The listing of the Work-Life Knowledge service provides information on the number of the employment agency platform companies in Finland. There are already more than 40 companies on the list, and the range is diverse. “It was surprising that there are so many digital staffing platforms for temporary work in Finland. Many of these companies also differ from the prevalent general perception of platform work in public debate. In addition to transport services, the platform economy includes a lot of expert work,” says researcher Jere Immonen from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. The list will be regularly updated in co-operation with the companies, which is necessary in a rapidly changing sector. “There are a lot of small start-ups that are established and wound up fast. Around a couple of years ago, lists of Finnish platform companies were very different from the listing now published in the Work-Life Knowledge service,” says Jere Immonen.
What is a platform company like?
The field of platform work is wide. The listing on the Work-Life Knowledge service includes six criteria for the platform companies:
- The mediated service is the work performance.
- There are at least three parties that participate in mediating work: the platform company, the buyer and the party that offers work.
- The platform companies are situated between the party that offers work and the buyer.
- Mediating and managing work constitutes the platform company’s business.
- The platform company has a digital platform for mediating work.
- The company is registered in Finland or has operations specific to Finland.
“Some companies are identified as temporary work agencies, while others are like marketplaces for entrepreneurs to sell services. Then there are the more traditional platform companies, such as those for transport services where the use of mobile applications steer the work. In particular, there are differences in how much a temporary worker is free to decide on their own terms and conditions,” says Jere Immonen.
Criteria for fair platform work
The platform economy is seen as changing the ways work is carried out and organised. An important question is how Finnish labour legislation and social security systems will interpret these new types of work. More information on platform work is needed in research, business and social decision-making. This need is met by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health's Fair work on platforms (REITA) project. “Platform work has risks and weaknesses, but on the other hand it brings flexibility and expands the market for both temporary workers and employers. Our goal in the REITA project is to find out how to reduce the disadvantages of platform work without losing the benefits of the platform economy,” says Laura Seppänen, Senior Research Scientist at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. See the list in the Work-Life Knowledge service: A list of platform companies that mediate work is now available for viewing and complementing for everyone | Work-life knowledge service | www.worklifedata.fi (tyoelamatieto.fi)
A list of platform companies that mediate work in the Work-Life Knowledge service
- The survey of Finnish platform companies has been carried out as part of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health’s Fair work on platforms – the REITA study project, which studies and promotes the fairness of platform work in Finland.
- The list is supplemented approximately every six months. Users of the Work-Life Knowledge service are requested to help with updating the list. Information on companies not on the list can be sent by email to jere.immonen [at] ttl.fi (jere[dot]immonen[at]ttl[dot]fi).
- More information on the project: Fair work on platforms – REITA (2020–2023) - Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (ttl.fi)
Further information
- Researcher Jere Immonen, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, jere.immonen [at] ttl.fi (jere[dot]immonen[at]ttl[dot]fi), tel. +358 (0)46 921 8215 (list of platform companies)
- Senior Research Scientist Laura Seppänen, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, laura.seppanen [at] ttl.fi (laura[dot]seppanen[at]ttl[dot]fi), puh. +358 (0)46 851 4752 (REITA project)
