News from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute of Occupa-tional Health
The WORK2030 programme identified five solutions for a successful working life
The comprehensive WORK2030 programme, carried out collaboratively by ministries, social partner organisations, workplaces and other experts in the field, is coming to an end. The programme identified five solutions that will help make Finnish working life the best in the world.
WORK2030, part of the Programme of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government, has helped promote the co-creation of operating methods and concepts boosting employment and improving the quality of working life in different sectors and workplaces. During the programme period, research-based information about the current situation and future needs of working life was produced and compiled. This information was then used to de-velop and deploy operating models and tools improving productivity and workplace wellbe-ing according to the needs of workplaces. Co-creation at workplaces and in different sec-tors was at the core of this work. Employers, employees and other experts in the field joint-ly created solutions to promote workplace wellbeing, productivity and the utilisation of new technologies. Collaboration among different parties, sectors and regions further boosted the impact of development work.
The operating models and tools developed in the programme benefit workplaces by strengthening their capabilities, cooperation and co-creation, as well as by improving the attractiveness and productivity of work and boosting workplace wellbeing.
“The WORK2030 programme has provided the opportunity for extensive co-creation fo-cused on working life. A good working life and work culture support wellbeing. Employees who feel good and well are the prerequisite for positive employment performance and productivity,” says Hanna Sarkkinen, Minister of Social Affairs and Health.
Five solutions for a healthy and productive working life
There is an increasing need for bold reform and renewal in Finnish working life. The ideas and insights gained during the programme period have been compiled into the following five solutions that improve workplace wellbeing and productivity:
- Boosting trust
- Increasing dialogue
- Enabling co-learning
- Releasing creativity
- Developing leadership
During the programme period, guidelines and tools have been released for all these solutions to help workplaces develop their operations. These include future dialogue designed for sectors and workplaces, Fast Expert Teams, a peer learning network, tools for measuring and developing cre-ativity, and a starting kit for tomorrow’s leadership. The programme also organised Working Life Forum Finland 2022, providing a platform for societal dialogue to help develop future working life.
“One of the great achievements of the WORK2030 programme is the wide cooperation launched in the different sectors and regions and their workplaces. The programme enabled a renewal process that has brought together research, expert operations and workplace competence. This work has resulted in several scalable operating models and tools that help workplaces develop their operations on a wider scale. The broad cooperation carried out in the WORK2030 network helps put the solutions and the support tools into practice,” says Sanna Kulmala, Programme Di-rector of WORK2030.
According to the WORK2030 impact model, the programme’s long-term targets will be achieved when the results and solutions obtained during the programme period scale up and spread more widely across the world of work. Continued positive development requires that the workplaces, sectors and networks that have been involved in developing and piloting the operating models, concepts and tools continue to use, spread and further develop the models.
“The operating models were developed based on the actual needs of workplaces and sectors. It is important that we make the results of development work widely benefit the world of work. Posi-tive long-term impacts on employment, productivity and wellbeing can be achieved by helping the jointly developed operating models continue to spread across sectors and workplaces after the programme period. It is also of key importance that the operating models adapt to the changing needs of working life and support its resilience,” says Director Liisa Hakala.
An external assessment was conducted of the WORK2030 programme, and its final report will be published in spring 2023.
Inquiries
Liisa Hakala, Director, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, +358 50 575 6447, firstname.lastname@gov.fi
Sanna Kulmala, Programme Director, WORK2030 programme, +358 40 411 6378, firstname.lastname@ttl.fi
Jiri Sironen, Special Adviser to the Minister of Social Affairs and Health, +358 40 450 9077, firstname.lastname@gov.fi
What is the WORK2030 programme?
As part of the Government Programme, the WORK2030 programme has helped develop the quality of working life and reform operating methods in cooperation with workplaces, sectors and experts. The development of operating methods and models has promoted wellbeing, employment, the economy and competitiveness, as well as the positive global image of Finland’s working environ-ment. The programme has been carried out jointly by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Min-istry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Ministry of Education and Culture, Finnish National Agen-cy for Education, Ministry of Finance, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, all central social part-ner organisations, Suomen Yrittäjät – the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA, Centre for Occupational Safety, Business Finland, Finnish Work Environment Fund and a large number of other working life parties. The programme has been led by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, with the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health responsible for the programme’s oper-ational activities. The WORK2030 programme belonged to the set of working life programmes car-ried out in the 2019–2023 parliamentary term.