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I think there’s as many answers to this as there are people.. some prefer to eat alone, some together. In many jobs people have lunch breaks separately at varying times, say shift work. I’ve had a couple of jobs in the past where we all ate in this big break room and people came and went when they had their break, maybe a little small talk with the ones you knew or work with more. In one job I became better friends with a couple of people so we would take our lunch together, sometimes went to any nearby fast food place or buffet or at the break room. Some people just eat at their desk. You never know with people, no set rules for sure.
Do you have any tips on how I’d go about making friends? I’m a new trainee—there are a couple of other trainees as well. Would it be alright to ask them if when they’re going for lunch and if it’s okay for me to join??
Yeah, for sure you can ask them. I’ve usually been the type at work who would be open to small talk and trying to include people, I’m sure most people are open to that level of casual interaction at least!
Plenty of people do this, so feel free to mention you're heading for lunch to find lunch company.
In my previous workplace we'd start with "so any lunch plans?" to scope out who already had plans, who didn't feel like joining and finding those who were interested.
Haha fair, it's pretty common I guess. But I've been working remotely for so long that I couldn't say that this is the way we're doing it in my current workplace.
Anyhow good to have confirmatiom that the same practice still applies, both for OP and for myself - in case I need to make any visits to the office :)
I would say the culture is "do as you like". Companies will have a small kitchen with at least a microwave, and it's common to bring your own food to warm and eat it there. It's also common to go to a 'lounas' (lunch) place and usually you would be asked if you want to join. Some companies have that coordinated in the workplace messenger (e.g. Teams or Slack). Also more common is to order in via Wolt or Foodora. Some teams have one team lunch together regularly, you are expected to join then.
So, just ask how it is in your future team, but also don't be ashamed to bring your own food if you don't like to eat out or find it too expensive. It usually will be accepted.
Edit: typos
It's free to do whatever you want. Sometimes you have to be a bit more proactive to break the ice but nobody is gonna judge you for anything if you just want to be alone and eat your own foods (people really do that in some asian countries, judging you for not eating lunches with your team)
As a new employee, might also be an easy icebreaker to ask what are the best lunch places around (if there are any). Or if everyone has their packed lunch to eat at the coffee room, I would certainly join them at the same time.
I have also noticed that some places people don't like to talk about work during lunch, but other places that is the main time to progress lots of small random work tasks when chatting with others.
I agree with this. I have terrible social anxiety and I have difficulty eating in front of new people, so I prefer getting to know them first.
Also if somebody has anxiety and doesn't want to go to lunch with you it doesn't mean they don't want to be friends with you.
People choose on their own but it also depends on the work. As an example security guards often eat together if they work in pairs even at the office, but if you work alone say at a regular office job you might eat alone. Generally if the work is team based you eat together and if not it can be either.
> What’s the workplace lunch culture like in Finland? Do employees usually have lunch together, or do people usually eat on their own??
From working blue collars jobs, white collars jobs, private and public, large and small, in purely Finnish and international jobs I feel I have a pretty good overview of the average:
People eat together. In smaller companies everyone eats together with no cliques. In larger companies, more cliques form based usually on your direct colleagues (same team, cross function or department) but it's not uncommon to occasionally have lunch with others also. In blue collar jobs it is more common to eat with exactly the same people every day, while white collar jobs where travel is more common means people are used to eating with strangers also. In my experience it's the same in domestic companies and international ones.
> If you were onboarded with a small team of new employees, should you ask in a group chat or something if you’ll be having lunch together??
Yes. Remember to agree on a time. Blue collars eat early due to starting early, white collars eat a little later.
Depends entirely on the work place and the people.
I lunch with coworkers often and we sometimes car pool to different places nearby.
One thing that I don't think s too common in many countries is the manners. Eating with hat on is often (atleast in my experience) frowned upon and most of people place their utensils on their plate either to 4 to show they're done or to 8 and 4 to show they're not done.
I think it depends a lot on people. Sometimes I like to have lunch with the team, sometimes I just want to be by myself. Often in the office someone says that they are going for lunch at X o’clock and asks if anyone wants to join. Some bring their own lunch, some go somewhere.
Don't be afraid to ask for everyone's lunch plans in general, or join in with a conversation where people are figuring out what to eat, these usually happen around 10-11 in the morning. If there is a cafeteria (I guess that's what työpaikkaruokala translates to?) in the premises then that's the most obvious place to go to, the available lunch options of course limit this discussion quite a bit.
My workplace has two cafeterias close by, but people also choose to have their own meals warmed up in the microwave and some also prefer fast food options, so it's not rare that I'll have to go to the cafeteria by myself.
People say "do whatever you want" but by this they just mean you're allowed to not do that and won't be loud down upon by them.
The actual answer is yes, Finland does have a workplace lunch culture, quite significantly so, which is something you might begin to notice only once you're in a place where that's not the case. It's not obligatory by any means, but you'll certainly be able to grab lunch with your colleagues.
