Why are Norwegians the happiest folks?

The cold doesn’t stop Nords from smiling. So, what’s the secret of their happiness? They don’t crib. They’re good to each other. And get this — reindeer roam the streets

It’s a little thing. But in Norway, as in the rest of Scandinavia, when people say they will call you back, or drop you an email, they mean it. The call does come, so does the email. They’re apparently respectful of other people. They treat each other the way they want to be treated. They appreciate servers – “we see people behind evey service” – they thank the barista at Starbucks. Also, Starbucks only got into Norway last year because the Nords like their own homegrown coffee houses. Everything is natural and organic and “magical,” as one Nord put it.

Paria Rafi Ghorashi, the Persian-Norwegian founder and CEO of Blowout&Go (company providing mobile blow-dry, hair styling and makeup services across the UAE) says, “Nordic people are not whiners”. She’s lived in Norway for 25 years before coming to the UAE. “We wake up at 6 am in minus 20 degrees, we go out, buy a coffee, take the train or the bus and reach work and greet our

colleagues with a smile on our face. And not complaining that, oh, the driver was late today.”

There’s something to be learnt from them about appreciation and teamwork and the ‘not whining bit’.

Malin Nilsson is one of the 65,000 Malin Nilssons there are in Sweden. The figure is her estimate — “it’s a very common name,” she laughs. (I check on LinkedIn, and at least 15 Malin Nilssons pop up). Nilsson’s been in Dubai for three years. She handles PR for Nordic Homeworx, apparently the oldest wood manufacturer in the world. They do wooden floors. Which reminds me of ‘hygge’, the Danish word for cosy that’s been talked about, until the cows have actually come home. Make that reindeer.

Is it news to Scandinavian people that their part of the world is the happiest? “No, to be honest, I’ve heard it before,” Nilsson says. “But since we’re a bit anonymous in the world , it’s good to hear that again. I’m not surprised.”

So, why is everyone so happy? What’s the lesson for the rest of us? I pick Nilsson’s brains for Norwegian words or phrases that might give some insight into why on earth everyone there is so happy. She tells me about the people’s love for nature and skiing and hiking, the love for cabins and lakes and everything outdoorsy. So, “‘kos

deg’ is take care, ‘gå på tur’ is go on a hike, and ‘hurtigrutten’ is the Norwegian boat,” she says. Nilsson, like thousands of other young Swedes go to Norway to work, make money and travel — “from the time we were Vikings, I suppose,” she says. Some acquire the reputation of being “party Swedes”. Why do they go to Norway? For happiness? Well, Sweden isn’t a particularly sad country either. So the reasons are less poetic. “The Krona in Norway (all that oil wealth) is higher than in Sweden.”

Chatting with a handful of Nordic folks in the UAE, it seems like they’ve got it all figured out. “We don’t take things for granted. We appreciate even the little things,” says Johanna Bergsli from Skien, “a little south of Oslo”. She’s been in the UAE for a year-and-a-half, having moved here from Singapore with the fitness start-up GuavaPass. “Being born Norwegian,” she says,” is like winning the lucky draw”. Systems work, social security, gender equality, maternity-paternity leave, education, healthcare – it’s all swell. “People have the time and opportunity to do more,” she says. The working hours in Norway are 37.5 hours a week, usually from 8 am to 4 or 5 pm, and they take time out “to do a Sika” – Sika: having a cosy, companionable cup of coffee with people at work.

Does anything bug Norwegians or are they always happy? A couple of people answered that injustice ticks them off because they’re not used to it. This is a country that has a gender neutral pronoun. There’s a ‘he’, a ‘she’ and get this – a ‘hen’. “We don’t like disorganisation. Discrimination. We don’t like gender inequality”. And I asked — no, of course, they don’t like Trump.

Bergsli said, “I am embarrassed by the increase of right wing politics in our country nowadays. For issues like refugees, it seems like we’re accepting fewer refugees than we could. Some countries Europe even, are more welcoming.”

Another Persian-Norwegian, Farzad Bayat, the creative director of B&G Studio in Dubai, believes Norway is a happy country (“I don’t think it’s the first time we’ve hit the charts”) because of two things: mutual respect, and everything being up for debate. “Everybody is equal. Everybody respects each other, no matter what religion”. He says, “The key is letting people be. We see what’s happening in the world. We see how it’s affecting others. And we learn a lot from the mistakes of other countries.” Like the US? “Yes, like the US.”

It’s a privilege being born in Scandinavia... Even though people say we’re shy, we’re actually very caring and we appreciate things. We appreciate the sunshine. We capture every nice moment. Malin Nilsson

It’s because of the mutual respect we have for each other in Norway. There’s no corruption. Everybody is equal. We respect each other. And they let people in. Everything is up for debate, unlike elsewhere. Farzad Bayat

I am embarrassed by the increase of right wing politics in our country especially nowadays. It’s sad. For issues like refugees, it seems like we’re accepting fewer refugees than we could. Johanna Bergsli