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You are here: Home i In Focus i In focus 2017 i The Nordics focus on work environments – but in different ways i Finland wants to have Europe's best working life by 2020

Finland wants to have Europe's best working life by 2020

Finland’s strengths have not been used to create a competitive advantage. Now Finnish working life is to become the best in Europe. Businesses compete to innovate, create trust, well-being and competencies. The economic crisis was a temporary setback, but also a fresh start for the Working Life 2020 programme ('Arbetsliv2020’).
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Peculiarities of Finnish workplace culture
  • The first thing people arriving in Finland learn is that things like honesty, timekeeping and initiative are valued in Finnish working life. What has been agreed will also be put into action, without too much debate.
  • People are said to be treated equally. It is very usual to be on first name terms with the boss, no matter your position. 
  • The authoritarian hierarchy was for a long time a feature of Finnish working life. But ‘management by perkele' (a Finnish swearword for ‘devil’) is no longer common. People develop and carry out their work tasks independently, without the need for detailed management from up high. 
  • The hushed workplace atmosphere is now considered a myth. But it is still common in meetings to go straight to the order of business after the initial greetings.

 

 

 

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