Finnish surveys measuring quality of work

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Sutela, Hanna

Affiliations: Statistics Finland/Work Research Unit, P.O. Box 5 V, FIN-00022 Statistic Finland. Tel.: +358 9 1734 2907; Fax: +358 9 1734 2550; E-mail: hanna.sutela@stat.fi

Abstract: The Finnish Quality of Work Life Surveys are extensive studies, carried out five times since 1977. The surveys are implemented as personal face-to-face interviews which include questions on the physical, mental and social work environment and employees' experiences relating to it. With a time span of more than a quarter of a century, these surveys provide an excellent tool with which the working conditions of wage and salary earners in Finland can be examined. The development of these surveys is an ongoing process. In this context the methodology of combining quantitative and qualitative methods has proved to be very efficient and rewarding. Gender sensitivity is of major importance in the Quality of Work Life Surveys. This principle is involved in every step of the survey process from the questionnaire design to the analysis and reporting of the results. These experiences also prove how crucial it is that some in-depth analysis and research of the data are also done by the institution and by the researchers responsible for the survey design and the data collection in the first place.

Keywords: Working condition surveys, survey methodology, quality of work, gender mainstreaming in surveys

DOI: 10.3233/SJU-2006-23106

Journal: Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 57-67, 2006