Finland: Fewer occupational accidents but more violence at work

Introduction

The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) has a legal obligation to monitor, evaluate and inform decision-makers and workplaces about working conditions and occupational health in Finland. The Finnish National Work and Health Survey serves as a national surveillance system on perceived working conditions (physical, chemical, ergonomic and psychosocial) and the health of the currently working population in Finland. Finland has a long tradition of collecting national statistics on working conditions and occupational health and the National Work and Health Survey has been conducted by FIOH every three years since 1997. The latest Work and Health Survey (in Finnish) was carried out in 2009.

At the end of 2009, Finland’s population was around 5.3 million, of which approximately 150,000 (almost 3%) were foreign citizens. According to the Statistics Finland Labour Force Survey, 2.4 million people were employed in September 2009.

There was good progress towards achieving the national target of increased work participation until 2008, when the recession halted the trend of lengthened careers. Those in the older age groups are under pressure to stop working and it is very difficult for unemployed people to find work during a recession. It is now more challenging for young people to access the labour market, which is something that may later affect their careers. But as social security seems a more uncertain option, people want to stay at work longer and attitudes to staying at work have changed. According to the Work and Health Survey, 42% of those employed and over the age of 45 said in 2006 that nothing would persuade them to continue working beyond the age of 63. In 2009, the number of those with the same response had declined by 6%. Health and economic factors are still thought to be the main considerations for continuing in employment, but in the last three years, the content of work and its potential for flexibility have also become important.

Work environment

Workplace accidents and violence

According to the 2009 Work and Health Survey, there was a decline in occupational accidents between 2006 and 2009 after an increase in 2000–2006 (Figure 1). One in seven respondents felt they were at major risk of an accident at their workplace. This response was most common in the construction industry and may reflect a real increased risk of accidents due to pressure at work.

Physical violence and the threat of physical violence at the workplace increased between 2003 and 2009 among both men and women. Women were at greater risk, with 6% of currently working women becoming a victim of physical violence in 2009. Violence and the threat of violence mainly increased in the health and social services sector, and in public administration (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Occupational accidents, violence and threat of violence, 1997–2009

Source: Finnish National Health and Work Survey 2009

Exposure to noise and vibration

The Work and Health Survey revealed that the number of those exposed to noise and vibration has fallen in recent years although it still affects around half a million people. Agriculture and forestry, the wood industry and construction were the main sectors in which people were exposed to noise and vibration – often at the same time.

Noise still seems to be a major risk factor in the working environment, though the nature of the problem is changing. In areas of work where communication and the processing of information are crucial, the disruption caused by noise strains and hampers the work process. As the workforce ages, the number of people with impaired hearing is rising and it is hard for them to cope in an environment dependent on voice communication. Around 11% of respondents complained that cold and draughts harmed them ‘quite or very much’ in 2000–2009 (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Harmed by noise, vibration and cold, 1997–2009

Note: Response of ‘yes’ to ‘quite or very much’.

Source: Finnish National Health and Work Survey

Chemical substances and air pollution

About half of the economically active population (just over a million workers) are exposed to chemical substances or indoor air impurities at work. The incidence of exposure to chemical agents has not fallen significantly in recent years; indeed it appears to be at the same level as earlier in the 2000s (Figure 3).

A total of 23% of the respondents to the 2009 Work and Health Survey claimed to work with chemical substances that were harmful to health. Dry or stuffy air and dust are the most common causes of indoor climate-related problems in office workplaces. One in five workers in the health and social services sector and the education sector reported the smell of mould indoors at work. The Finnish Tobacco Act has done much to reduce exposure to tobacco smoke at work and the exposure of restaurant workers has also fallen.

Figure 3: Chemical substances and indoor air, 1997–2009

Note: Response of ‘yes’ to ‘harming quite or very much at work or at work environment’.

Source: Finnish National Health and Work Survey 2009

Physically demanding work

As in previous years, about one in four respondents regarded their work tasks as physically strenuous; in particular the proportion of women who think this has risen. The amount of repetitive lifting of heavy loads has also increased as has the number of repeated identical hand movements at work – especially among women.

One in four workers still works in an awkward position for at least one hour a day. When examined by sector, work in awkward positions increased after 2006 among men employed in industry, and women in hotels and catering. Workers who mostly worked in awkward positions in 2009 were those in construction (48%), agriculture and forestry (46%), hotel and catering (39%), and the health and social services (38%).

In 2009, 25% of men and 27% of women saw their jobs as either fairly or very physically strenuous, which is 4% more than in 2006. The biggest change had taken place among women working in industry (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Physical workload, 1997–2009

Source: Finnish National Health and Work Survey

Work organisation

Well-being at work

Managers’ interest in the health and well-being of their workers seems to be growing, though the situation varies from sector to sector and workplace to workplace. Organisations have also been more active in conducting surveys on workplace atmosphere and carrying out work organisation development projects, although more often in clerical sectors such as finance than in production or construction.