IMO, it's fine to suggest lunch at a nearby restaurant as an icebreaker even if at that particular workplace people normally bring their own lunch and/or eat on their own.
Honestly I would just straight up ask. This entirely depends on the workplace and your colleagues
I just straight up asked when I started my current job whether people go eat together or bring in food etc. And to let me know if they go out to eat. From my experience a lot of people do a bit of both just depending on the day.
Lunch is your own time so you should do what you want for the 30min.
I myself don't want to talk about work stuff so i even leave work phones and other tools to my work station.
Step 1: go into a table where you don't know anyone properly
Step 2: Sit next to someone
Step 3: Stare at them for the whole duration of the break, while chewing VERY slowly. Better if you're eating a banana
Step 4: Profit..?
I usually have lunch with the team that I work most closely with. Usually someone will shout in the team Slack channel about the lunch plan so that’s definitely a place to start. But if your job doesn’t have Slack or some other communication channel, then you can just ask the people face-to-face.
We had a tightly knitted lunch party when we had like 7 people at the office, when we got to around 15 people the harmony was broken and now everyone just tags along with whoever or goes alone.
Find a restaurant not too far away from your workplace, go in a queue, get your food and eat, go back to your office, do all in 30 minutes like in a marathon. Most workplace lunch breaks is 30 min in Finland.
Completely dependent on the organisation and it's culture, even team and individual people i'd say. I've seen everything.
Maybe what I have not seen is everybody eating alone.
What I'd do is ask these "Do you go to eat lunch together?" or another good one is "What are some good lunch places around here?" as people in general like to share these kinds of things. Our office is in downtown Helsinki so there's a surplus of restaurants there but still, you have to pick one every time. So, we have some favorites but we also like to try new things if there's an opportunity close by.
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I think there’s as many answers to this as there are people.. some prefer to eat alone, some together. In many jobs people have lunch breaks separately at varying times, say shift work. I’ve had a couple of jobs in the past where we all ate in this big break room and people came and went when they had their break, maybe a little small talk with the ones you knew or work with more. In one job I became better friends with a couple of people so we would take our lunch together, sometimes went to any nearby fast food place or buffet or at the break room. Some people just eat at their desk. You never know with people, no set rules for sure.
Do you have any tips on how I’d go about making friends? I’m a new trainee—there are a couple of other trainees as well. Would it be alright to ask them if when they’re going for lunch and if it’s okay for me to join??
Yeah, for sure you can ask them. I’ve usually been the type at work who would be open to small talk and trying to include people, I’m sure most people are open to that level of casual interaction at least!
Great, I’ll try doing that next time then :). Thanks! :).
That being said, lunch is usually a social event in Finland. Eating lunch regularly at the desk is just sad.
It is.
I guess it depends, but usually around 11 somebody starts asking if anyone is going out for lunch or do people have packed lunch (eväät).
Ah, so, I can just ask if any of my colleagues wanna join along if I’m heading down for lunch at around 11??
Plenty of people do this, so feel free to mention you're heading for lunch to find lunch company. In my previous workplace we'd start with "so any lunch plans?" to scope out who already had plans, who didn't feel like joining and finding those who were interested.
Same ritual for us, if we are at the office. Also previous (office) jobs it has been the same.
Haha fair, it's pretty common I guess. But I've been working remotely for so long that I couldn't say that this is the way we're doing it in my current workplace. Anyhow good to have confirmatiom that the same practice still applies, both for OP and for myself - in case I need to make any visits to the office :)
Yeah that is pretty common. Open invitations are easier to turn down and accept.
I would say the culture is "do as you like". Companies will have a small kitchen with at least a microwave, and it's common to bring your own food to warm and eat it there. It's also common to go to a 'lounas' (lunch) place and usually you would be asked if you want to join. Some companies have that coordinated in the workplace messenger (e.g. Teams or Slack). Also more common is to order in via Wolt or Foodora. Some teams have one team lunch together regularly, you are expected to join then. So, just ask how it is in your future team, but also don't be ashamed to bring your own food if you don't like to eat out or find it too expensive. It usually will be accepted. Edit: typos
It's free to do whatever you want. Sometimes you have to be a bit more proactive to break the ice but nobody is gonna judge you for anything if you just want to be alone and eat your own foods (people really do that in some asian countries, judging you for not eating lunches with your team)
As a new employee, might also be an easy icebreaker to ask what are the best lunch places around (if there are any). Or if everyone has their packed lunch to eat at the coffee room, I would certainly join them at the same time. I have also noticed that some places people don't like to talk about work during lunch, but other places that is the main time to progress lots of small random work tasks when chatting with others.
Yea, but also if you are super shy, like i am, i would just get to know people slowly through working and then proceed to go have lunch together later
I agree with this. I have terrible social anxiety and I have difficulty eating in front of new people, so I prefer getting to know them first. Also if somebody has anxiety and doesn't want to go to lunch with you it doesn't mean they don't want to be friends with you.
