Finnish working life is the third best in Europe Interim evaluation of the Working Life 2020 project

Transcription

1 Finnish working life is the third best in Europe Interim evaluation of the Working Life 2020 project Ramstad, Elise (Tekes) & Mähönen, Erno (MEE) 14 June 2017

2 1 Introduction Finland has set the goal of making Finnish working life the best in Europe by In order to achieve this vision, workplaces must successfully renew and improve their activities as a response to an operating environment that is undergoing continuous change. The Working Life 2020 project aims to make the vision reality by exerting positive influence in four focus areas: innovation and productivity, a competent workforce, health and wellbeing at work, and increasing trust and cooperation. The project's success in these areas is monitored by drawing on national and international studies and reports. The best working conditions in Europe: 1. Norway 2. Denmark 3. Finland The Working Life 2020 project has a monitoring system that follows up on the project s success in the different focus areas. The situation was examined for the first time in 2014, in which year reports on national and international level results were completed. The results were updated in spring 2017 on the basis of new data and comparative studies 1. This report provides a short summary of the results in the different focus areas and Finland's placement in European comparisons. The comparisons include all EU countries and Norway. For more information on updates of the monitoring system's national and international indicator values, see the following links: a) Monitoring of the national operating environment , and b) Monitoring of the national operating environment So what does the situation of the Finnish working life look like? By European comparisons, the conditions of Finnish workers are rather good, and many aspects have also remained at a good level or even shown a slight improvement during the project. The updated indicator values of working conditions put Finland in the third place: 1) Norway, 2) Denmark and 3) Finland 2. When looking at the different areas, Finland ranks third in the area of a competent workforce, fourth in health and well-being at work and sixth in increasing trust and cooperation. International comparisons reveal that particular strengths are workers skills, high job autonomy, motivation to perform well, good possibilities for balancing work and family life, and practices that support innovation. In the final analysis, the top three countries stand out rather clearly in the results. After Finland, the Netherlands was fourth and Malta fifth, both with significantly lower scores than Finland. Sweden came in a shared seventh position with Luxembourg. While the difference between Finland and the Netherlands is significant, Norway is also a long way ahead of Finland. In the 20 indicators that were examined, Norway was only outdone by Finland in four 3 : exposure to extreme temperatures at work, paid on-the-job training, possibilities of influencing the order of tasks, and learning new things at work. Finland was bested by Norway and Denmark in all focus areas of the vision created in the Working Life 2020 project. 1 European level studies include the European Working Conditions Survey 2015, the European Company Survey 2013 and the European Community Household Panel 2016, while national ones are the Working Life Barometer 2016, the Digibarometer 2016, the occupational accident statistics and statistics of the Social Insurance Institution (Kela). 2 The countries placements in the comparison were calculated by giving every question the same weighting within each focus area. Each focus area further had the same weighting in the overall ranking. Innovation and productivity were excluded from this comparison, as new updated data is not yet available, and data on this area was not available for Norway. 3 In addition, three indicators related to balancing work and family life were used, for which data on Norway was not available. This data was discarded in Norway's ranking. Based on these three indicators, Finland is close to the European top after Denmark.

3 2 According to the latest Eurofound analysis (2017), roughly one out of three Finnish employees is working in so-called high flying tasks in terms of work quality, and five percent in poor quality jobs. Typical features of high flying jobs include a high level of skills and plenty of opportunities for exerting influence, high earnings and job security, good prospects for career advancement but also a high level of work intensity. The highest proportion of these jobs in Europe is found in Denmark (40%) and Luxembourg (39%), whereas Finland and Sweden (37%) are close behind in the third place. On average, some one out of five workers in Europe are in high-quality jobs (22%). Areas in need of development can also be found in different aspects of Finnish working life. In terms of the social environment at work, harassment and bullying occur more often in Finland than in other EU on average. Finnish employees also trust their management less often than European workers on average. Additionally, there is scope for improvement in producing innovations: new products, services and marketing methods. Employees could also be involved in developing the work organisation and work processes more often. In terms of working time and work intensity as well as the physical work environment, Finland is above the European average. As a future target, we should strive to increase the number of high-flying jobs and, correspondingly, improve poor-quality jobs. This would improve subjective well-being, experiences of meaningful work, job satisfaction, engagement and target achievement (Eurofound, 2016). 1. A competent workforce The area of a competent workforce contains indicators describing workers ability to exert influence and learn new things at work. The importance of these factors is highlighted as work becomes more knowledge-intensive and technological development changes tasks. Finland is one of the best countries in Europe regarding training and learning at work as well as the ability to influence decisions that are important for your work and the order of tasks. Since 2010, Sweden has overtaken Finland in the possibilities for learning new things at work. Finland now shares the second place with Norway and Denmark. Of Finnish wage and salary earners, 64% feel they can influence decisions that are important for their work. On the other hand, ranking has dropped to eighth place when it comes to possibilities for choosing or changing your methods of work. About one half of Finnish workers also participate in developing their work organisation or work processes. Finland only comes 14th in this area, however. Skills and discretion EWCS 2010 Member States EWCS 2015 Training paid for or provided by the employer 1 1 Ability to influence decisions that are important for 1 1 your work Ability to choose or change order of tasks 3 3 Ability to choose or change methods of work 5 8 Learning new things 1 2 Involved in improving the work organisation or work processes of own department or organisation - 14

