Better working life! -National coordination project for the development of working life

Project summary

Finland's productivity performance has been modest in recent years and its employment rate

is the lowest in the Nordic countries. Finland is also facing a labour shortage, which is slowing down economic growth in many sectors and regions. Adequate labour supply is essential for economic growth, business competitiveness, the sustainability of the welfare society and public finances, as recurrent crises increase public debt. Promoting and maintaining skills, employability and well-being are key factors in securing employment.

National coordination of working life development is needed to support strategic development. There is a need to avoid overlapping measures and to create synergies in funding and development measures. The added value of national and regional development is provided be disseminating knowledge and best practices, tools for analyzing development results, facilitating networks and promoting communication skills. Cooperation between national coordination projects will also enable the exchange of information and the dissemination of good practices between development programs. The coordination project will bring up themes and results of work-life development on a national level.

The main objective is to provide a rhythm for national working life development activities, to raise awareness, and to convey topics in national and regional discussion to the workplaces. Efficient coordination of the national development program is essential and carried out in active cooperation with other regional labour market actors to develop working life, well-being at work and productivity.

The objectives of the coordination project are:
1. to coordinate national development activities in the field of working life and to develop cooperation to avoid overlapping measures and increase synergies across administrations.

2. to support the activities and effectiveness of national working life development projects through disseminating  information, sparring and networking, monitoring and evaluation. Regional projects will also be supported in cooperation with the regions.

3. to develop working life, well-being at work and productivity through strong cooperation with other actors in the field.

4. to support the introduction and visibility of new or refined policies and services that develop and renew working life.

5. to give visibility to national and regional working life development activities and to disseminate good practices into working life.

One of the main tasks of this project is to promote cooperation. This will be done, for example, by organizing networking days, connecting project actors and cooperating with the Structural Funds authorities and ministries, labour market operators and other coordinating projects. Communication and marketing will ensure multi-channel visibility and recognition of the theme at national and regional level. It will raise important themes of labour development in the public debate and support the effectiveness of the measures. Nationally and regionally developed good practices will be highlighted and disseminated to the workplaces to integrate best practices into their development activities.

The progress and effectiveness of the project’s measures in promoting well-being at work and productivity are also monitored and evaluated. The coordination project will facilitate joint development and raise competence in current themes in developing working life. By gathering and producing national and international information to support the development of working life, the project supports timely and proactive development activities. In addition, the aim is to provide a comprehensive understanding and management of the overall picture in developing working life. 

As a result of the coordination project, the measures for improving working life are relevant, comprehensive and innovative.