Tekijät

• Pekkarinen, Laura (Keva)
• Pekka, Toni (Keva)

Asiasanat

goal setting, health services, local government officers, local government organizations, occupational safety, personnel management, policy monitoring, strategies, well-being (health)

Sisällön kuvaus

This study charted how workplace well-being and occupational healthcare were managed in Finnish municipal organisations in terms of well-being monitoring and measuring, preparedness for situations where an employee's capacity to work has diminished, and cooperation with occupational healthcare providers.

First, the study surveyed how regularly the respondents' organisations carried out a variety of tasks measuring and surveying occupational well-being and employees' ability to work, as well as how they prepared for possible problems in this regard. For instance, it was queried whether the organisations conducted surveys charting employees' well-being and capacity to work, made calculations about the costs of an employee's inability to work, and prepared for retirement of employees. It was also surveyed which of these measures the respondents deemed strategically the most central for their respective organisations.

The respondents were also presented with a set of statements that charted e.g. whether their organisations regularly monitored sick leaves, had recognised underlying causes for sick leaves, or had formed action plans with the goal of preventing work-related injuries and accidents. Some questions covered whether the organisations had a personnel strategy and a staff well-being coordinator.

Strategic management of employees' well-being and ability to work was surveyed with statements regarding e.g. whether the organisation's personnel strategy promoted longer work careers, whether the organisation had set measurable goals for the development of workplace well-being, and whether immediate superiors had access to technical equipment with which to measure employees' well-being and ability to work. Next, the respondents were asked to evaluate whether different actors inside the organisation, such as union representatives, immediate superiors or the management, received sufficient information on e.g. sick leaves, employee well-being and the costs of an employee's inability to work.

The next questions queried the type and extent of occupational healthcare services in the respondents' organisations. The respondents were asked whether the organisation would have the ability to formulate a wellness action plan in cooperation with the occupational healthcare provider. They were also asked about their overall satisfaction with the cooperation between the organisation and the occupational healthcare provider, as well as whether the provider had sufficient healthcare personnel for the organisation's needs and whether the services they provided promoted employee well-being and long work careers.

Finally, it was charted e.g. whether the effectiveness of occupational healthcare was evaluated in cooperation with personnel, and whether the organisation's wellness action plan was updated according to these evaluations. The respondents were also asked whether the occupational healthcare provider sent the organisation reports regarding employee well-being and ability to work, and whether these reports were utilised in the development of workplace well-being. The respondents were finally asked to grade the strategic management of occupational well-being in their organisations on a scale from 4 to 10.