The wellbeing at work in the wellbeing services counties study – notice for participants

The aim of the study is to survey the work of personnel in the wellbeing services sector, changes taking place in this work and the impacts of these changes on personnel health and wellbeing. The study includes the wellbeing services counties of Pirkanmaa, Ostrobothnia, Kanta-Häme, Vantaa-Kerava and Western Uusimaa. The study is a continuation of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health’s Kunta10 study and personnel wellbeing study.

The questionnaire of the study will be sent to all of the approximately 46,000 employees of the participating wellbeing services counties. Participation in the study is voluntary. The response rate for previous questionnaires has been 65–72%. A large number of respondents makes it possible for us to obtain a truthful and accurate picture of the state of work life in the wellbeing services counties, the personnel’s wellbeing and all the factors involved. If you do not wish to participate in the study, you can ignore the questionnaire or notify the researchers of your refusal.

The results are utilised in the wellbeing services counties in many ways

The key results of the study will be communicated to all participating organisations and their personnel from late 2023 onwards. All work communities in which at least 10 people responded will be provided with a summary of their own results. Work units with 5–9 respondents will be provided with a summary about their placing relative to other work units, as exact results are not reported to work units with fewer than 10 respondents. Responses to the questions concerning health and lifestyle will not be reported to work units or supervisors.

The results of the study will be used in the wellbeing services counties to improve personnel wellbeing and the quality of work life. Furthermore, the study is important for the development of the entire wellbeing services sector. After the survey, we will be better equipped to assess changes in work and work life quality in the wellbeing services sector and the impacts of the health and social services reform on personnel wellbeing and health.

The results are used for scientific research purposes

The survey results are also utilised in scientific research. Studies have found several work-related factors which can protect the health of employees. Such factors include e.g. fair management practices, opportunities to influence one’s work, working time and decision-making related to one’s work, as well as the social capital of the work community.

For scientific purposes, the research team will later monitor the health of the people participating in this study. Such monitoring will be based on national pension, accident and mortality registers maintained by the Finnish Centre for Pensions, the National Institute for Health and Welfare, the Workers’ Compensation Centre and Statistics Finland. To monitor the health of the participants, the researchers will also use Kela registers on medicine use, entitlement to special reimbursements, sickness absences and rehabilitation. The research team may also retrieve data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, including the address, date of moving abroad and mother tongue of participants. Data related to the employment and working time of participants will be monitored using employers’ employment registers. At the end of the questionnaire, respondents are asked to provide their consent to linking register data to their responses. This consent can be withdrawn at any time by notifying the researchers or FIOH’s data protection officer (tsv [at] ttl.fi). The privacy statement for the study is available at https://www.ttl.fi/tietosuojailmoitus-kuntasektorin-henkiloston-seurantatutkimus-fps (in Finnish and Swedish only).

The study is a multidisciplinary and international study. The study involves medical, psychological, sociological and epidemiological experts from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, and several domestic and foreign research institutes and universities. In recent years, the results generated by the project have been reported both in publications aimed for the general public and in scientific journals. Funding for the study has come primarily from the participating organisations, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the Academy of Finland, the Finnish Work Environment Fund and Kela.