Influencing | Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health promotes healthy, safe and sustainable work. We provide an up-to-date picture of work to support decision-makers and carry out programmes to develop work. Our studies give rise to solutions that directly benefit Finnish workplaces.

Isosti hymyilevä miesoletettu ulkona lähikuvassa

Workplaces create growth and security for the future

Work is the engine of Finnish society. If you want greater productivity, it isn’t enough to simply reduce costs. The focus must also be on working life - and especially on workplaces.

Productivity hinges on the ability and willingness of people to do their work well. Growth at workplaces happens when organizations invest not only in technology, but in the people as well – in well-being at work and competence. This directly translates into a stronger economy, higher employment and improved well-being.

By taking care of employees' work ability, health and safety while reinforcing the functioning of working life, we can build the foundation for a future-proof society.

Key development areas at workplaces

Workplaces play a significant role in addressing societal challenges and building trust. Currently, these are some of the objectives that the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health is working to promote:

Poor employment prospects and growing mental health issues colour the expectations that young people have for the future. This is a trend that we can reverse with strong contributions from employers. By ensuring that they find good jobs in the early stages of their careers, we can make a difference in their future careers, health, and wellbeing.

We have entered an area where disruptions and crises are a permanent part of the operating environment. The world of work plays a key role in providing the solution for how society operates during a disruption. Will the necessary work and activities get done, or will Finland be paralysed? It is vital to raise the level of crisis resilience of work and employment. This requires national measures and to recognise the role of work as the foundation of our security.

We are at a turning point – we must ensure that, instead of growing uncertainty, artificial intelligence works to create growth and wellbeing for society. Right now, there are questions that artificial intelligence is causing to be asked about productivity, organisation, and wellbeing at work. Both businesses and the public sector need scalable, research-based solutions to bring forth a successful change.

Both innovation and economic growth are born out of work ability. In this transitional period for how we work, we must create the conditions for Finnish work ability and competence to flourish. Proactive measures that promote wellbeing must focus on supporting work ability in young people, women’s heath, and extending the late-stage careers of older people.

Appropriate occupational health services can boost productivity at workplaces. The measures of occupational health must be targeted in a way that they answer the real needs of a workplace to be beneficial for work ability. During this transformation of work, what we need to do is focus on updating the competence of occupational health professionals. To avoid extended leaves of absence due to illness, social and health services must also establish appropriate care pathways.

National Working Life Development Strategy lights the way

This year, the government published the new National Working Life Development Strategy. Looking ahead to 2035, the strategy aims to accelerate Finland’s economic growth by developing work and careers in a way to make Finnish jobs more innovative, productive, and healthy. The TYÖ2030 programme and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health facilitated the strategy process.

On 3 November 2026, the Työelämäfoorumi Suomi 2026 event will focus on how to implement the Working Life Development Strategy.

National Working Life Development Strategy, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (tem.fi)

Article about the working life development strategy (in Finnish)

Työelämäfoorumi Suomi 2026 (in Finnish)

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health as a societal influencer

The long-term mission of the Institute is to build well-being through work – for individuals, workplaces and society as a whole.

In all of our development efforts, we aim for impact through reliable information, sharing of best practices, and close cooperation with workplaces and society. We are an independent research institute that supports functional tripartism.

For 80 years, we have produced results that have contributed to improved well-being at work and longer careers.

Our impact on work in Finland (in Finnish)

We share European research on work

We are the Finnish Focal Point for the European Agency of Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), through which we share current research with Finnish workplaces.

We work through networks

Our experts work through various high-level working groups that promote health and safety. Through cooperation, we promote the sharing of research and best practices on occupational safety and health.

All press releases and articles

What is being currently talked about in the world of work? We issue press releases and publish articles and blog posts every week about recent topics.

Check out our current articles and press releases!