Why move to Norway to work at USN?

Work-life in Norway

Work-life balance is an important part of the Norwegian society. This means you should have time to have a hobby, be with your family or spend time in nature. We believe these breaks from work gives you better motivation, inspires you and keep our workers happy. Norwegians do like to spend time outside, either it is for skiing in the winter, enjoying the sun in summertime or hiking in the fall colours. In the Norwegian Working Environment Act an average work week is set to 40 hours. At USN the work week is Monday to Friday. All workers have the right to 25 days of vacation every year. Three weeks’ vacation you are entitled to get consecutively. We have good arrangements for sick leave, for both you and your children. 

Norway has a high standard of living, but it is also a hight cost country. This will be reflected in the salary we offer. To get an idea of your consumer expenditures we advise you to look at a reference budget. This will give you an idea of life in Norway.

Norway is a safe country. We have low crime rates and most people will feel safe walking alone in the forest or in the cities after dark. Being a necessity when part of our country are dark all day on certain time of the year. The darker seasons lead to cosy inside activities and when the lighter evenings come, Norwegians are the first to get out and enjoy the first ray of sunshine.

The public health services are generally considered to be well organized in Norway. 80 % of the population rely only on these services and do not have private medical insurance (other than travel insurance). We have a large public health system and several social services available for all residents paying tax to Norway. You need to have your work permit and ID-number to get access to all services. Before you are registered, we advise you to have insurance from your home country or a European health card, if you are an EU-citizen.

Norwegian work culture has been described to have a high degree of equality and low hierarchy. You should treat all staff and students with respect. Still many senior staff will experience Norwegians wanting you to earn your respect. Being a supervisor or researcher does not automatically give you respect. You have to treat others well, to get the same treatment back. Titles are almost never used and you should prepare for students and staff to refer to you by your first name.  Transparency and equal treatment are valued. The working culture supports autonomy and self-direction, while making sure to include teamwork.  

The Norwegian people are an interesting social study for most foreigners. We are friendly, peaceful and programmed not to stand out in a crowd. Many foreigners find deep friendships in this cold country up north. Our history and climate have made us a people knowing deep down we sometimes need to depend on others. Still, it can be challenging to get to know Norwegians. Especially in wintertime, since we stay inside with our circle of friends and family. We also do not want to bother strangers, leading to many Norwegians keeping a distance. Not because of a problem with you, but to respect your personal space. After all we are used to having our space, with only 18 people per square km. We are also quite down to earth and restrictive on big words and big emotions. A typical Norwegian will have many acquaintances and fewer friends, we like many things, but words like love are not thrown around. Still most foreigners say that when they first crack the social codes, they get friends for life.

Things you might not know about Norway

• The most normal Norwegian Lunch is slices of bread with a topping of for example cheese, that is packet at home in morning and brought to work. Then between 11.30 and 12.00 most people will take some time off from work to eat their packed lunch for 30 minutes. Don’t worry thou, you can buy hot food on all campuses and the time you might get used to after a while.
• Norway has for several years been among top 10 in the happiest countries in the world in the UN happiness report.
• Most Norwegians do not brag to much about them self. This is due to the “law of Jante”. This is not an actual law, but a strong social norm that might be especially visible in smaller communities and with the older generations. Telling us to not think we are better than anyone else.
• Norwegians will not sit next to you on the bus, if there is a free double seat anywhere else. This is to respect your personal space as well as keeping their own.
• Norwegian kindergarten and lower level school has a focus on learning thru play.
• The sale of alcohol is strongly regulated in Norway. Outside of licensed restaurants and bars only the governmental owned “Vinmonopolet” are allowed to sell alcohol with an alcohol percentage above of 4,7%.
• Norwegian babies sleep outside for their daytime nap all year around. Some parents might bring them inside when the temperature goes below minus 10. Still, do not get surprised if you see a stroller alone with a sleeping baby in it on the street outside a café or a house.
• From 1972 homosexuality have been legal in Norway, in 1993 they could be legal partners and in 2008 same-sex marriages were legalized.
• Norway imports 0,5% of all the coffee in the world, even thou we are only 0,07% of the worlds population.
• Most Norwegians speak well English.

