Success and innovation require healthy, motivated, and skilled employees. Therefore, well-being at work, a high level of competence, and opportunities for continuous learning are key factors in improving competitiveness and productivity. They also strengthen equal opportunities to participate in working life.
Occupational Health Care Must Meet Workplace Needs
Work, personnel policies, and leadership must support employees’ health so that health does not fail during a career, but we can cope better and longer.
Occupational health care is a specialized field of health care focusing on issues related to work, working conditions, work practices, the work community, and work ability. It is a key partner for workplaces in supporting work ability, ensuring healthy working conditions, and identifying and managing health risks at work.
The needs of workplaces and work communities must be at the center of developing occupational health care. This can be promoted by strengthening cooperation between employers, employees, and occupational health actors.
Ways to Develop Occupational Health
- Emphasize prevention and multidisciplinary measures to support work ability in occupational health care. Services must meet workplace needs and cover all employee groups.
- Strengthen mental health, psychological well-being, and stress management in working life.
- Improve cooperation between public health care and occupational health care.
Improving Occupational Safety
A safe workplace means that facilities and practices are designed so that working and moving around are safe for everyone. In addition to physical hazards, occupational safety also considers mental risks such as psychosocial stress and pressure.
The Role of Employees in Developing Occupational Safety
Building a safe and healthy work environment relies on cooperation in occupational safety. When employers and employees work together on safety issues, an open dialogue emerges where risks are identified early and solutions are sought jointly.
Cooperation is not just a legal obligation but a strategic way to promote well-being at work, reduce accidents, and improve productivity. Safety committees and representatives act as important bridges, bringing employees’ perspectives forward and ensuring that safety measures are practical and effective.
Well-functioning cooperation in occupational safety strengthens trust and inclusion in the work community. Employees’ experience that their safety and health are taken seriously increases commitment and motivation. At the same time, employers gain valuable insights into everyday workplace realities and can develop practices proactively.
Mental Workload
Mental workload is increasing, and psychosocial stress has become a major occupational safety risk that, if prolonged, can lead to mental health problems. Issues related to mental well-being are a heavy core of working life development across all sectors.
The economic impact of mental health is significant: up to 17 million workdays are lost annually due to mental health reasons (Finnish Institute of Occupational Health). Mental health problems are also the most significant predictor of short careers. While disability pensions granted for physical reasons decrease yearly, those based on mental health are increasing.
Work-related burnout and mental health issues often stem from problems related to work practices, working conditions, or workplace atmosphere. Lack of influence or skills, constant overtime, understaffing, inappropriate treatment, and harassment increase harmful stress. Prevention is not rocket science—it means identifying risk factors and maintaining health, work ability, and skills.
Ways to Improve Occupational Safety
- Occupational safety legislation must be clarified to better address psychosocial stress and its management.
- Workplace competence must be developed to identify harmful psychosocial risk factors and include them in risk assessments.
- Skills assessments must be conducted regularly.
- Cooperation in occupational safety must be strengthened.
The Right to Learn Throughout Life and Career
Employees in the 2020s face multiple simultaneous and unpredictable changes during their careers. Measures to accelerate digitalization and the green transition are changing job content and practices. Competence needs and requirements in working life are evolving.
The speed and simultaneity of changes highlight the importance of continuous learning and skills development. Investing in competence strengthens employment, prevents exclusion, improves equality, and creates conditions for productivity growth. High-quality, accessible education forms the backbone of a civilized society.
The shortage of skilled workers has quickly become a major challenge and growth constraint across working life. In addition to highly educated experts, there is a shortage of vocational professionals in various fields. Increasing the availability of skilled workers requires determined efforts to boost work- and education-based immigration. At the same time, strengthening the skills of Finns is essential.
Artificial Intelligence and Technology
Artificial intelligence changes the nature of work by freeing time from predictable routines, improving productivity, and accelerating innovation. Its rapid development has created great opportunities for improving work, processes, and productivity.
Finland, as a leader in high competence and technology, could be a pioneer in utilizing AI. However, realizing its full potential requires significantly expanding competence in workplaces and using AI more diversely across tasks, processes, and sectors. Continuous learning, an experimental culture, and peer learning at workplaces are essential.
Fair and ethical management of AI’s benefits and risks requires close cooperation between employees, employers, AI developers, and policymakers.
Ways to Raise Skill Levels
- Governments must commit to investing in education and skills development across electoral terms.
- Ensure that every age group achieves at least an upper secondary qualification.
- Raising education and skill levels must be possible during a career.
- Continuous learning opportunities must be affordable and easily accessible.
- Developing staff competence must be a condition for supporting companies’ R&D investments.
- Unemployed job seekers must have broad opportunities for skills development during unemployment.
- AI training must be available during working hours and funded by employers.