Decisions regarding well-being at work must be based on information – a free guide for the social welfare and health care sector

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health media release, 22 November 2022

The guide for knowledge-based management of well-being at work in the social welfare and health care sector provides methods for promoting well-being at work and implementing changes from the point of view of knowledge-based leadership. The guide is primarily designed for the management and supervisors in the social welfare and health care sector, but wellbeing services counties can also benefit from the guide.

It is essential to find the suitable sources of information for the organization that help examine well-being at work and the factors that predict it.

“Social welfare and health care organizations are used to utilizing client and municipal information. However, it is worth investing in the utilization of the employees' well-being at work data for support for the development of well-being at work,” says Senior Specialist Mervi Halonen from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Combining the collected information with other available information, such as patient safety, is also rare in many social welfare and health care organizations. Organizations must identify what kind of information they already have at their disposal and how the information could be combined from the perspective of promoting well-being at work.

Importance of strategic management of well-being at work is highlighted in the social welfare and health care sector

The well-being of employees must be taken into account as part of all the activities of the organization. Due to the limited human resources in the social welfare and health care sector, focusing on the well-being of employees is of utmost importance.

“A healthy employee can complete their tasks and, thereby, contribute to the achievement of the organization's objectives. In the social welfare and health care sector, this can be seen, for example, as increased patient satisfaction and safety and attractiveness of the sector,” says Senior Researcher Liisa Mäkelä from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

It is the responsibility of the management to ensure that the development of well-being at work is part of the strategic management work. Not all issues related to well-being at work need to be resolved at once. Instead, the management of well-being at work is a long-term activity.

“The perspective of knowledge-based management can first be used in connection with a single strategically central problem. If, for example, staff turnover is a problem, you should try to determine the factors that predict it. It is also important to gain more understanding of future trends,” says Research Manager Maarit Kauppi from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

Read the guide

• The guide "Työhyvinvoinnin tiedolla johtaminen sote-alalla" (in Finnish): Työhyvinvoinnin tiedolla johtaminen sote-alalla | Työterveyslaitos (ttl.fi) 
• The guide has been prepared as part of the Know – Productivity and well-being at work development project: Know – Productivity and well-being at work | Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (ttl.fi)
• The project was carried out in co-operation with the Kainuu Social and Health Care Joint Authority. The guide contains case examples and good practices applied by the Kainuu Social and Health Care Joint Authority. The project is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).

For more information, please contact

• Mervi Halonen, Senior Specialist, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, +358 (0)30 474 2483, mervi.halonen@ttl.fi
• Liisa Mäkelä, Senior Researcher, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, +358 (0)30 474 3349, liisa.makela@ttl.fi
• Maarit Kauppi, Research Manager, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, +358 (0)30 474 3058, maarit.kauppi@ttl.fi