Night Work and Mortality: Prospective Study Among Finnish Employees Over the Time Span 1984 to 2008

There is considerable evidence showing that night work is associated with increased morbidity, but only a few studies have focused on its relation to mortality. This study investigates the relationship between the type of working-time arrangement (weekly night work/daytime work) and total and cause-specific mortality among men and women. The data consist of a representative working conditions survey of Finnish employees conducted in 1984 (2286 men/2216 women), which has been combined with register-based follow-up data from Statistics Finland covering the years 1985-2008. In the 1984 survey, the employees were asked if they worked during the night (23:00-06:00 h) and if so, how often. In thi…

Type of employment relationship and mortality: prospective study among Finnish employees in 1984-2000

Background: The study investigated the relationship between the type of employment (permanent/temporary) contract and mortality. Factors through which temporary employment was expected to be associated with increased mortality were the degree of satisfaction with the uncertainty related to temporary work situation (Study 1) and the voluntary/involuntary basis for temporary work (Study 2). Methods: In Study 1 the data consisted of representative survey on Finnish employees in 1984 ( n = 4502), which was merged with register-based follow-up data in Statistics Finland covering years 1985–2000. In Study 2 the data consisted of representative survey on Finnish employees in 1990 ( n = 3502) with …

Working-Time Regimes and Work-Life Balance in Europe

The organization of times and places of work are key elements of working conditions, and define employees’ possibilities for balancing work and other life spheres. This study analyses several aspects of temporal and spatial flexibility, and their associations with employees’ work-life balance. This study separates four dimensions of temporal flexibility and one indicator of spatial flexibility. The dimensions of temporal flexibility are the number of hours worked, when the hours are worked, work-time intensity, and the degree of working-time autonomy. The workplace flexibility indicator is an index of work locations. Work-life balance is analysed with work-hour fit. The analyses were based …

Flexibility, Segmentation and Use of Labour in Finnish Retail Trade

The purpose of the study is to analyse the effects of management strategies on the segmentation of five department store labour markets in Finland. (1) The competitive strategies of firms are expected to have different con sequences for the use of labour (2) Within firms, the differentiated use of labour is examined in relation to the use of different flexibility strategies In department stores the most important strategy for obtaining (numerical) flexibility has been the fast growth of part-time work.

Experiments of Reduced Working Hours in Finnish Municipalities

This article examines experiments with shorter working hours in Finnish municipalities between 1996 and 1998. The article focuses on the effects of different working time experiments on employees (work ability), on working units (quality of services) and substitutes recruited during the experiments. The results indicate that shorter working hours reduce job exhaustion, with respect to both 6‐hour shifts and other forms of reduced hours. The participants reported positive changes the quality and availability of services, especially in the case of 6‐hour shifts. In addition, during the experiment, new employees (substitutes) reported improved chances to obtain work in the future; after the ex…

Is Finland Different? Quality of Work Among Finnish and European Employees

The issue of the quality of work-life has risen in popularity due to concerns about the economic and social sustainability of European societies. Throughout the continent, global competition, technological change and the intensification of work are common developments which are seen to affect the well-being of the workforce. Nevertheless, European countries differ substantially in terms of job quality. According to earlier research, employees in Sweden and Denmark (and to lesser extent in Finland) report a higher quality of work tasks than elsewhere in Europe. The aim of this paper was to investigate, in a cross-national context using multivariate techniques, whether job quality in Finland …

Time pressure, working time control and long-term sickness absence

Objectives Perceived time pressure at work has increased in most European countries during recent decades. Time pressure may be harmful for employees’ health and well-being. The aim of this register-based follow-up study is to investigate whether the effects of time pressure on long sickness absence vary by the level of working time control. Methods The data are taken from the Finnish Quality of Work Life Survey 2003 (n=3400), a representative sample of Finnish employees, combined with a register-based follow-up from Statistics Finland covering the years 2002–2006. In the 2003 survey, employees were asked about their perceived time pressure and to what extent they had control over working t…

Predictors of time famine among Finnish employees - Work, family or leisure?