Working at USN

The University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) is one of the largest educational institutions in Norway. We have eight campuses, all within a couple of hours from our capital, Oslo. Although they are all a part of USN, each campus is different. Some are located in or near cities and some in smaller municipalities. We are close to the sea, by the river and in the mountains. What they all have in common is that they are an important part of the local community and close to nature.

keyboard_backspace Our campuses

The USN vision is to be regionally anchored and internationally recognized. So, by working for us we want you to get a strong bond to your local community and at the same time have an international focus on your field. As a part of the Norwegian culture, we strongly believe that a happy personal life is a prerequisite for a productive work life. Therefor you have to consider if the position is a right fit for you, but also if Norway would provide a good home for you.

As a workplace we offer:

• An exciting and educational academic environment with stimulating work. 
• Individual competence plan and good opportunities for competence and career development for all employees.  
• An inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues.  
• Good pension scheme and favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.  
• Employee benefits, including vacation, sick days and opportunity to exercise during working hours 

Faculties

We provide our students with research-based and work-integrated education of a high international standard that promotes critical reflection and strengthens innovative skills. To do this we collaborate with staff and companies around our campuses, across campuses and across the world. We have four main faculties:

• Faculty of Health and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Sciences
• Faculty of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Sciences
• USN school of Business 

It is important to USN to strengthen the framework for research careers. Therefor USN has endorsed the Charter & Code principles and have been granted the HR Excellence in Research award as a result of implementing the principles. This ensures an open, transparent and Merit based recruitment of researchers, safeguard good working conditions and focuses on professional development for researchers at all stages of their careers.

Norway – a digital society 

The Norwegian society is highly digitized and a lot of public and private services like banks, public transport etc. requires use of digital services and applications for smartphones. Therefor it might take some time from you arrive in Norway to you have access to all services.

Internet network is usually accessible even in remote places.  Free WiFi is available in most cafes and libraries but will normally require a password.  

Learning Norwegian       

When living in Norway it is possible to communicate in English, as most Norwegians learns English in school from a young age. If you are planning to stay in Norway for a while, learning Norwegian will still be useful. Both at work and for you social life. For permanent staff USN offers a Norwegian class. There are also many private companies selling courses and some free alternatives to start allready before you arrive: 

• The Norwegian University of Science and Technology offers a free online course
• The University of Oslo has developed a free online Norwegian course
• Self-learners might enjoy Klar tale, a Norwegian newspaper in easy language. 
• There are also several social media accounts with learning Norwegian language as a theme.

Getting around/transportation

When working at USN it will vary from campus to campus to which extent you will need and can use public transport for getting around. Still all campuses are accessible with public transport from larger cities.

Driving in Norway might be a bit different from what you are used to. Make sure you read up on local rules and are prepared for winter roads. EU-citizens can use their local driver’s license and exchange it to a Norwegian one. Other nationalities have different rules depending on what country has issued your drivers licence.

Having a family in Norway

Norway is a family friendly society. We have structures in place to make it possible to combine fulltime work with a family and promote equality in the household. There are good benefits for maternity and paternity leave as well as financial support like child benefits.  You will soon experience a colleague cancelling a meeting due to a sick child or leaving early to pick up children from a school trip.

If you are thinking about relocating to Norway with your family, there are several people to consider. Your partner might spend some time learning the language and getting a job. We advise that you apply for a visa at the same time, since the process will go smoother. Children also have to apply, but there are no application fees for children under 18 years of age.

Dental and health care is free for children registered as residents under the age of 18. Maternity care is also free for registered residents.

From age 1-5, there are kindergartens. You pay a fee, but they are heavily subsidized. You are entitled to a spot from the age of 1 in most municipalities, but make sure you apply before the deadline (usually in early spring).

Your children are entitled to a school spot from the age of 6 at their local school. Most children in Norway attend public school. In Norway school is free from grade 1-13. From grade 10-13 the students are expected to bring some equipment, like calculator or a laptop. For the younger kids you will probably need to sign them up for activity school, due to the short school days compared to work days. There are a fee for this, but it is subsidized. They will be offered introduction classes to learn the language. If needed extra Norwegian classes are offered. They are also able to get language classes in their mother tongue. There are some cities, like Porsgrunn and Kongsberg offering private international schools where classes are though in English.

University level is also close to free with only an administration fee and book expenses for Norwegian and EU-citizens. We have a strong principle stating that all people should have the right to free education. This is a part of giving all children more equal opportunities.

There are many people on the internet giving good advice and not so good on parenting. The same goes for searching “raising children in Norway”. You can get information on anything from how to dress your child in the cold to the child welfare services stealing children. Make sure you check your sources and ask a colleague or our staff mobility coordinator if you are not sure what to believe.