Work and Mental Wellbeing - Mieliteko 2.0

Background

According to the statistics, as much as one half of the Finnish population suffers from a mental disorder at some point in their life. In 2019, for the first time ever, mental health issues were the most common reason for early disability pensions. The number of persons receiving sick pay for mental disorders increased by 43 % from 2016 to 2019. Sick leaves caused by mental health reasons have become increasingly common especially with adolescents and early middle-aged women. According to OECD’s report (2018), the direct and indirect mental health costs of mental health issues are among the highest within the OECD countries.

Massive abnormalities in current society and constant changes in working life have increased challenges in mental wellbeing regionally, nationally, and internationally. The constant changes in working environments transpire as enduring feeling of haste, impetuous increase of information and expanding demand of multi-competence. Brain work and the use of technology have become a part of everyday life in a broader number of workplaces. Side by side, Covid-19 pandemic caused rapid changes in working habits, boosting digitalization and remote and hybrid work. The prolonged pandemic and the worsened safety situation in Europe caused additional burden for the employees.

The Objective and Target Group

The aim of the Work and Mental Wellbeing – Mieliteko 2.0 group project is to improve the mental health and mental wellbeing of the working age inhabitants in Northern Savonia from the standpoint of work wellbeing. Thus, the project partakes in resolving Northern Savonia’s abnormally high mental health morbidity, the highest in the country.The target group of the project comprises of the employed Northern Savonian inhabitants, who are 18 years of age or older. The target group includes freelancers, entrepreneurs, and those partly fit for work, as well as private and public employers. In other words, workplaces of the employees.

Procedures

The city of Kuopio arranges comprehensive work wellbeing coaching and effective communication. Savonia University of Applied Sciences’ speciality is in trauma awareness approach. Humak University of Applied Sciences focuses on precision working ability coaching. University of Eastern Finland produces information on mental health management, endorses its data-based development and conducts, implements, and evaluates the pilot of an ABC program of improving mental wellbeing with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

Results

As results to the group project’s coaching, the partakers’ ability to recognize the challenges of their own metal health and wellbeing strengthens. The mental health understanding, awareness, and know-how increases. The culture within the working communities and organisations evolves to support mental health and wellbeing better. These actions and results are directly linked with better working endurance, productivity and staying employed. The group project’s results directly support the knowledge-based management purposes from the mental health management’s point of view. The project will also pilot an ABC operating model, which is the world’s first scientifically based communal and all-encompassing population level program aiming to advance mental health. Additionally, the pervasive change in corporate culture and attitudes concerning mental health will be widely supported by effective communication and spreading knowledge. The actions by the group project support the aims of the working life development program (TYÖ2030) established by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Wellbeing of the employees is the biggest asset of organisations, and mental health is an integral part of being well.

This group project is a part of the Mieliteko program, launched in 2021, and planned as a decade long program.