The recent survey data indicates that the time famine is a common experience among employees, while the data of time use indicates increased leisure time. Similarly, there are different views on the causes of time famine. Firstly, in working life research time famine is usually explained by increasing requirements of work life. Secondly, in gender studies time famine is considered to be a product of family obligations. Thirdly, some authors interpret time famine as a phenomenon relating to the intensification of leisure. The aim of the study was to examine the extent and causes of time famine among Finnish employees. The analysis was based on the Finnish Use of Time data (1999–2000) and foc…

Työttömyys ja työn epävarmuus koetun terveyden riskitekijöinä: kokemuksia vertaileva tutkimus

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli analysoida sitä, onko työttömyys vai työn koettu epävarmuus haitallisempaa terveydelle. Tutkimus perustuu Tilastokeskuksen vuonna 1994 tekemään Elinolotutkimukseen ajautuen työikäisiin, 25-55-vuotiaisiin palkansaajiin ja työttömiin (N = 3 5 70). Vertailua varten sekä työttömät että palkansaajat jaettiin kolmeen ryhmään; työttömillä kriteerinä oli työttömyyden kesto, palkansaajilla työssä koettujen epävarmuustekijöiden määrä. Kuuden ryhmän vertailussa somaattinen oireilu oli yleisintä useita epävarmuustekijöitä työssään kokevilla palkansaajilla ja vähintään puoli vuotta työttömänä olleilla senkin jälkeen, kun keskeiset taustamuuttujat (sukupuoli, ikä, koulutustaso…

High-involvement management practices and the productivity of firms: Detecting industry heterogeneity

The aim of this article is to clarify the links between high-involvement management (HIM) practices, productivity and branches of industry. The data combine a representative survey (N = 787) of private-sector firms in Finland and register-based firm-level data on sales per employee in the year following the survey. The authors analysed the data using mixture regression and identified two clusters in the association between HIM and productivity. In one cluster, high-involvement management and productivity were positively associated, while in the other cluster, the association was negative. The association between the intensity of HIM utilisation and productivity is not always additive; the b…

Työelämän laatu ja laadun arviointi : tutkimushankkeen loppuraportti 10.11.2010

Knowledge Work, Working Time, and Use of Time Among Finnish Dual-Earner Families

The industrial working-time regime is dissolving—not dramatically, but rather as a trend. A new trend is that those in dynamic sectors and in a good labor market position work long hours: Demanding knowledge work appears to require the marginalization of private life. This study investigates the family situation of knowledge workers, the concentration of knowledge workers into family, working time, and use of time in different family types. The analysis is based on the Finnish Use of Time data (1999-2000) using family(spouse)-level data. Compared with other categories of employment, the results suggest only minor quantitative differences between knowledge worker families in working time an…

Job insecurity in Finland: Antecedents and consequences

Abstract Trends towards more unpredictable and flexible labour markets are often presumed to fuel feelings of job insecurity among employees, especially the threat of losing one's job. The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence, antecedents, and consequences of job insecurity in a representative sample of Finnish wage and salary earners (N = 3503) gathered in 1990. One out of ten respondents felt the threat of lay-off, dismissal, or unemployment. According to hierarchical regression analysis, perceived job insecurity was best explained by positional factors, especially earlier unemployment experiences and the temporary nature of the employment relationship. The role of demographic f…

Temporary Employment in the Nordic Countries: A `Trap' or a `Bridge'?

Work engagement in eight European countries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the level and predictors of work engagement among service sector employees in eight European countries.Design/methodology/approachThe work seeks to discover if job demands and resources, i.e. job autonomy and social support, affect work engagement in differing ways in different countries when socio‐demographical variables and work‐related factors are controlled. The study is based on a statistical analysis of survey data from Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the UK in 2007 (n=7,867). The data represent four economic sectors: retail trade, finance and banking, telecoms and public hospitals.FindingsThe re…

Combined effects of shiftwork and individual working time control on long-term sickness absence: a prospective study of finnish employees

Objective To investigate whether the effects of shiftwork on long-term sickness absence vary according to the level of individual working time control (WTC). Methods A representative sample of Finnish employees (1447 men and 1624 women) was combined with a register-based follow-up. A negative binomial model was used in the analysis of long-term sickness absence days. The results were adjusted for various background and work-related factors. Results Individual WTC decreased long-term sickness absence. The higher rate of sickness absences in shiftwork was mainly due to the lower level of WTC. Working time control decreased sickness absence equally in day work and shiftwork. Conclusions The ne…

Perceived employability: Investigating outcomes among involuntary and voluntary temporary employees compared to permanent employees

PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to examine how perceived employability relates to job exhaustion, psychological symptoms and self‐rated job performance in involuntary and voluntary temporary employees compared to permanent employees.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a cross‐sectional design using a sample of university teachers and researchers (n=1,014) from two Finnish universities. Of the sample, 40 percent (n=408) are permanent employees, 49 percent (n=495) involuntary and 11 percent (n=111) voluntary temporary employees. Most respondents (54 percent) have education above a Master's degree, the average age is 43 years, and 58 percent are women.FindingsThe result…

Psychological consequences of fixed-term employment and perceived job insecurity among health care staff

The present study sought to clarify the roles of fixed-term employment and perceived job insecurity in relation to an employee's job attitudes (job satisfaction, turnover intentions) and well-being (work engagement, job exhaustion). Specifically, we examined which of the two situations, high subjective job insecurity and a permanent job (i.e., violation hypothesis) or high subjective job insecurity and a fixed-term job (i.e., intensification hypothesis), would lead to the most negative job attitudes and well-being. Data from 736 employees in one Finnish health care district were collected by questionnaires. The results supported the violation hypothesis: Under conditions of high perceived j…

Autonomy and Workload in Relation to Temporary and Permanent Workers’ Job Involvement

The aim of the study was to investigate contract type (temporary vs. permanent employment) as a possible moderator in the relationship between autonomy and workload on the one hand, and job involvement on the other hand in samples from two countries: Belgium and Finland. The results on possible interactions were similar in the two countries. Contract type moderated the relationship between autonomy and job involvement: The relationship was stronger in permanent than in temporary workers. No moderation was found for workload. Instead, workload associated positively with job involvement in both temporary and permanent workers. These findings are discussed with reference to the activation hyp…

Työn piirteet ja hyvinvointi yliopistotyössä: vapaaehtoisten ja vastentahtoisten määräaikaisten ja vakinaisten työntekijöiden vertailu

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää miten vakinaiset, vapaaehtoisesti määräaikaiset ja vastentahtoisesti määräaikaiset työntekijät eroavat toisistaan erilaisissa taustatekijöissä, työn psykososiaalisissa piirteissä (vaatimukset ja voimavarat) ja hyvinvoinnissa (työhyvinvointi ja yleinen koettu henkinen hyvinvointi). Tutkimus kohdistui kahden suomalaisen monialaisen yliopiston tutkimus- ja opetushenkilöstöön. Aineistossa vakinaisia työntekijöitä oli 40 % (n = 408), vastentahtoisesti määräaikaisia 49 % (n = 495) ja vapaaehtoisesti määräaikaisia 11 % (n = 111). Vastaajista 58 % oli naisia, 54 %:lla oli maisteritasoa korkeampi koulutus, ja vastaajien keski-ikä oli 43 vuotta. Tulokset osoittiv…

Part-Time Work in the Nordic Countries: A Trap for Women?

Abstract. The aim of the study is to examine the consequences of part-time employment at the individual level, especially for women. Are part-time jobs precarious as compared to full-time jobs, and are they traps, or perhaps rather bridges, in the labour market? The results indicate that the situation of part-timers varies in the Nordic countries. On one hand, the gap between part-time and full-time work has narrowed in Sweden and Norway, which may reflect a normalization of part-time work in these countries. On the other, part-timers' situation in the Finnish labour market still seems more precarious than that of full-timers. However, in most cases part-time work is a bridge rather than a …

Organizational antecedents and outcomes of job insecurity: a longitudinal study in three organizations in Finland

The aim of the study was to examine perceived job insecurity and its organizational antecedents and outcomes within a one-year time period. The study was carried out by means of questionnaires, which were responded to twice, in 1995 (Time 1) and 1996 (Time 2), by employees in three organizations: a factory, a bank, and a municipal social and health care department. The present article is based on the data of those employees (n=210) who participated in the study in both years. The results indicated that perceived job insecurity varied with gender and organization, but not with time. In particular, female employees in the bank reported a high level of job insecurity compared with men. The use…

The modernization of working times : flexibility and work sharing in Finland

Work at home and time use in Finland

This study examines the relationship between home-based work (HBW) and time use by comparing unpaid (overtime) home workers, paid (agreed) home workers and non-home workers. Especially, unpaid HBW was linked to the stretching of working hours and the reduction of free time.

Tilasto, sukupuoli ja työ. Kirja-arvostelu kolmesta teoksesta.