4 3 2. Health and well-being at work The elements of health and well-being at work in this comparison were time pressure, physical risks and accidents as well as harassment and bullying at work. In addition to an OECD classification, problems with balancing work and family life were also examined. The results are based on the responses of the employed, including both self-employed persons and wage and salary earners. In line with traditions, international comparisons continue to approach well-being at work mainly through problems. For this reason, the comparison of well-being at work does not include such variables as enthusiasm and engagement. 2.1 Time pressure In , working time that exceeds 50 hours a week has become slightly more common in Finland. Finland slipped back from sixth to 12th position compared to other EU. At the same time, however, workers feel that there is more flexibility in working hours during the working day. It is easier for Finnish workers to take care of personal or family matters during working hours than for EU workers on average. Finland improved its ranking from sixth to fourth place between 2010 and 2015 in this respect. Over 70% of Finnish workers already have flexible working time arrangements. The share of those who find they are always or almost always working very fast and to tight deadlines has decreased clearly between 2010 and It appears that while the working week is longer, work is done in a more reasonable manner, and working hours can be flexible if needed. From the beginning of 2017, the annual working time in Finland was increased by 24 hours as a result of a competitiveness agreement between the central labour market organisations. Working time and pace Working time is less than 50 hours a week 4 12 Very easy to arrange to take an hour off during working hours to take care of personal or family matters Not working at a very fast pace or within tight deadlines Physical health risks and accidents at work A reduction in accidents at work and long sickness leaves was recorded in Finland between 2012 and The number of accidents went down especially in so-called high-risk sectors, or construction and manufacturing. The number of fatal accidents at work also went down clearly in 2016, 20 wage and salary earners lost their lives in this manner. Compared to the European figures, Finland registered the fourth lowest number of accidents at work in proportion to the number of workers. Sickness absences have remained more or less at the same level since In 2016, sickness absences amounted on average to seven days a year. The number of long sickness absences has shown a decline in recent years, whereas the number of short sickness absences has increased. In 2016, less than 290,000 workers received sickness allowance from Kela. It is likely that the amended made to the Annual Holidays Act in 2014

5 4 contributed to the increase in the number of short sickness absences by giving the workers the right to substitute some of their annual leave days during which they were sick. In terms of physical risks, improvements have been achieved in tiring positions, high level of noise and high or low temperatures, which the workers now experience less often than in The most common physical risks are tiring or painful positions. About one out of five European and 12% of Finnish workers report that their working positions are tiring or painful most of the time. On the other hand, placement related to carrying or moving heavy loads and exposure to vibrations from hand tools and machinery has slipped. Especially employees in the position of workers find the work physically demanding. Physical work environment No tiring work positions Member States No carrying or moving of heavy loads 9 10 No exposure to vibrations from tools and machinery 6 8 No exposure to high level of noise 15 8 No exposure to high or low temperatures Balancing work and family life Balancing work and family life is one of the strengths of Finnish working life. In this aspect, Finland is one of the leading countries in a European comparison, and the situation has remained more or less the same in The most common problem related to the work-family conflict is being too tired for housework after the working day. Of Finnish wage and salary earners, 45% feel this way several times a month or week, while the average for European countries is 53%. Some 16% of Finnish and 26% of European wage and salary earners find that their job prevents them from meeting their family responsibilities. Only in rare cases do the employees have difficulty focusing on their job because of their family responsibilities. On average, less than 15% of wage and salary earners find they cannot focus on their jobs due to family responsibilities at least several times a month, whereas this figure in Finland is 8%. Balancing work and family life Not too tired for housework after the working day No difficulty with meeting family responsibilities because of time spent at work Family responsibilities do not affect focus on job Member States EQLS 2012 EQLS

