Work and opportunities

Of course the pay matters to me. So does the amount of my life I spend earning it. I want time for my family and a vacation I can actually take, along with some security if the job comes to an end.

I’m born and raised in the USA, and I’ve lived in Norway for 24 years. Comparing life in these two countries gets a lot more interesting when we look at how a job fits into the rest of our lives.

In Part 1, we looked at money and what it buys, and in Part 2, I’d like to talk about the work we do to earn it.

START WITH THE ACTUAL JOB

Ambition, talent and hard work do not come with a guaranteed income. An employer or customer also has to be willing to pay for what you do. That is true in both Norway and the USA.

For someone considering a move, the useful comparison starts with the jobs they could realistically get in their field. Recognition of their qualifications and the language used at work will affect their options. Housing costs and the chance to develop a career will help determine whether a particular offer is worth taking.

A bigger salary may be worth pursuing. But compare working hours, housing costs, taxes, pension arrangements and benefits before deciding what that salary means. An attractive offer for one household may be a poor fit for another.

Even national wage figures need care. The OECD's annual wage indicator is adjusted to a full-time equivalent and can account for differences in price levels. It is an average, not the pay of the person in the middle, and not a household's income after tax. [1]

HOW MUCH OF YOUR WEEK BELONGS TO WORK?

In Norway, the general legal limits for ordinary working hours are nine hours a day and 40 hours a week. A 37.5-hour week is common through agreements. Shift work and other arrangements can have different limits; exemptions also exist. [2]

In the USA, federal law generally requires covered, non-exempt employees to receive at least time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a workweek. That threshold is not a general maximum working week for adults. Other rules and state protections can apply. [3]

These are rules, not a description of everybody's working day, and some American jobs offer excellent hours and flexibility, while some Norwegian jobs are demanding and unpredictable. Still, it helps to know what is protected and what depends on an agreement.

People sometimes describe very long working weeks as the price of success. I dunno… While that may describe a particular career or period in someone's life, it should not become a claim that Americans generally work 70 or 80 hours a week, or that people working fewer hours lack ambition.

TIME OFF IS PART OF THE OFFER

Norway's statutory holiday entitlement is 25 working days, counting Saturdays: four weeks and one day. Many employees have a fifth week through agreements. Holiday pay normally comes from the previous year's earnings and replaces pay during leave; it is not an extra salary bonus. [4], [5]

The US Fair Labor Standards Act does not generally require paid vacation. Many employers provide it through their benefits packages or agreements, and specific rules can apply. The distinction is between a legal baseline and what a particular job offers. [6]

For a person choosing between jobs, usable time off belongs in the comparison alongside pay.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE JOB ENDS?

In Norway, dismissal must have objectively justified grounds and follow formal procedures. Necessary downsizing can justify dismissal. Protection does not mean a job lasts forever. [7]

In the USA, at-will employment is widely permitted, with Montana an exception to the general state pattern. Contracts, collective agreements, public employment and state rules can change the position. Illegal discrimination and retaliation remain prohibited. [8]

My view is that predictability has a value even when it does not appear on a payslip. Knowing the process for losing a job can affect decisions about a mortgage, retraining or starting a family. That is a judgment about what security means, rather than a calculation of its cash value.

OPPORTUNITY ALSO MEANS GETTING THROUGH THE DOOR

Rights on paper do not tell us who gets an interview, whose qualifications are accepted, or who gets promoted. Those questions deserve evidence of their own. We will return to discrimination and belonging in Part 4.

Here is another distinction I cannot ignore in a comparison like this: being employed and working for yourself are different arrangements. Employee holiday, overtime and dismissal protections do not automatically describe the position of a self-employed person. Anyone building a business must consider the income needed to cover time off and interruptions to work.

SO, WHERE WOULD YOU BE BETTER OFF?

I would compare an actual job and an actual household budget before declaring a winner. Then I would consider what kind of working life the arrangement makes possible.

The opportunity to develop your skills is part of that decision, as is being able to afford the time off you are entitled to (!!). Having a way to challenge unfair treatment also affects how secure you feel at work. A career needs to leave room for the other things you care about.

These considerations belong beside the salary figure. A good job should be judged by what it pays and by the life you can build around it.