The features of work organisation and managerial work, and workplace atmosphere have remained fairly good – at the level of the 2000s. Work targets were mainly clear to workers (97%), the majority of workplaces discussed them adequately (81%) and the majority of workers felt that their line manager treated workers fairly and impartially (63%).

The results of the 2009 survey revealed hardly any changes during the decade in the perception of mental strain and pressure at work (Figure 5). Feelings of strength and energy at work and interest in one’s job suggest a positive attitude to work, associated with well-being at work. A total of 56% of workers felt strong and energetic every day, or at least a few times a week in 2009 compared with 52% in 2006. Women felt energetic more often than men in both 2006 and 2009.

While the extent to which people felt bullied in the workplace had not increased significantly (6% of workers in 2009, not including farmers), it had not declined either. One result causing concern was that the difference between the state and the private sector in feelings about bullying is more obvious than previously, as is the large amount of perceived harassment in the education and the health and social services sectors.

Figure 5: Work stress and possibilities to handle it, 1997–2009

Source: Finnish National Health and Work Survey

Multicultural workplace

Workplaces have become more multicultural. Nearly a third (30%) of workers in Finland reported working in 2009 with people from an immigrant background. The state, local authorities and the private sector employed equal numbers of migrants. People are most likely to have migrant co-workers in education (42%) and industry (40%); this is mainly in southern and western Finland.

Opinions on the impartial treatment of migrants have moved in a more positive direction. In 2009, a total of 69% of employed Finns whose co-workers had migrant backgrounds also thought that migrants were treated fairly. The corresponding figure in 2006 was 59%. Unfair treatment was observed most frequently in the hotel and catering sectors (5%).

The major challenges for multicultural workplaces included:

• inadequate language and professional skills;
• friction arising from cultural differences;
• differing opinions on gender roles in work life.

Work–life balance

The reconciliation of work and home/family life faces fewer obstacles than before. The number of work–family conflicts has fallen in recent years, at all stages of the family life cycle.

A total of 65% of those employed in 2009 felt that their home affairs hardly ever disturbed their concentration at work; men thought this more than women. Similarly, nearly half considered that being at work hardly ever resulted in them feeling they were neglecting their family affairs. Of the professional groups, managers and senior officials particularly felt they neglected their home life, as did entrepreneurs and those in supervisory positions.

In the survey, 9% of men and 40% of women in employment, who were either married or co-habiting and had a family, thought that they looked after their children more than their partner, played with them more and, for example, drove them more often to childcare or to take part in hobbies. Women also did housework more than men. In the 2009 survey, 6% of men and 53% of women claimed to do more housework than their partner. Thus, women take responsibility for looking after children and doing the housework more often. This tends to tax their strength, making their contribution to work life sometimes difficult.

Health and work ability of the working population

Ability to work until retirement

The Work and Health Survey found that around three-quarters of the current working population believed they would be fit for work in their present occupation until retirement. These opinions have remained more or less unaltered between 1997 and 2009. Those who carry out physically more strenuous work are less likely to believe they will be able to continue working until retirement than those who perform office-type work. At least a half of those of working age have sometimes thought about taking early retirement.

More than half of those employed aged 45 or over would consider staying on at work beyond the age of 63. Prerequisites stated in 2009 as for continuing work after the age of 63 were:

• own health (24%);
• financial reasons such as salary and better pension (23%);
• meaningful, interesting and challenging work (20%);
• lighter workload (16%);
• flexible working hours or part-time work (15%);
• good work community (11%);
• good work environment (7%).

Over a third would not continue for any reason. Compared with 2006, more people were prepared to consider staying on at work.

Effect of long-term illness on work ability

In 2009, over a third (38%) of those employed suffered from a long-term illness or lingering effects of an injury diagnosed by a doctor. One in seven workers had long-term illnesses causing some inconvenience at work. These figures have remained almost the same since 1997. Managers and senior officials and the transport, telecommunications and business-to-business service sectors had fewer workers with a long-term illness that caused problems at work compared with other groups.

The most common work-impeding long-term illnesses were musculoskeletal diseases. Around two thirds of those employed said that they had suffered from long-term or recurrent musculoskeletal symptoms in the previous month. The most common complaints are to do with the neck and shoulders. Musculoskeletal symptoms are most common among women and among those in the service industry, sales, agriculture, forestry, and the health and social services sector.