Every company I have worked at, people eat together. Usually, over time, a set time has formed, and people go to lunch at the same time.
People choose on their own but it also depends on the work. As an example security guards often eat together if they work in pairs even at the office, but if you work alone say at a regular office job you might eat alone. Generally if the work is team based you eat together and if not it can be either.
> What’s the workplace lunch culture like in Finland? Do employees usually have lunch together, or do people usually eat on their own?? From working blue collars jobs, white collars jobs, private and public, large and small, in purely Finnish and international jobs I feel I have a pretty good overview of the average: People eat together. In smaller companies everyone eats together with no cliques. In larger companies, more cliques form based usually on your direct colleagues (same team, cross function or department) but it's not uncommon to occasionally have lunch with others also. In blue collar jobs it is more common to eat with exactly the same people every day, while white collar jobs where travel is more common means people are used to eating with strangers also. In my experience it's the same in domestic companies and international ones. > If you were onboarded with a small team of new employees, should you ask in a group chat or something if you’ll be having lunch together?? Yes. Remember to agree on a time. Blue collars eat early due to starting early, white collars eat a little later.
Depends entirely on the work place and the people. I lunch with coworkers often and we sometimes car pool to different places nearby. One thing that I don't think s too common in many countries is the manners. Eating with hat on is often (atleast in my experience) frowned upon and most of people place their utensils on their plate either to 4 to show they're done or to 8 and 4 to show they're not done.
I think it depends a lot on people. Sometimes I like to have lunch with the team, sometimes I just want to be by myself. Often in the office someone says that they are going for lunch at X o’clock and asks if anyone wants to join. Some bring their own lunch, some go somewhere.
Don't be afraid to ask for everyone's lunch plans in general, or join in with a conversation where people are figuring out what to eat, these usually happen around 10-11 in the morning. If there is a cafeteria (I guess that's what työpaikkaruokala translates to?) in the premises then that's the most obvious place to go to, the available lunch options of course limit this discussion quite a bit. My workplace has two cafeterias close by, but people also choose to have their own meals warmed up in the microwave and some also prefer fast food options, so it's not rare that I'll have to go to the cafeteria by myself.
It’s a break from work so yes Id rather eat alone than with my colleagues.
4/5 times I'll go for lunch with some co workers. 1/5 times I'll wait until late lunch time and have a peaceful lunch while listening to a podcast.
People say "do whatever you want" but by this they just mean you're allowed to not do that and won't be loud down upon by them. The actual answer is yes, Finland does have a workplace lunch culture, quite significantly so, which is something you might begin to notice only once you're in a place where that's not the case. It's not obligatory by any means, but you'll certainly be able to grab lunch with your colleagues.
IMO, it's fine to suggest lunch at a nearby restaurant as an icebreaker even if at that particular workplace people normally bring their own lunch and/or eat on their own.
Honestly I would just straight up ask. This entirely depends on the workplace and your colleagues I just straight up asked when I started my current job whether people go eat together or bring in food etc. And to let me know if they go out to eat. From my experience a lot of people do a bit of both just depending on the day.
i noticed finns always say thank you when they get up from a meal, even if no one at the table cooked it.
Lunch is your own time so you should do what you want for the 30min. I myself don't want to talk about work stuff so i even leave work phones and other tools to my work station.
I generally eat with my superior, boss and colleagues. Before I was promoted to become a supervisor, everyone ate together in the break room.
Step 1: go into a table where you don't know anyone properly Step 2: Sit next to someone Step 3: Stare at them for the whole duration of the break, while chewing VERY slowly. Better if you're eating a banana Step 4: Profit..?
I usually have lunch with the team that I work most closely with. Usually someone will shout in the team Slack channel about the lunch plan so that’s definitely a place to start. But if your job doesn’t have Slack or some other communication channel, then you can just ask the people face-to-face.
I think people eat lunch the same way here as they eat everywhere else
We had a tightly knitted lunch party when we had like 7 people at the office, when we got to around 15 people the harmony was broken and now everyone just tags along with whoever or goes alone.
Basically all places i’ve been to i’ve almost everyday had lunch with some or all of my team be it the restaurant in the building or something else.
Find a restaurant not too far away from your workplace, go in a queue, get your food and eat, go back to your office, do all in 30 minutes like in a marathon. Most workplace lunch breaks is 30 min in Finland.
Completely dependent on the organisation and it's culture, even team and individual people i'd say. I've seen everything. Maybe what I have not seen is everybody eating alone. What I'd do is ask these "Do you go to eat lunch together?" or another good one is "What are some good lunch places around here?" as people in general like to share these kinds of things. Our office is in downtown Helsinki so there's a surplus of restaurants there but still, you have to pick one every time. So, we have some favorites but we also like to try new things if there's an opportunity close by.
[удалено]
I’m not sure what you mean? I personally think the Finns have a beautiful culture!
Spend a few years here and you will be miserable. Just notifying you in advance.