Intentions to resign have decreased, and there are positive signs in the development of well-being at work

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health media release 1 October 2025 at 6:00 a.m.

There has been a positive turn in intentions to resign. Currently, about one in five (22%) consider resigning from their job often. Intentions to change jobs have decreased, especially among people under the age of 30.

"Work engagement predicts commitment and the desire to continue in the current workplace. That is why its increase on the population level and the halt of its decline among young people may also explain the decrease in intentions to resign. This can also be affected by the overall poor labour market situation," says Jari Hakanen, Research Professor at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

The How is Finland doing? follow-up study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health has monitored well-being at work and attitudes towards work since 2019. The most recent result summary examines changes, specifically between summer 2023 and summer 2025.

According to the results, belief in the future has weakened. Both employees and supervisors have less faith in their work changing for the better. 

"Although it is not possible to influence the general social uncertainty in workplaces, work can offer a community in which every member is valuable and important. This can be fostered through people-oriented management, providing support and fair treatment. In these times, nurturing hope is even more important, and fortunately there are many ways to do this at workplaces," says Janne Kaltiainen, Specialist Researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Work engagement has improved, especially in late career stages

A growing number of people experience work engagement, which is a positive experience of well-being at work. Its prevalence has returned to the same level as before the COVID-19 pandemic. Work engagement is most common among people aged 56–65. 

"There are clear differences between age groups. Younger age groups generally experience less work engagement and more boredom at work. We observed this phenomenon also in previous years," says Sampo Suutala, Researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Finns’ experience of their own work ability has remained stable over the past two years, although it is weaker than before the COVID-19 pandemic. In summer 2025, 39 per cent felt that their work ability was good. The amount of working while sick has also remained unchanged.

The general experience of loneliness has decreased slightly at the population level and among employees.

Slightly more burnout symptoms among young people

Burnout symptoms have remained at the same level throughout the 2020s. Approximately 8 per cent have probable job burnout. 

Young age was found to be associated with the risk of job burnout. There are also differences between work roles: 10 per cent of supervisors and 7 per cent of employees have probable job burnout. 

"Supervisors are particularly burdened by excessive workload. Of the different symptoms of job burnout, cognitive disorders have increased the most. As a counterbalance, supervisors feel that they have plenty of resources at work and they maintain work engagement at a good level. As uncertainty in work life and remote work become increasingly common, it is important to take supervisors’ stress factors into account," says Jari Hakanen. 

Remote work was associated with less chronic work fatigue and stressfulness of work. On the other hand, remote workers have fewer work resources and work engagement than others. 

"Remote work is linked to both positive and negative phenomena. While remote work can help manage workload, it can also undermine important social resources, such as trust, the experience of being heard and the meaningfulness of one’s own work," says Janne Kaltiainen. 

Research project: How is Finland doing?

The research project produces information on how well-being at work and different attitudes towards work have developed among Finnish employees over recent years. The respondents consisted of working Finns aged 18–65.

This time, the focus is on changes in Finns’ well-being at work between late 2019 (n = 1,567), summer 2021 (n = 1,418), summer 2023 (n = 3,631) and summer 2025 (n = 3,823). Group-specific results will be reviewed between 2023 and 2025, and all four time points are only used in figures for the general population.

Currently, How is Finland doing? is carried out as part of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health’s Mental Health Toolkit project, which is part of Finland’s Sustainable Growth Programme. The project is funded by the European Union’s one-time recovery tool (Next Generation EU) via the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

Read the previous results of the project on the project page: How is Finland doing? | Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

Learn more about the study (research results attached).

Further information

• Jari Hakanen, Research Professor, jari.hakanen@ttl.fi, +358 40 562 5433
• Janne Kaltiainen, Specialist Researcher, janne.kaltiainen@ttl.fi, +358 (0)50 476 5980