On 1 November 2023, Folkhälsan was awarded the Family-Friendly Workplace certificate. The certificate, which is granted by the Family Federation of Finland (Väestöliitto), shows that the workplace takes social responsibility and is committed to making it easy for its employees to combine family - in a broad sense - and working life.
Pictured from left: Mikaela Wiik, expert in workplace wellbeing at Samfundet Folkhälsan, Cecilia Ehrnrooth, HR manager at Samfundet and Anna Kokko, programme manager at Väestöliitto.
Since 2019, Folkhälsan has, in collaboration with Väestöliitto, taken steps towards an increasingly family-friendly work environment. The certification process began with employees responding to an initial survey, and the responses have since served as the basis for development work on the road to certification.
– As an employer, Folkhälsan wants to promote the well-being and work ability of its staff and does so through several different initiatives. Being certified as a family-friendly workplace is one way of showing what we do to promote well-being in the workplace. Basically, it's about taking into account that employees have various needs in their lives outside the workplace, says Cecilia Ehrnrooth, HR Manager at Samfundet Folkhälsan.
Family-friendliness is not limited to families with children, but rather a concept that encompasses different life stages and family constellations. Common rules and opportunities for flexibility in the workplace and active communication to staff are important for the workplace to be considered family-friendly. Concrete guidelines and measures include, for example, that the workload should be reasonable for colleagues even when one is on leave, that there is a clear plan and process for returning to work after an extended period of leave, and that guidelines for teleworking are clear.
– It is important that we as employers have clear common processes and guidelines that allow flexibility based on the person's life situation within the framework that the organisation enables. In particular, I would like to emphasise the inclusive view of family where we start from the individual's definition of their family. This approach strengthens gender equality, diversity and equal treatment and contributes to a sustainable and responsible working life. Together we continue to develop our work community so that sustainability and responsibility go hand in hand with success and well-being, says Christina Söderberg, Development Manager at Folkhälsan Välfärd.
– It has been a pleasure to follow and support Folkhälsan's active development work. We warmly congratulate Folkhälsan on the Family-Friendly Workplace Certificate, says Anna Kokko, Programme Manager at Väestöliitto.