Half of those employed had frequently suffered from a psychological problem; women more often than men. Exhaustion was the most common (34%) and depression the least common (11%) of the psychological problems elicited. Depression was more common than other problems in office work, customer services and the financial sector. There was a decline in the incidence of psychological problems in the 2000s, though there was no change after 2006.

Health-related behaviour

According to the Work and Health Survey, the percentage of the workforce that is overweight rose between 2006 and 2009. Obesity was most common among men in the construction, agricultural, transport and telecommunications sectors.

The survey also found that 18% of women and 40% of men in employment were in the risk group as regards alcohol consumption.

One in six employed people slept no more than six hours on working days: for men the figure was actually one in five and for women one in seven.

Approximately half the Finnish workforce exercised at least three times a week, a number which has risen since 1997. One in four smoked and a half had never smoked (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Health-related behaviour 1997–2009

Note: BMI = body mass index

Source: Finnish National Health and Work Survey

Occupational health services

The Work and Health Survey suggests that the overall coverage of occupational health services has remained as before at 92% of workers. The coverage for small organisations (1–9 employees) remained at the same level as in the early 2000s (63%).

Occupational health services are undergoing structural change. More services and resources are moving to private medical centres and municipal occupational health services are being reorganised to bigger units. So far no major effect on the functions provided is reported.

A total of 93% of workers with occupational health care cover are also able to receive medical treatment as part of their care. Patients consulted an occupational health care physician approximately twice a year.

The working conditions of one in two workers were examined closely, and in two thirds of cases, a health check had been carried out within the context of occupational health care in the past three years. Nurses and physiotherapists tend to visit the workplace while doctors are more likely to focus on medical treatment at the surgery/hospital.

It seems that occupational health care has not succeeded in becoming more preventive in nature and more focus should be given to its activities carried out in workplaces.

Commentary

Work remains an important value for Finns. Provided they are physically able to, Finnish people like working. There is a positive attitude to continuing in employment beyond the age of 63, especially if the work is perceived as meaningful and age-related matters are taken into account at the workplace. What matters most to Finns is that:

• the job is interesting;
• they can work independently;
• they have good relationships with their co-workers;
• the workplace atmosphere is generally good.

Finns do not like to be treated unfairly or to be humiliated. Nor do they like to be put under undue pressure to meet targets or suffer inferior working conditions.

Experiences of efforts to develop work life in the 2000s show that work ability and well-being at work can be improved in a way that allows the measures involved to be measured against tangible results such as:

• fewer accidents in companies;
• less absences and improved productivity;
• higher rates of employment for the economy.

Neglecting the work ability and well-being of workers is a short-sighted way to save money, even during a recession, as social security costs the economy dearly. Such neglect only serves to make it harder for companies to recover when demand increases, as a skilled workforce has been lost and collaboration is hampered by floundering work organisations.

Occupational safety and occupational health care are excellent forums for controlling risks and developing well-being at work, and these should be exploited actively at the workplace.

Merja Perkiö-Mäkelä

Reference

Kauppinen, T., Hanhela, R., Kandolin, I., Karjalainen, A., Kasvio, A., Perkiö-Mäkelä, M., Priha, E., Toikkanen, J. and, Viluksela, M. ( eds). (2010), Work and health in Finland 2009 [in Finnish with English summary], Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki.

Annex: Methodology

The subjects were a random sample of the Finnish population aged 25–64. The sampling was taken from Finnish employment statistics for 2009 and the Finnish population register for 1997 to 2006. The response rate varied from 58% to 72%. Retired, unemployed, redundant (over one month), those on long-term sick leave (over six months), or full-time housewives or househusband, and students who had worked less than 15 hours a week for one month were excluded from the survey. The size of the study population varied from 2,031 to 2,335. The sample contained both employees and the self-employed. The respondents were representative of the Finnish working-age population in terms of gender, age, occupation, socioeconomic status and region.

The data were collected through computer-assisted telephone interviews. The average length of the interview in 2009 was 36 minutes. The structure of the interview was planned by a group of experts at FOIH and the questions focused on the following topics:

• socioeconomic and workplace-related background factors;
• physical and chemical work environment;
• physical and mental workload;
• organisational factors at work;
• work climate;
• gender and age equality;
• vocational skills;
• job satisfaction;
• perceived health and work ability;
• health-related behaviour;
• reconciliation of work and family life;
• the functioning of occupational health services.

The basic results are reported in the Work and Health Survey (in Finnish) according to age, gender, socioeconomic status, occupation class, employer, standard industrial classification (SIC), the number of workers in post, the number of workers in the organisation and the region of Finland.

More results from the survey are given in Work and health in Finland 2009 (Kauppinen et al, 2010), which includes Swedish and English summaries.

EF/11/58