter bus, on my way to work in San Francisco.

I was hunched over, trying to shield the sound of my voice while we discussed an additional document the union needs in order to approve my work visa. (See my recent post.)

It got me thinking about the etiquette of riding the commuter bus here in the Bay Area. I will be using public transportation to commute from Uppsala to Stockholm in the near future and I wonder if there are also some unwritten rules there.

The San Francisco commuter bus is a whole different animal from a regular city bus. Commuter buses here are typically “coaches” rather than buses which means they’re larger, with upholstered seats, and big windows.

I currently work for a massive law firm in San Francisco’s Financial District. I have been a contract worker here for about eight months. Before that, I worked for another law firm for four months. One of the reasons I am moving to Sweden is that I have not been able to find a permanent job here for more than one year.

Bus approaching bus stop

Waiting for the bus...

 

My commute takes around one and a half hours each morning and evening. Three hours is a large chunk of the day so it’s good to know the rules you’re supposed to follow during that time. There’s no manual that comes with being a commuter bus rider, one must simply watch and learn. Here’s what I have observed:

  • The bus should be boarded in order of arrival at the bus stop. Usually there’s a queue.
  • It’s tricky to figure out where the front and back of the queue is—the line seems to go in different directions depending on which stop you’re waiting at.
  • Don’t use your cell phone unless it’s an emergency. This being 2011, of course people do talk on their phones, but usually they get a lot of nasty looks and they soon hang up. (It’s the last bastion of etiquette—a kind of rolling vehicle of good manners.)
  • Don’t chat up the person next to you. Most people do work on their laptops or they nap. (I study Swedish.)
  • Be extra kind to the bus driver. Greet him/her when you board and then thank him/her when you exit the bus.
  • At least 90% of the time, women sit with women. Men sit with men. Welcome back to 3rd grade.
  • Having a Translink card (a prepaid card that adds value to itself at designated intervals) speeds the payment process up. The bad news: So long anonymity! It is easy to track exactly where a person goes every day because of the card.

What is your commute like? Are you in Sweden or another country?

Empty desk

Don't look for me at my desk...I'm running for the bus!

Kristin Lund - Work

November 13, 2011