Half of Finnish wage earners take work home with them
Finnish work ethic seen to be very high
|
|
|
About half of Finnish wage earners have been found to deal with work-related issues during their free time. Working from home includes answering work-related calls, reading work-related e-mails, or preparing speeches outside working hours.
According to a fresh report drafted for the Ministry of Labour by Juha Antila, about one third of all wage earners say that they actually work at home. The vast majority of these - about 80%, do so on their own accord, without any prompting from their employer.
Antila's study is based on about 3,000 responses to questionnaires he sent out to Finns in various professions.
"Flexibility in working hours succeeds at workplaces where both sides are flexible", says Antila, adding that those workplaces where employees are most happy are not the ones where people work the least. On the contrary, happy employees generally work harder, but they enjoy it more.
Enjoyable workplaces exist in all fields. The common features that they share include good management and an atmosphere of fair play.
Many Finns will even continue to work during sick leave. This is most common among women in management positions.
Even more common than working at home during sick leave is the practice of showing up at work when sick. One in two Finns have come to work while not feeling well during the past year.
Women are slightly more prone to working while sick than men are.
Finns who stay at home to care for a sick child will also often try to deal with work-related matters at the same time. All managers and about half of wage earners report doing so.
Juha Antila finds that the work ethic is stronger in Finland than in many European countries.
Antila sees the typical Finnish working career as a sprint race: Finns work very efficiently, but they also want to retire at an early age.
The Ministry of Labour would like to see more of a marathon mentality, to lengthen Finns’ working careers.
Helsingin Sanomat
|
| 14.4.2005 - TODAY |
 Half of Finnish wage earners take work home with them
|
|
