Working world development programmes produce improvements

Finland in the lead in the EU

(17.12.2001) A national working world development programme in Finland has produced measurable results in the workplace. Productivity, quality and customer services have all improved and a motivation for teamwork, for the improvement of vocational skills and for better relationships between the managements and the workforce have been achieved.

- Finland was late in starting to develop its working environment, but having employed a special working world development programme, it is now amongst the leaders in comparison with many other EU Member States, says Mr Tuomo Alasoini, the Project Manager, of the Ministry of Labour.

Publicly funded programmes for the development of the organisation of work have been implemented in most EU Member States. In Finland the national working world development programme is currently going through its second phase. The first phase was implemented from 1996 to 1999 and the programme was continued at the instigation of Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's second Government. The second phase will run until the year 2003.

In addition to the national working world development programme the Finnish Government is funding a programme for combatting fatigue at work and programmes for national productivity and issues of age. Although the aims of these ventures differ to some extent, they have a common final goal which is to improve the working environment in Finland in such a way that people will be able to continue in employment to a greater age than is currently the norm.

Mr Tuomo Alasoini, the Project Manager of the national working world development programme, mentions that Finland has invested, in comparison to the small number of its inhabitants, such substantial resources to the improvement of the working world that it has raised Finland in this respect into the lead amongst the EU countries.

During the last six years some 100,000 employees at 1,000 workplaces have participated in the working world development programme, and 20 million euros have to date been spent on the programme. There are several reasons for this generous spending on the development of the working environment within the confines of the otherwise tight budget set by the Government.

- The working world development programme is linked to three aims, namely those of increased productivity, the reduction of work related fatigue and the creation of new, positive solutions to work organisation, Mr Alasoini explains.

According to him, the world of work needs to be improved and made more attractive to the new generations. Well-educated young people will not be interested in taking up employment in hierarchical workplaces which are bureaucratically led by authoritarian management, and many companies have great difficulties in recruiting suitably qualified personnel.

The programmes are implemented at the workplace

The national working world development programme is based on development ventures which are undertaken at the workplace. Interested companies can apply to receive Government funding for projects which will assist in the building of networks or in the development of team working. The object of the venture could also be the development of improved cooperation between the management and the personnel, the development of local level bargaining, or the development of better relationships locally between the social partners. The focal point of a development venture in another company could consist of improvements to the operational efficiency of the workplace from the perspective of the older worker, or the promotion of equal opportunities at the workplace.

Most companies use external private consultants for the implementation of the development programme. Researchers from labour research institutes or universities may also serve as specialists within these programmes.

The results which have been gained from the first phase of the development programme, which has now come to an end, show clearly that companies in general were willing to cover fifty per cent of the costs of the programme, if they received the other fifty per cent from the Government.

Benefits for both the company and the workforce

According to a survey conducted by Tuomo Alasoini, the majority of the development projects have been perceived as being successful. Nearly all of the companies which had implemented such a project reported that productivity, the quality of goods and services, the quality and the flexibility of operations, along with services to customers, had all shown an improvement.

It became evident at the workplace that active involvement in the endeavours to develop the working environment, and team working, were both increased as the planned development project advanced. In addition, the employees were provided with better opportunities for improving their vocational skills, and cooperation between the management and the workforce also saw an improvement. One third of the participating companies stated that the project was likely to increase the number of employees at the workplace over the longer period.

As pointed out by Tuomo Alasoini, the development programme has not resulted in any new legislation, and that had never been expected of it.

- Issues which are related to work organisation, style of management and workplace culture are difficult to change by means of legislation. Change can only be implemented at the workplace if the workforce is willing and where a spirit of cooperation prevails, Mr Alasoini explains.

Tripartite participation produces results

Although the Ministry of Labour has coordinated and funded the national working world development programme, it would have been impossible to run the project successfully without close cooperation with both the trade union movement and the federations of the employers. As a support to the development programme, there is a steering committee which consists of the representatives of the Ministry of Labour and of both social partners.

- The involvement of these organisations in the planning and the implementation of the programmes is important because the message that the organisations send out to the field has an influence on the climate of opinion. Linkage to the labour market system is also provided through local level bargaining. An atmosphere of trust between the workforce and the management is necessary in order to achieve successful results from the development of work organisation. Successful local level bargaining also rests on this trust. When the development of a workplace is successfully completed, trust is strengthened and local level bargaining is easier to conduct, explains Tuomo Alasoini, describing the chain of events.

Work culture is difficult to export

Although national working world development programmes are common in the EU Member States, and although there is a work organisation network which has been established under the auspices of the European Commission, the methods used for the development of the work environment can rarely be transferred from one country to another. Tuomo Alasoini admits that whilst a comparison of the results which are gained in the different countries is of interest to those who are concerned with research on the subject, it is almost impossible to transfer the models as such from country to country.

- Whilst the problems in the world of work are often very similar in the different countries, the labour market structure, the general level of education, the methods of management and the work culture itself, are frequently quite different. It is these differences which create obstacles to the transfer of even the best models of new work cultures from one country to another.

- In the Nordic countries we are in a good position to learn from each other, because our national cultures resemble one another to a high degree. However, transferring some successful model of operation from, for example, the North to the South of Europe, or vice versa, is decidedly more problematic, Mr Alasoini says.

leena.seretin@vega-press.inet.fi

SAK info magazine 4/2001