Study: Workplaces view parental leave positively, but there is room for improvement in practices

Media release of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 6 October 2026 

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health produced new information on how the parental leave reform in 2022 has been reflected in workplaces. The reform extended parental leave for non-birthing parents, which has already resulted in extended leave for fathers.

According to interviews with HR professionals and a survey carried out at six workplaces with supervisors, the attitude at workplaces towards parental leave for fathers is positive. However, longer leaves have introduced challenges to the organisation of work tasks and substitutes. According to the interviews, the few months of leave that is typical for fathers can be difficult for workplaces to organise.

"Often the leave is too short to hire a substitute, but simply distributing the tasks can put a strain on the work community. The parental leave reform does not seem to have extended fathers’ leave sufficiently to allow substitute arrangements to be handled in the same way as for mothers’ family leave, which is usually longer," says Johanna Närvi, Research Manager at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.  

A positive atmosphere and shared practices also benefit the employer   

There are varying types of practices related to parental leave at different workplaces. Often, workplaces rely on solving situations on a case-by-case basis when they become topical.

Informing employees about their rights regarding parental leave is common, but training supervisors and carrying out departure discussion or return induction for the person going on parental leave are less common practices. In addition, fewer employers carry out career and salary development discussions with the person as they go on parental leave and when they return.

Interviews with HR professionals highlighted the role of supervisors in creating a positive atmosphere and organising practices related to parental leave. However, without documented instructions, taking into account and providing guidance to those planning parental leave depends to a large extent on the competence of the individual supervisor.

"In addition to an open and flexible culture, we also need practices. Both the attitude of supervisors and shared, recorded practices create a feeling among employees that taking parental leave is something legitimate," says Johanna Lammi-Taskula, Chief Researcher at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.

Family friendliness of a workplace is not only related to parental leave 

As a rule, the workplaces that participated in the study were more family-friendly than average. Nonetheless, only about half of the supervisors agreed completely that their workplace is family-friendly.

"Supervisors’ assessments may be related to variations in their awareness of workplace practices and to the absence of agreed common procedures in the workplace. Relatively few objectives and measures aimed at promoting family-friendliness had been integrated for example in workplace gender equality plans,” says Mia Teräsaho, Senior Specialist and Project Manager at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

According to Teräsaho, it is advisable to develop more diverse practices that promote family friendliness at workplaces. In addition to families with children, it is important for workplace practices to take into account different family types and situations, such as employees’ responsibility for caring for elderly relatives.

Learn more about the study

• Research report (in Finnish): Työelämä kohtaa perhevapaauudistuksen – Henkilöstöjohdon ja esihenkilöiden näkemyksiä työn ja perheen yhteensovittamisesta [Working life meets the parental leave reform: HR and supervisors’ perspectives on work-family reconciliation]
• The research results will be presented on Wednesday, 7 October at the Gender Equality Days. See the programme (stm.fi).

Learn more about the project

• The study was carried out in the Steps towards equal parenting and a family-friendly working life CARE4CAREER project led by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. The project is funded by the EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV).
• The project is carried out in collaboration between the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and Mothers in Business (MiB). 
• Project page (ttl.fi): Steps towards equal parenting and family-friendly working life CARE4CAREER

Further information

• Work-family reconciliation, workplace practices, CARE4CAREER project: Mia Teräsaho, Senior Specialist and Project Manager, The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, mia.terasaho@ttl.fi, +358 50 442 9989
•  Parental leave reform and parental leave at the workplace: Johanna Närvi, Research Manager, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, johanna.narvi@thl.fi, +358 29 524 7467
• Parental leave reform and parental leave at the workplace: Johanna Lammi-Taskula, Chief Researcher, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, johanna.lammi-taskula@thl.fi, +358 29 524 7066
• Work-family reconciliation, workplace practices: Eija Haukka, Senior Researcher, The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, eija.haukka@ttl.fi, +358 43 825 8137