The porcelain company Figgjo, located in southwest Norway, is often referred to as a typical Jaer-company, along with other companies such as the Kverneland agricultural equipment group. Flexibility, short power distances and entrepreneurship often characterize the Jaer work culture. Despite its location in Jaeren, these cultural characteristics have not always been as dominant at Figgjo as they are today. From its establishment in 1941 and up to the mid-1980s, Figgjo was more typically organized and structured by Tayloristic principles for mass production, where functional flexibility was limited. This article focuses on how structural and cultural changes at Figgjo have influenced flexibility and cooperation. It also examines how the material, structural and cultural dimensions of its establishment may provide an understanding of why the work culture at Figgjo earlier was so different from that of Kverneland. The findings indicate that changes in production and product strategies demanded more functional flexibility. Employees also welcomed a more flexible way of working and thus supported the emerging changes. Both Figgjo and Kverneland have been influenced by local work culture, but in different ways. They have also been part of other cultures: while Kverneland has been closer to farming culture, Figgjo has been closer to the professional porcelain industry.

In many respects seafarers were regarded as being different from other groups in the society. When the welfare schemes were introduced, the arguments were seafarers’ hard workdays, their separation from home, their sufferings and losses during wartime and the fact that they normally did not have the opportunity to enjoy the same tax-financed benefits as the rest of the population. The seafarers themselves often felt separated from the Norwegian community and it is likely that they did not feel that the welfare programs established for them fully compensated for the challenges of being at sea.