What We Can Learn from the Finns about Wellbeing at Work
If you wish you were happier at work, why not look towards the world’s happiest people?
Upon hearing that Finland has just been voted the world’s happiest country (by the Gallup World Poll and World Happiness Report) for the 8th consecutive year, I was keen to investigate what role work plays in their happiness. After all, we spend a considerable chunk of our lives at work, so to harness our happiest self, we must prioritise our wellbeing in this area.
To learn more about the connection between work and wellbeing, I was joined by Finnish-based educational expert Tehri Nissinen to discuss the benefits of learning how to job craft. Tehri is the Head of Basic Education in the City of Kerava, Finland and a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Helsinki, so she had plenty of valuable insights to share on the subject.
In this post, we’ll learn tips for enhancing engagement and purpose at work through the art of job crafting and see how this connects to our overall happiness. After all, if the Finns are able to find better wellbeing at work, why shouldn’t we?
What We Can Learn from the Finns about Wellbeing at Work
Once Tehri began delving into the connection between job crafting and wellbeing during her doctorate research, she began to make compelling findings; when you actively shape your work through job crafting, your engagement soars. This heightened engagement brings many benefits to your health, happiness, and purpose that permeates in and outside of the workplace.
Job crafting is shaping and personalising your work to align with your strengths, interests, and passions. It often involves small changes that slowly transform your job over time. If you’re entirely new to the concept, we have a great introduction to job crafting here.
“I studied work engagement and workaholism and stress. So I found that when you actively craft your work, your engagement is higher. And work engagement brings you good things, brings you health, brings you happiness, brings you a positive attitude towards work and towards your colleagues.”
Learning to job craft and the other techniques detailed below can help you be happier in and outside the office.
Tehri’s Tips for Job Crafting
Tehri suggests reflecting on your current situation and considering the issues when job crafting.
Consider the questions below while considering your work, job demands, and resources. Analyse current tasks and systems and consider what other possibilities exist if you look at them differently.
Do you need more challenges? She seeks new challenges, for example, taking part in new challenges, to bring joy and purpose to your work. If you don’t use your strengths at work, ask yourself why not. Tehri realises her strengths are meeting people, listening, discussing different ideas, and combining them to build something collaboratively. So, she tries to leave room in her calendar to prioritise these strengths.
Are you overloaded with different tasks? If you have too much to do during your workdays, determine which tasks are taking up too much time and energy and thus preventing you from reaching your goal. In this case, you may need to delegate something, ask your supervisor to reconsider whether all your tasks are necessary, or develop new resources.
Are there structures or networks which need to be changed or innovated? You may need to check your calendar to see which systems aren’t working well. For example, Tehri realised that reading through emails with many attachments took too much time—including for her colleagues, who’d have to wait for her response. Instead, she set aside an hour once a week for experts to present their ideas in 5-10 minutes. This saved everyone time and allowed for better conversation.
Are you taking enough breaks? Job crafting is a tangible tool that allows us to balance the demands and resources in our work, not overworking. You may get burned out if you’re too active or overly engaged in your work, so learning how to regulate that is essential.
Keep reflecting on how things are going. Job crafting is a form of continuous learning that you can do alone or with a colleague, a supervisor, or a team. No one can do it for you, but it’s not difficult when you take small steps. Coach yourself through the process by checking how things are going. What did you try? How did it go? What might you change? What kind of demands do you have? What kind of resources? How might we use them? How might we try and use them?
“It's continuous learning… work should not be just doable - it should have a meaning. It should engage you. It should bring you energy. It should bring you new ideas. So that's what I think that we should be learning in our jobs all the time. And job crafting is one strategy to do it.”
Harness the power of SISU.
Have you heard of the word ‘SISU’? The world’s happiest people have.
This Finish word approximately translates to: ‘extraordinary determination in the face of extreme adversity, and courage that is presented typically in situations where success is unlikely.’
Or, in shorter terms, it is a determination to continue when things aren’t going well. So, given the Finns' apparent penchant for happiness, what role does Sisu play in the matter?
Tehri suggests Finns actually prefer the word ‘content' to ‘happiness.’ ‘We are content in our lives. So we don’t expect more every day.’ Use Sisu to help you move forward when things aren't going well.
Learn How To Deal with Organisational Change at Work
Alongside embracing Sisu, Tehri suggests that Finland’s nature and varying seasons help locals adapt to different situations, including changing societies and governments.
Dealing with a significant organisational change at work inspired her to research the resource-based job-crafting model, including small changes you can do at work to make you happier.
She saw how the organisational shifts affected colleagues’ moods and behaviour at work. She began to understand that both significant departmental changes and small shifts to job demands were worth reflecting on and figuring out how you feel when things are going well (or otherwise) to ensure you’re doing your part and to see how you can make the best of changes.
Build Trust
According to the World Happiness Report, the happiest countries trust their neighbours and communities more and believe there is less corruption within their broader society.
In Finland, equal opportunities help build this trust. In Tehri’s work in education, she’s required to ensure that schools run smoothly by supporting principals and teachers and developing education on a local level. She also works with other specialists in different fields to ensure they do things right. Education is free in Finland up to university, even for mature students, which many Finns feel is a critical way to ensure everyone gets the same opportunities.
So don’t be afraid to ask for help or communicate your needs to others—this builds trust and improves work relationships.
Remember that your behaviour and changes affect others, too, so keep them in the loop while crafting your job. They may even get involved, but make sure it positively affects everyone.
Don’t overwork
Job-craft reflectively, not compulsively.
It’s imperative to be reflective and not become too obsessive about productivity. Overworking can lead to feeling overwhelmed or the feeling that you always have to do better. Instead, use job crafting to balance your job demands with the resources you have access to to avoid burnout.
Similarly, by job crafting ‘too much’, you won’t give time for new routines to breathe. Do some crafting, then wait and see what it brings you.
Embrace Your Free Time
Remember that all parts of your life influence each other. For example, your brain works best when you sleep well, so actively recovering and following your passions outside of work can help you at work.
So don’t get overly engaged in just one facet of your life, like work. Tehri suggests considering the 3x8 rule, when you have 8 hours for sleep, 8 for work, and 8 for free time (of course, free time may demand energy and resources from you too, so adapt this to your needs).
When possible, free time should help revive and replenish you. Since Tehri spends her work days in offices and meeting rooms around others, she enjoys a solitary walk or run to find peace in nature. At weekends, family time, whether with movie nights or hiking outdoors, brings the perfect reset.
Summary
Tehri’s approach to job crafting reminds us that wellbeing at work is about creating meaning and balance through thoughtful reflection. By reviewing and analysing our current tasks, work networks, and systems, we can realign our daily roles with our values, strengths, and interests, making our work more energising and fulfilling.
Whether we take small steps to avoid overworking, build trust with colleagues, or embrace the Finnish mindset of Sisu, we can use these insights to craft a work-life balance that is not just functional but truly fuels us.