6 5 3. Trust and cooperation Good supervisory work and a positive work climate are indications of trust and cooperation within the workplace between the management and workers. Finnish wage and salary earners (76%) find more often than workers in other European countries that the organisation motivates them to perform well at work. Finland is only bested by Norway in this respect. Workers (89%) also feel more often that they are performing useful work for most of their working time, even if Finland still comes far behind the leading countries. The Nordic countries clearly stand out from the rest in the number of wage and salary earners who reported that the management organises events where they are consulted about topical developments in the organisation. This was the assessment of 65% of Finnish workers. In receiving help and support from your supervisor, Finland is behind the leading European countries, and fewer than average workers trust their supervisors. Supervisory work and social climate 2010 Member States 2015 The organisation motivates the workers to perform well at 5 2 work Feel they are performing useful work most of the time Regular information and discussion events are organised in the workplace where the workers can voice their opinions 3 5 The supervisor provides help and support always or most 7 10 of the time The employees trust the supervisor - 20 In terms of the social environment and stress factors, Finnish workers found themselves at the bottom end of the European scale. In more than one out of two workplaces (55%), workers are exposed to bullying or mental violence by someone (colleagues, customers or supervisors) at least sometimes. Some 14% of Finnish workers have themselves experienced verbal abuse and some five percent bullying. Finnish women experience harassment and inappropriate treatment at work clearly more often than men in all sectors. Women and men experience bullying in equal amounts on average in EU countries, whereas in Finland, women experience bullying more often than men. Harassment and bullying Have not experienced verbal abuse Have not experienced threats and humiliating behaviours 22 - Have not experienced bullying 24 22

7 6 4. Innovation and productivity Innovation may be relevant to different aspects (products, services, processes, business, sales and marketing or the organisation). The European Company Survey (2013) ranks Finland fourth in designing new production and service processes and organisational change. Some 45% of Finnish workplaces have introduced new or significantly improved production or service processes since 2010, whereas the EU average was 35%. About one half of Finnish companies have carried out organisational changes, against some one third in EU countries. In the area of new products and services, on the other hand, Finland was only 22nd, and in new marketing methods, 20th. The share of Finnish companies that had designed new products, services or marketing methods was around one third, which is clearly below the EU average. Product and process innovations, however, showed a slight growth, especially in smaller companies. Changes in work organisation and the prevalence of digital work have affected the work of Finnish wage and salary earners in recent years. Up to 59% of respondents to the Working Life Barometer 2016 reported that the division of labour had been reorganised, while this figure was 52% in 2012 (Working Life Barometer 2017). Examined by sector, the greatest amount of organisational changes had been made in central government, while local governments came second. As public sector jobs are dominated by women, the changes in work organisation had affected women more often than men. Digital work has increased clearly in Finnish workplaces in the last few years. Around one half of the workplaces have introduced new information systems. An increasing number of workers also use the social media, digital workspaces and instant messaging tools (including Skype) in their work. The proportion of those using social media in their work totalled 26% in 2016, while a year earlier, this figure had been 21%. Social media is used to share and acquire information, establish and maintain cooperation relationships, in sales and marketing and in customer service or advisory services. Digital workspaces or instant messaging tools are used by about one half of wage and salary earners. This number is greater among upper-level employees (80%) and in large workplaces (73%). A recent report titled Growth from digitalisation produced by Service Sector Employers Palta shows, however, that only in rare cases has digitalisation been put at the strategic centre of Finnish service sector companies business. Some 13% report that the digitalisation of business is one of the key objectives of their strategies (Innolink, 2017). Digitalisation is seen as producing added value especially for business model development (29%) or improving the product and service range (19%), but only rarely for drawing on customer experience (10%). Employers estimate that Finland is one of the leading countries in Europe when it comes to practices that support innovation (places 1 to 2), including monitoring new ideas, autonomous team work and cooperation between organisations in product and service production. Practices that support innovation create opportunities for learning and creating innovations. We should remember, however, that only one half of workers report that they are able to participate in developing the work organisation and working processes. Many find that they rarely have time for developing new ideas. Only 35% of women and 47% of men find that they have time for developing new ideas in the workplace often or quite often. Workplaces of less than ten workers and larger organisations provide the most time for generating new ideas. In , the proportion of those who are able to participate in developing workplace activities grew from 46% to 49%. Upper-level employees had better possibilities than average to participate in development. However, the area showing the most

8 7 improvement in recent years is the workers ability to participate in workplace development. While we are going in the right direction, we still are behind many European countries. In labour productivity, Finland is at the average European level. Productivity has not returned to the levels it had before the financial crisis. Innovation and productivity (ECS 2013) New or improved production and service processes 4 Organisational change 4 New or improved products and services 22 New or improved marketing methods 20 Monitoring new ideas 1 Autonomous teamwork 1 Collaboration between organisations in product or service provision Labour productivity 2 10 (Eurostat) The Working Life 2020 project seeks to influence national and workplace level solutions, but international trends, technology and economic conjectures also set their challenges to its implementation. Globalisation, digitalisation, and the platform and sharing economy are changing the content of work, and economic growth has also speeded up the increase in the number of atypical employment relationships. This means that not only companies and organisations but also the project must have the ability to anticipate changes in the labour market, encouraging positive and controlling negative trends.