Worklife in Finland

Here are some basics about work life in Finland.

I've heard and read that Finland has some of the best working conditions anywhere. It is hard for me to judge if this is true, but here are the basics about work life in Finland (from my experience) so that you can judge for yourself.

Learning Finnish at work

This is in an important issue for foreigners in Finland, who are working and who want to improve their Finnish. I've heard all kinds of different experiences. I have heard some people say they didn't learn any Finnish at work and even when they made a genuine effort to speak Finnish with colleagues the response was very mixed and most people wanted to speak in English. On the other hand I've heard the exact opposite story - where people have learnt lots of Finnish at work and had no problem getting their workmates to use Finnish with them. My personal experience has been the later. I've also heard about companies paying for Finnish lessons (either arranged within the company or externally) plus letting employees do the lessons in their work hours. But of course I am sure it depends a lot on the workplace, what language the person was hired in (and whether the working language is English or Finnish).  

On the other side of the issue, I have commonly heard Finns and foreigners alike say quite proudly that you don't need to speak Finnish to work in Finland. I would claim that is a myth. The more accurate statement would be in a select few fields of work you can use English instead of Finnish. Plus if your work doesn't involve language skills at all then again you don't need Finnish (i.e. cleaning or something not involving customers). I would however comment that the idea you can go to work in English (and be promoted etc.) is pretty misleading. Most Finns speak English (to varies degrees of fluency) and all Finns speak Finnish - so you definitely need to have some nice skills to set you apart if you want to get by without Finnish. And even if you do that higher education / special skills etc. it is not a guarantee you will be able to work in English (check what the working language is your field).

*I will add here Swedish language may be helpful in some parts of Finland, but it isn't really used where I live and I don't know any Swedish speaking Finns so I can't comment on this further. 

Holiday leave

In Finland you should get about 5-7 weeks of holiday leave per year. It depends on your exact field and how long you have been working there, but from what I know you earn about 2 days of paid holiday leave per month (so a total of 12 x 2 = 24 days of paid leave per year). This doesn't include public holidays (pyhäpäivät). Public holidays in Finland (such as Christmas day, New years' day, etc.) as all paid public holidays on top of holiday leave.

Working hours

From what I know working hours in Finland (in the context of a full time office job) are similar to in other comparable countries. That is a normal working week is 37.5 hours. I have read and seen myths about that people in Finland "leave work at 3 pm", but all I would say to that is most people in this kind of work have flexible hours, so coming in at 7 am and then leaving at 3 pm is an option. 

Work day schedule

Leading on from the previous comment, the normal schedule in Finland is a bit different to other countries. People tend to get to work early (before 8 am). The first coffee break is 9 am. Lunch is at 11 am. The second coffee break is about 2 pm. People leave by about 4 pm. From what I understand the two coffee breaks each day are paid (15 minutes for each break), whereas the lunch break is not paid. Of course schedules do vary, and some people work 9-5. 

Work culture

One comment I've heard and read is that foreigners in Finland have been refreshed to find out that work culture in Finland doesn't involve working ridiculously long hours to prove that you are dedicated. I am sure this does vary depending on the workplace and field, but I would tend to agree. At least I haven't noticed people claiming (proudly) they work 60 hour weeks, which I do remember from workplaces I worked in outside Finland. 

Perks and benefits

This naturally varies completely from workplace to workplace. I have heard of companies where the employees get a paid day off when moving house. I've heard of lunch deals (such as 25 % of lunch costs paid). I've heard of mobile phone costs being paid by the work. Parking. Free childcare if your children are unwell. The list goes on. But it depends on your company and your contract. 

Sick leave

Sick leave is well protected in Finland. If you are working regularly you are entitled to sick leave. I was actually surprised by the this because in Australia is actually depends on your contract whether you are entitled to sick leave, but that does not seem to be the case here. Even if you are a "hourly worker" (tuntityöntekijä) - meaning only get given the hours your boss wants to give you - you are still entitled to sick leave. 

Finnish words in this post

pyhäpäivä = public holiday

tuntityöntekijä = hourly worker