So I guess I'll take the next year off

[duckman2000]

Have a kid while living abroad - move back 5 years later - get a year off work courtesy of the government.

Sweden

[Mupepe]

yes!  we can finally hang out, bro!

[chronovore]

Have a kid while living abroad - move back 5 years later - get a year off work courtesy of the government.

Sweden

How does that work? Is that the government's "suicide dissuasion plan"?

[duckman2000]

When you have a kid, you get a certain amount of days off work that you can take whenever you want until the kid turns 8, and the government pays your salary during that time. The days are split between the parents, but one parent can sign over most of the days to the other. Right now I have some 400 days to take.

[Brehvolution]

Socialism

[chronovore]

When you have a kid, you get a certain amount of days off work that you can take whenever you want until the kid turns 8, and the government pays your salary during that time. The days are split between the parents, but one parent can sign over most of the days to the other. Right now I have some 400 days to take.

Rock out. That sounds pretty great!

[Barry Egan]

But how will you live with the guilt?  Won't your friends shun you and/or try and convince you that you are a lazy parasite for doing this?  I don't understand Swedish culture at all.     

[duckman2000]

Well, everyone enjoys the same benefit. The basic idea is that raising a child shouldn't affect your living standards and professional life, and vice versa.

[Barry Egan]

I understand the words but when you put them together it just sounds like you're speaking gibberish.  Maintaining living standards, wha? 

[duckman2000]

In the US, you can maybe get some time off to hang with the kid. Chances are, though, that you will be left behind in the professional field. If you're a woman and you want to keep your job, you may end up breast pumping during lunch. Here, you have a base insurance that allows you to spend time with your kid with very little negative impact on your job. You take a small hit on salary, but you are guaranteed to keep your job, and are also given the same raises as anyone else at your job while you take the time off.

You don't need to do big chunks of time either. You can take half days, quarter days, two days a week, and as I'm doing, a shitload of time right away.

[chronovore]

In the US, you can maybe get some time off to hang with the kid. Chances are, though, that you will be left behind in the professional field. If you're a woman and you want to keep your job, you may end up breast pumping during lunch. Here, you have a base insurance that allows you to spend time with your kid with very little negative impact on your job. You take a small hit on salary, but you are guaranteed to keep your job, and are also given the same raises as anyone else at your job while you take the time off.

You don't need to do big chunks of time either. You can take half days, quarter days, two days a week, and as I'm doing, a shitload of time right away.

And when you don't have any time left, you just drop the kids off at Ikea?

[Barry Egan]

Still not understanding any of this, but it sounds extremely dangerous for society.

[pilonv1]

Was hearing about this from a girl who worked in the Ikea city. Sounds awesome, but considering the high taxes I'd hope to get some sort of benefit like this.

[Flannel Boy]

Well, everyone enjoys the same benefit. The basic idea is that raising a child shouldn't affect your living standards and professional life, and vice versa.

Living standard I can see, but professional life?

[Himu]

man, wish i lived in europe

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

In America you take as much time off as you want

[Brehvolution]

Was hearing about this from a girl who worked in the Ikea city. Sounds awesome, but considering the high taxes I'd hope to get some sort of benefit like this.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The tax rate isn't that much higher.

[close]

[pilonv1]

It is than where I live.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I need to believe that it is

[close]

[duckman2000]

Yeah, we did some calculations and it wasn't all that much higher than the tax we were paying in the states. And for that you get this, free healthcare, daycare with rate limit, free tuition for all levels of schooling, and such. It's not perfect, but this idea that we pay out of our nose for it is silly. We'll see how it works when all resources and services are privatized, though. That's when the real costs start showing.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I thought sweden was in deep shit now.

Good for you though svenska bastard.

Im really digging you scandi folks lately...

[Smooth Groove]

Duckman, do you eat that smelly fish that Sweden is famous for?  I saw that on Andrew Zimmern's show when he visited the Swedish embassy.  He said it was smelliest food ever and that dude has tried lots of strange stuff. 

[chronovore]

Duckman, do you eat that smelly fish that Sweden is famous for?  I saw that on Andrew Zimmern's show when he visited the Swedish embassy.  He said it was smelliest food ever and that dude has tried lots of strange stuff.

You're not talking about lutefisk, are you? That stuff is horrible. Lefsa almost makes up for it, though.

[duckman2000]

Duckman, do you eat that smelly fish that Sweden is famous for?  I saw that on Andrew Zimmern's show when he visited the Swedish embassy.  He said it was smelliest food ever and that dude has tried lots of strange stuff.

I assume you're talking about this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surstr%C3%B6mming

If so, then nope. it's one of those dividing things in northern Sweden; I guess either you love it, or you hate it. And the people who love it love really love it.

Don't eat lutfisk either.

[duckman2000]

I thought sweden was in deep shit now.

Good for you though svenska bastard.

Im really digging you scandi folks lately...

Actually, we're not doing so bad, what with Sweden not being part of the Euro debacle. Unemployment rate is high, but at this point I blame it on useless youth. There was this idea that young people would get ALL costs of higher education paid for them (that is, stuff that would cover living expenses and such), stuff that you'd normally take loans for, and they interviewed a few kids aged 18-20. ALL of them said they weren't interested, because they were sort of tired of school at this point. Fucking crazy.

I think we should just consider that generation damned and start focusing on people who actually want to work.

[Cerveza mas fina]

I dunno I know this smart swedish dude, who got a great education in business and is almost fluent in japanese and he can't find a good job ever since he came back to sweden.

[duckman2000]

Did he get his education abroad? Then it's just about worthless, much like work experience abroad. Swedes claim to be really open and international, but when it comes to jobs it's not really true. I have a pretty crazy CV and well rounded portfolio showing a genuine jack of all trades and master of some, but it's been a pain getting back in my industry here despite the credentials. If anything, I've been told that I'm overqualified which is just as bad in the end. And it doesn't help that Swedes tend to believe in all the flattery regarding their language skills; just about everyone claim that they are fluent in english, which makes it difficult for people like me.

The solution for me was to create my own job. Not easy since the government favors helping out those who apparently don't want the help, but it's going alright.

[Cerveza mas fina]

He studied at Gotenborg Uni.

[duckman2000]

Then I have no clue. An education is only as great as the amount of available jobs in that field. I should know, I'm in media, and that industry has gone to shit since the Swedish schools jumped on the wagon and started pushing a shitload of media types into the workplace. So the solution was to apply the media skills to another industry (action events).