Something happened on the way to the sauna: how an Aussie contact centre globetrotter survived and thrived.

The thought of getting naked with friends in a hot room is a cultural step too far for many. But in Finland, sauna is just part of the rhythm of life, no different than breakfast or birthdays.

One of the first things I noticed when I started to visit Finland for work was that the Finns use the word ‘sauna’ to describe ‘an experience’ rather than a room in the house or the sports club. Aussies, Americans & Brits talk about ‘going to the sauna’ whereas Finns talk about ‘going to sauna’. That difference tells you that for Finns, sauna is much more than a simply a room. 

In many visits to Finland, I also noticed just how many saunas there are. Every apartment building has one. Hotels. Sports clubs. Gyms. Workplaces.  Even in the boardrooms of major companies.   There is evidence on every corner of how important sauna is to the Finns. 

Sauna isn’t appreciated in other countries in the same way it is in Finland. Our different views on sauna no doubt stem from our different upbringings. In one place it’s a normal everyday thing but other cultures think differently.

I have seen the aversion to sauna play out numerous times with non-Finns.   

In one memorable event in Helsinki in 2010, I suggested (cheekily) to group of visiting foreign executives that we would sauna prior to wrapping up a workshop. 

We were in a boardroom with a sauna attached, and during an afternoon coffee break, myself and a colleague brought towels out and put them on the chairs. When participants came back after the break, I made my announcement.

The Finns in the room, colleagues and visitors alike, picked up their towels.

There was a different reaction from the four foreign guests in the group who looked mortified and not quite sure what to do or say. You could see the horror in their eyes as they all stared at the towels.  

Momentarily I wanted to follow through with the charade, except of course that I am also not a fan of a work-based sauna, so I quickly eased peoples’ minds by letting them know I was only joking.

One of the Brits came up to me later and told me that his thought at the time was ‘Oh my god, I am going to have to look at my boss sweaty and naked!’.  

I doubt that the foreign visitors had ever experienced a sauna in the boardrooms of London, New York or Sydney, so perhaps no surprise they were caught off guard.  Who knew that a simple practice could be so culturally different as to create such a sense of panic in some people? 

The reactions to sauna that I have seen reflect to some extent the diversity challenge in modern workplaces, particularly in teams that have people from all over the world. No matter how genuinely people want to be respectful of others, some cultural practices just don’t quite translate and can be hard to understand and adjust to.    

Some of my Finnish friends think it’s funny that I have a strong aversion to their national cultural tradition, but I make up for my sauna aversion by lapping up other parts of the culture when I visit. I try speaking some Finnish words.  I eat all manner of local foods – reindeer and korvapuusti (cinnamon buns) are my favourites.  I even collect Finnish glass and I’ve named a glass bird on my desk after a Finnish national hero (that’s Paavo in the photo at the top of this article).  

Appreciating diverse cultures doesn’t mean having to like everything. Making an effort to enjoy a culture is both respectful and rewarding. I encourage everyone to grab cultural opportunities with both hands and give things a go.  It will help you with understanding the diverse backgrounds of your team and you never know what you might like. Maybe you will even enjoy sauna! 

If you could use help managing diversity or have any other business challenge that you need to work on, I am available immediately for new job opportunities.