Working Without Windows

I have recently learned about some very interesting differences between work environments in the U.S. and Finland:

• In Finland you need special permission to be open on Sundays. Generally this means only food stores under a certain size (e.g., the corner mini-marts) can stay open. Exceptions are made during the summer and the winter holidays, when Downtown becomes a shopping bonanza filled with people who are either eager to do their Xmas shopping, or just eager to get out and do their errands on a day when they are normally consigned to sitting at home and watching soccer.
  
  
• Stores that stay open on Sunday have to pay workers double. Someone at work told me this so I'm not sure if it's true, but it does fit in with the general trend of "be nice to workers at all costs".
  
  
• It is illegal to give someone office space without windows or other access to natural light. Interestingly, I learned this from a client who popped his head into the conference room which has become the de facto BCG work area. Needless to say, no windows or natural light of any kind. Apparently, even factory foremen with working space in the middle of the shop floor must have some kind of "window" from which they must be able to see the actual window of the factory and thereby get at least indirect access to sunlight. No such consideration for the overpaid consultants, of course.
  

Despite the evidence of the care given to workers here (and I haven't even begun talking about the vacation time, maternity leave, paternity leave, tax-free lunch coupons, or other benefits of being a working professional in Finland), there are some behaviors which don't seem to fit in. Like the number of emails I get from clients on Sunday night -- apparently logging back in to get stuff done for the week ahead is pretty much standard, at least with middle management and above. Or the number of people who have told me how much they wish that stores would be open on Sunday all year round, even if it clearly means that people would have to work the weekend to serve them.

I think that some of the Sunday rules actually result from the not-separated relationship between government and the church, itself somewhat ironic given how very very few people actually head to church on Sundays here. Makes me wonder if these aspects of Finnish society will change in ten or twenty years -- continuing the progression towards increased productivity and convenience at the expense of work-life balance and a "standard" 40-hour work week.