Authors

• Statistics Finland. Interview and Survey Services
• Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

Keywords

career development, employment, employment opportunities, flexible working time, job characteristics, job satisfaction, labour and employment, occupational life, social media, wages, working conditions, workloads, workplace bullying

Abstract

The annual survey studied employee opinion on the quality of working life in Finland. Main themes included organisation of work, development opportunities and flexibility, learning and training at work, wages, workplace bullying, capacity to work, and changes in working life. Questions in the barometer have mainly remained the same each year. The 2016 collection round included new questions regarding automation at work, the flexibility of work and free time, and dividing work tasks between employees.

First, the respondents were asked about the number of people employed at their workplace, changes in the number of staff, distribution of work and tasks, and implementation of new working methods and systems over the past 12 months. Satisfaction in the working environment was charted with questions about openness, encouragement and equality in the workplace, job stability, and opportunities for employees to develop and apply new ideas. Further questions covered measures taken to improve employees' capacity to work, safety of work environment, and skills of employees. Discrimination at work based on ethnic group, age, gender, type of job contract, and health status was explored. Incidents of bullying, harassment and violence at work were surveyed.

The next set of questions investigated the respondents' membership in a trade union or professional association, flexible working time arrangements at the workplace, pay and bonus systems, and satisfaction with the pay level. The respondents' participation in job-related training and the development of the workplace was investigated. The use of virtual workspaces and social media services such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs as part of work tasks was charted.

Autonomy at work was surveyed by asking about influence over the respondents' own work tasks and working pace, over the distribution of work in the workplace, and about working on a tight schedule. The respondents were asked about working outside the main workplace in the past 12 months and work-related emails they had had to tend to outside their official working hours.

One set of questions investigated the employees' perceived workload, capacity to work, estimates of own mental and physical capacity to work, and sickness absences. The respondents were asked how likely they thought it was that they would be dismissed or laid off, or that their tasks would change over the next year. Views were probed on the respondents' likelihood of getting an equal job if they became unemployed, on the general employment situation in Finland, possible changes in working life in general, and the employer's financial situation. Finally, the respondents were asked how often they felt a community spirit at work, received appreciation from colleagues and partners, were able to fully utilise their professional skills, and had time to come up with new ideas.

Background variables from the Labour Force Survey 2016 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, weekly working hours, overtime, and additional jobs.