Anyone who comes to Switzerland enjoys a wonderful journey of discovery.
You probably already expect to see incredible landscapes: from towering mountains to glittering lakes, alpine meadows, majestic glaciers and crystal clear waters, Switzerland really is a wonderful place to visit.
The historic cities are full of impressive architecture, clean streets and plenty of curiosities (have you seen the Child Eater statue in Bern?). Even better than all of this is the abundance of chocolate and cheese!
Alongside the things you might expect, this country certainly has a lot of unique quirks, and we could write several blogs about all the unusual events that take place here (has anyone heard of the snowman burning festival?)
But there is a phenomenon which happens twice every day in Switzerland, and this is what we are focusing on in this blog.
Every morning at around 9am, the country takes a short break. The same thing then happens again in the mid-afternoon, usually between 3 and 4 o’clock.
It’s not just something that happens in schools or colleges: workplaces and homes also do it, and Comfone is no exception.
These short breaks are referred to as Znüni (in the morning) and Zvieri (in the afternoon), and they take place every day, as regularly as clockwork.
What does it actually mean?
Znüni and Zvieri are both Swiss-German words.
Znüni is a short form of the German ‘zu neun’, which literally means ‘at nine’. The best translation would be mid-morning snack, usually eaten at around 9am.
Zvieri is the same thing, but referring to ‘vier’ or ‘four’, translating to mid-afternoon snack.
So Znüni and Zveiri are quite literally short breaks taken twice per day by the Swiss, to enjoy a hot drink, a snack and a break from work or school.
So what is unique about this?
It’s quite common to have a morning and afternoon break, so what makes Znüni and Zvieri so special?
It’s difficult to say exactly what makes it unique, but it seems to be the fact that it happens everywhere. Schools will stop for a short break, with children having fruit, sandwiches, juice, tea, cookies or other small delicacies. It is also common practice in the workplace for everyone to down tools and head to the coffee machine for a coffee and small snack.
Coffee culture is a big deal in Switzerland; did you know that the Swiss are amongst the highest consumers of coffee in the world, drinking an average of 3 cups of coffee per day? Perhaps Znüni and Zvieri accounts for these statistics!
At Comfone, we also enjoy this Swiss tradition of Znüni and Zvieri.
Why is Znüni and Zvieri important at Comfone?
At 9am if we don’t have any meetings, we head down to the cafeteria to share a coffee, a snack, and some conversation, and we do the same again at 3pm.
At Comfone, we pride ourselves on having great working relationships, and consider ourselves to be a big family. Taking time out of the day to chat, and relax over a hot drink is a really important part of our company culture.
Studies have shown that taking short breaks throughout the day improve mental wellbeing by reducing or preventing stress, reset your mood and increase focus for the day ahead!
When we asked our colleagues about the importance of these morning and afternoon breaks, a lot spoke about the extra motivation it provided them. Spending time together helps to build strong bonds between the teams, and sometimes a change of scenery can speed up problem resolutions too!
To have a short break to get away from the computer screen, meet and mingle with colleagues from other departments, share a funny story or just sit and relax with a coffee, these 10-minute breaks bring a lot of value to the working day.
So, the next time you head to Comfone, don’t be surprised if you stop for a coffee break, meet with other colleagues and share a chat. After all, these small breaks help set you up for a great day’s work!
