Wellbeing is built together

Competent, committed and content staff are the Emergency Response Centre Agency's most important asset and strategic priority. The Agency’s new wellbeing at work programme places greater emphasis on developing competence in work capacity management and career management, among other things.

World Mental Health Day is celebrated every year on 10 October for the purpose of stimulating discussion on issues such as the promotion of mental wellbeing. One aspect of mental health is meaningful work with structures to support comprehensive wellbeing.

One of the strategic priorities of the Emergency Response Centre Agency is competent, committed and content staff. In recent years, the Agency has therefore been focusing increasingly on staff wellbeing. As a result, the Agency now has a wellbeing at work specialist whose work focuses on staff wellbeing, coordinating and developing wellbeing at work activities, developing work capacity management, cooperation with occupational health care services, occupational safety and health and supporting knowledge management. 

 “The work of ERC operators is very demanding and stressful, which calls for special support and investment in wellbeing at work. In recent years, we have put a great deal of effort into the development of work capacity management and peer support management, and the results of these efforts are already clearly visible,” says Wellbeing at Work Specialist Paula Forsten. 

Paula has been working for the Emergency Response Centre Agency for ten years: first as a communications specialist for nine years and then as a wellbeing at work specialist from the start of 2024. By looking after staff wellbeing, she feels that she is doing meaningful work and is able to indirectly contribute to the safety of Finland as a whole. Paula gets excited when she gets to talk about the development opportunities that she has discovered.

“The strongest motivation for me is continuous improvement. I feel that I have my feet firmly on the ground, but at the same time I constantly see opportunities for development and solutions around me,” she says.

The wellbeing at work programme provides continuity

The Agency has just adopted a new wellbeing at work programme that extends up to 2028. The new programme places greater emphasis on developing competence in work capacity management and career management, among other things.

“It is absolutely essential that every supervisor is competent and has an understanding of work capacity management, which includes managing wellbeing at work, health, competence and work performance. In practice, this means providing early support in work capacity challenges, monitoring of working conditions and workload and cooperating with occupational health care services, for example,” Paula says.

A sufficient knowledge base is also important at agency level. In recognition of this, the Emergency Response Centre Agency has switched to using HenkilöstöBaro, the shared personnel survey of central government agencies, which serves as a strategic management tool for central government employers. The survey is used to collect anonymous feedback from staff on a range of topics to support the Agency’s management and supervisors in HR knowledge management. It helps the Agency choose and take informed action and makes change measurable.
In addition to the Agency’s knowledge base, the wellbeing at work programme aims to develop career management. 

“The key is to understand the arc of a person’s career. Traditionally, the focus has been on senior employees and recent graduates, but now we are paying increasing attention to other career stages as well,” says Paula.

People who are just starting their careers need experiences that boost their self-confidence and role models to identify with.

“We try to support the start of recently graduated ERC operators’ careers with a wide range of career management and wellbeing at work measures. The first year is decisive in many ways,” Paula adds.

Career management also makes other groups in the work community visible and covers the management and development of careers as a whole.

Peer support keeps you going

The Agency introduced peer support activities at the beginning of 2024, and peer support has since become an established form of mental support. Peer support is aimed at anyone who is experiencing stress, whether due to an individual work task or in the form of growing, cumulative stress. When necessary, peer support acts as a longer-term extension of defusing discussions.

“The strength of peer support is that the peer support instructor understands the whole and the characteristics of the ERC operator profession better than any outsider,” Paula says.

The Agency has already trained more than 40 peer support instructors. They keep in close contact with each other and meet regularly.
Peer support is one of the forms of mental support available at the Agency. Others include defusing discussions and support provided by occupational health care services, such as debriefings, external supervision and post-trauma workshops. Five emergency response centres are also regularly visited by a workplace chaplain. In addition to this, staff have access to comprehensive occupational health care services. 

Many emergency response centres also have a separate break room for winding down.

Potential in recovery

Another important part of wellbeing at work is everything that you do outside work. Recovery is not only about rest after a work shift, but also about balancing mind and body in everyday life. The need for recovery is crucial especially in demanding jobs and shift work, where even minor ways of relaxing, detaching from work and strengthening your resources are essential for coping. Research shows that good recovery improves concentration, reduces mistakes and increases job satisfaction. 

The means of recovery are individual – some recover by engaging in exercise or outdoor activities, while others recover by spending a quiet moment with loved ones. Paula emphasises that when you invest in recovery, you increase work satisfaction and long-term work capacity.

“Everyone can find opportunities for development there. Do you go out after work or slouch on the sofa staring at your phone? There are many skills involved in recovery. It's something that you can practise,” she says.

“We also try out new sports and recovery methods as part of wellbeing at work days,” Paula adds.

Inclusion is about facilitating open dialogue

The Emergency Response Centre Agency adopted a new management system from the beginning of 2024. In terms of everyday operations, the reform has resulted in improved staff inclusion, for example. Inclusion means actively involving staff in decision-making, information sharing and development. According to Paula, it is about listening, providing opportunities to influence things and facilitating open dialogue.

“By facilitating discussion, we create space for interaction. Inclusion is all the methods used to get staff involved in discussions, idea generation and preparation. These include surveys and management Q&A sessions, workshops, group workshops and joint agency initiatives,” she says.
Inclusion is closely linked to organisational culture and the development thereof. 

“Inclusion and dialogue constantly create new opportunities. One potential area of development is giving feedback and a culture of continuous learning,” Paula adds.

Wellbeing at work is a shared opportunity

In addition to the wellbeing at work specialist, there are many others working on wellbeing at the Agency: the HR manager, the assistant managers of emergency response centres, supervisors, wellbeing at work teams, occupational health and safety and occupational health care teams. Ultimately, wellbeing at work is everyone’s shared responsibility. 

“Everyone has opportunities and the responsibility to make choices every day. Wellbeing may ultimately build upon small decisions,” Paula encourages.