The annual survey studied employee opinion on the quality of working life in Finland. Main themes were psychosocial working environment, job characteristics, pay systems, satisfaction with the job, employment security, training and development, capacity to work, and bullying and discrimination at work. The year 2012 survey contained new questions (K9a_07c, K40, K41a, K41b, K42b - K42e, K43a, K43e, K44a - K44g) about distribution of work, management and leadership, working in teams, support received at work, and working outside the workplace.

First, the respondents were asked how many years they had worked for the employer they were working for at the time, whether they were in a managing position, and how many persons worked at the workplace. Changes in the number of staff, distribution of work, working methods, information systems, workload, and tasks during the past 12 months were charted. Psychosocial working environment was charted with questions about openness and equality in the workplace as well as measures taken to improve health of employees, safety of work environment, and skills of employees. Discrimination at work based on ethnic group, age, gender and type of contract was explored. Further questions investigated whether there had been conflicts at the workplace and between which groups. Incidents of bullying, harassment and violence were surveyed.

Next set of questions investigated the respondents' membership in a trade union or professional association, flexible working time arrangements at the workplace, overtime and its compensation, pay and bonus systems, and satisfaction with pay level. The respondents' participation in job-related training and development was investigated.

Working in teams was surveyed by asking, for instance, whether the team members were able decide the goals of the team and to allocate tasks, and whether the team included members from other organisations. Relating to working outside the workplace, the respondents were inquired about telework in the past 12 months, work done at a client, partner, or another office of the employer, work done while commuting/going from one place to another, work done at home, and work-related calls, emails and messages they had had to attend to outside their official working hours.

One set of questions investigated the employees' capacity to work, perceived workload, estimate of own mental and physical capacity to work, sickness absences, chronic illnesses and disabilities, and hindrance caused by illness/disability at work. Support received at work from coworkers and supervisor/manager was charted as well as opinions on own supervisor/manager (e.g. gives feedback about performance, treats employees in a fair and equal manner). The respondents were asked how likely it was that they would be dismissed or laid off, or that their tasks or working hours would be changed over the next year. Views were probed on the employment situation in Finland, possible changes in working life in general, and the employer's financial situation.

Background variables from the Labour Force Survey 2012 were utilised in the Finnish Working Life Barometer. Background variables included, among others, the respondent's year of birth, age, gender, region, type of municipality, education, economic activity, status in employment, industry of employment, occupational group, employer type, type of contract, and weekly working hours.