Report: Algorithmic management is becoming more common in the Nordics — researchers warn about its impact on employee well-being

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work media release 8 September 2025 

Algorithmic management is already commonplace in many sectors, such as customer service, warehouses and transport work. A report by the ALMA-AI project highlights a survey of more than 6,000 employees in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In the survey, three out of four employees, particularly in warehousing, customer service and retail, say that at least one form of algorithmic management is used at their workplace. 

The most common practices were monitoring work completion, assessing work performance and automatically allocating tasks using algorithms or artificial intelligence. 

The review highlights the increase in psychosocial risks 

The studies and reports based on statistical data included in the review showed that the prevalence of psychosocial risk factors increases with the increasing use of algorithmic management. Risk factors include increased demands of work, such as time pressure and excessive workload, and a decrease in work resources, such as autonomy and social support. 

"Intensive use of algorithmic management is linked to increased stress among employees. Particularly worrying is the combination of increasing demands and decreasing job resources associated with algorithmic management. Job resources play a key role in managing workload, in addition to a reasonable level of demands of work," says Heidi Lahti, Researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and member of the research group.  

According to the research group, the systems in use are often primarily designed to improve work productivity. Often, employees will receive little information about how the systems work and feel that they have few opportunities to influence matters. 

"One key challenge is the lack of transparency in the systems. When employees do not know what information the systems collect, how it is used and what the decisions are based on, there is uncertainty and a lack of trust," says the other Finnish member of the research group, Teppo Valtonen, Development Manager from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. 

Inclusion and transparency are key

Valtonen and Lahti emphasize that employees should be involved in the planning and use of the systems.  

"The results should not be interpreted to mean that the technology itself is a problem. The key factor is the way in which algorithmic management is implemented in practice. It is important to remember that employees’ ability to influence shared issues and transparency are not only good practices, but they have been shown to be central to well-being at work," Lahti and Valtonen emphasize. 

Further information

• Heidi Lahti, Researcher, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, +358304742504, heidi.lahti@ttl.fi
• Teppo Valtonen, Development Manager, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health +358304742625, teppo.valtonen@ttl.fi  

Read the report here 

• ALMA-AI project report (pdf)

The ALMA-AI project and its background 

• The “Exploring OSH Impact of Algorithmic Management & AI” project is part of the activities of the European PEROSH network.
• In addition to the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the project includes INSST (project management, Spain), AUVA (Austria), CIOP-PIB (Poland), INAIL (Italy), INRS (France) and TNO (Netherlands). The project maps the use and impacts of algorithmic management in different industries. The review carried out in the project and the related report made use of studies and reports based on statistical data, case studies and previous literature reviews. The data includes a number of extensive European datasets, such as the OSH Pulse survey by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (27,250 respondents in the EU) and the Nordic trade unions' survey (6,769 respondents).
• Algorithmic management refers to the support or automation of decision-making related to the organization of work using digital technologies (including artificial intelligence). This can be reflected, for example, in how tasks are allocated, working hours and work performance are monitored, or work results are evaluated and rewarded.  

About the issuer of the press release 

• The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health is the national  Focal Point of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in Finland.  We promote the agency’s activities by disseminating European research data to Finnish workplaces. We also provide EU-OSHA with information on the state of Finnish work life and good practices. 
• A Safe and Healthy Work in the Digital Age 2023-2025 campaign will be organized as part of the collaboration, to increase awareness of the impacts of digitalization and artificial intelligence on occupational health and safety. Read more about the campaign (in Finnish): terveellinentyo.fi
• The free-of-charge final webinar of the campaign will be organized on Thursday 23 October 2025 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Learn more about the programme (in Finnish) and register: Tekoäly tulee esihenkilötyöhön – luotatko kokemukseen vai koneeseen? | Työterveyslaitos