Finns feel that they are considerably more fit to work than had been assumed in recent years.
According to a survey of wage earners, more than half felt that their fitness level for work was good, and 40% said that it was excellent.
"The results do not support the view that the ability to work has weakened considerably in proportion to the challenges of work", says researcher Ari Peltoniemi of the Pellervo Economic Research Institute (PTT).
The newly-released study is the institute's first in which it has measured the working fitness of wage earners, entrepreneurs, and farmers at the same time.
"The general view has been that well-being at work has declined in recent years. Our findings do not support the view that the ability to work would have undergone any significant deterioration in the face of the challenges of working life", notes Ari Peltoniemi.
Peltoniemi noted that people might tend to overestimate their capacity in surveys such as this, and to underestimate the quality of their working conditions.
"If these two cancel each other out, the Finns' ability to work can be seen as quite reasonable at the very least", he said.
Farmers tend to see their ability to work as slightly weaker than those in other professions. Women especially seem to suffer from work fatigue. The study found that 14% of women working in agriculture felt unable to work.
