OSLO, Norway — Before the oil boom, when Norway was mostly poor and largely isolated, the country survived on its hard work and self-reliance, two stalwart Scandinavian virtues.
Now, with the country still bulging from three decades of oil money, its bedrock work ethic is caving in. Like the overindulged children of newly minted millionaires, Norwegians now stay home from work at a rate that is the highest in Europe, outdoing even the former titleholder, Sweden.
"We have become a nation of whiners," said Finn Bergesen Jr., director general of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry, Norway's largest business trade organization. "Everything is wrong, yet we are living in the best country in the world. People complain and complain — because we have everything."
On an average day, about 25 percent of Norway's workers are absent from work, either because they have called in sick, are undergoing rehabilitation or are on long-term disability. The rate is especially high among government employees, who account for half the work force.
The average amount of time people were absent from work in Norway in 2002, not including vacations, was 4.8 weeks. Sweden, its closest competitor, totaled 4.2 weeks, while Italy came in at 1.8 weeks and Portugal at 1.5 weeks, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Throw in vacation time (five weeks for most people), national paid holidays (11 per year) and weekends, and Norwegians take off nearly half the calendar year, about 170 days, a figure that does not include time off for disability and rehabilitation, according to Bergens Tidende, the newspaper that made the calculations.
Paradoxically, when they are at work, Norwegians are highly productive; the country's economy was ranked by the World Economic Forum as the ninth most competitive in 2003, ahead of Japan, Britain and Canada.
Worker absenteeism costs the government dearly: $12.3 billion in benefits a year for 2003.
Now the government is dusting off a 2001 agreement with employers and unions and requiring employers and employees to follow some of its dictates in order to reduce casual absenteeism.