In our world, most people have to create their own happiness. However, for people in Scandinavian countries like Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, their countries make them happy. For a long time, they have been the happiest countries in the world and the envy of many.

Finland is the happiest country in the world for the seventh year in a row. This is due to generosity, flexible work conditions, freedom of choice, and life expectancy.
The quality of life is great, and their healthcare is also excellent. With a population of less than 6 million people, Finnish people are living the good life, and it shows.

Ranking at the top spot of the United Nations World Happiness Report for the past seven years is no easy feat. Most of the residents believe that they can attribute this happiness to the country’s dedication to a good work-life balance.
In 1996, Finland passed The Flexible Work Act, ensuring that working people in Finland had the right to choose their working hours in collaboration with their employers.

At first thought, one might think Finnish employees would want to take advantage of the Flexible Work Act and goof off during work hours. However, this is not the case. The working class take their jobs quite seriously.
According to a Grant Thornton study, 92% of companies allow their employees to adapt their work hours without affecting production or output.

As the law allows no set start or end time to a work day, Finnish people are able to use their time strategically. Staff can dedicate their time to accessing doctors appointments or taking care of their children any time they like.
In turn, they see their lives as valuable and increase their productivity. They also show a higher-than-average dedication to the company and see themselves as part of a community.

Finland’s Flexible Work Act set a huge trend across the entire European continent and beyond. Therefore, many advanced European and Western countries are following in their footsteps with flexible work hours.
Some countries like Sweden and New Zealand have up to 80% and 84% flexibility, respectively. However, some countries that just started to implement this act, like Greece are still as low as 26%.

Finland, just like other Scandinavian countries, is home to many massive corporations. Some notable companies like elevator giant Kobe, Supercell and cellphone pioneers Nokia are some of them.
These companies are highly profitable even with the flexibility of their staff hours. Kone alone has locations around the world and is worth roughly $24 billion dollars.

In countries like the U.S., startups do not have it easy. The majority of their staff have to work around the clock to get a company off the ground.
However, the reverse is the case for Finnish startups. Even with their flexible hours, research shows that they have highly successful startups. In 2022, they generated $1.8 billion in funding, further proving their success.

Just like Finland, other places that rank high in happiness have successful business ventures and startups. This is because a happy person will be more productive than an unhappy one.
Even better, when you have a lot of happy people working in a place, there will be a higher rate of productivity and innovation. This also breeds a good culture and attitude towards work.

The Finnish government believes that happiness is a right for their citizens. Therefore, they prioritize this greatly. A common saying in the country goes, “Whoever has found happiness, that happiness they should hide.”
This preaches that people should not rub their happiness in other people’s faces and learn true contentment. Furthermore, it helps people to strive for true happiness.

The citizens and the government of Finland have a good commitment of trust between them both. The citizens believe that the government will always step up and enshrine certain rights for its citizens.
One of the reasons why Fins stay so happy is that they can genuinely rely on their government and media agencies to take care of them and give correct information.

The success of Finland is proof that strict work environments are not beneficial. Pushing employees without breaks, rest, and appropriate medical care will only result in reduced productivity and profits for companies.
Therefore, Finnish companies have hacked the long term secret to success and high profits while also keeping their employees happy, loyal and healthy.

Without a doubt, Finland has cracked the code to success and happiness. They are able to make high financial strides, have a great economy, and still keep their citizens happy.
They allow their employees to work on their own schedules. They don’t push their physical limits and allow good rest and care at all times. Finland is a dream country, and its residents are highly privileged to be in such a great place!