Authors

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

Keywords

career development, employees, employment, employment opportunities, expectation, flexible working time, hours of work, job satisfaction, occupational life, telework, 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 questionnaire, target population and collection method of the survey were changed for the 2021 collection round.

First, the respondents were asked about the number of people employed at their workplace and changes in the number of staff in the past 12 months. Satisfaction in the working environment was charted with questions about openness, encouragement, trust and equality in the workplace. Further questions covered measures taken to improve employees' capacity to work and safety of work environment. The respondents were asked whether their place of work supported its employees in learning and trying new things, and whether they had taken part in job-related training in the past 12 months and received a salary during that time. Participation in job-related training through different methods (e.g. with a mentor, self-study) in the past 12 months was surveyed. The respondents were also asked whether in the past 12 months they had developed their skills and competence so that they could work in a new role in the future, and whether they had received new tasks or responsibilities at their job that had required them to learn new things.

The next set of questions focused on flexible working time arrangements at the workplace, pay systems, satisfaction with the pay level, and digital tools as part of work. Autonomy at work was surveyed by asking about influence over own work tasks and working pace, over the distribution of work in the workplace, and about working to a tight schedule. Remote work was investigated with questions on whether the respondents had worked remotely in the past 12 months and whether they felt they could influence how much remote work they did. The use of digital tools, AI-based tools, virtual workspaces, and social media services as part of work tasks was also charted.

One set of questions investigated the employees' perceived workload, capacity to work, estimates of own mental and physical capacity to work, and sickness absences. Discrimination at work based on factors such as ethnic group, age, gender, sexual orientation, and health status was explored. Incidents of bullying, sexual harassment and violence at work were also surveyed. Additionally, the respondents' experiences of stress, mental exhaustion, inability to focus, togetherness and excitement related to work were surveyed. The respondents were asked how likely they thought it was that they would be temporarily laid off or made redundant. Views were probed on the respondents' likelihood of getting an equal job if they became unemployed and what they would do if they became unemployed (e.g. apply for a new job in the same field, apply for a new job in a different field, become self-employed, get a job abroad). The respondents were also asked about the non-competition agreements. Finally, the respondents' membership of trade unions and unemployment funds was surveyed.

Background variables included, among others, the respondent's year of birth, age, gender, status in employment, employer type, industry of employment, type of contract, and weekly working hours.