Occupational health services – An employee's point of view

Finnish employees are mostly satisfied with the functioning of the occupational health services (OHS). On the other hand, one of the usual answers to the question "What would help you to stay longer in work life?" stresses that the OHS should be developed. Very often an employee sees the services as only medical care. The functioning of the OHS system is assessed on the basis of how quickly an employee can expect to see a doctor. The changes in work life have increased the need for more expert knowledge about occupational health. Action at the workplace level has become even more important. The problem is that at workplace level people often do not know all the possibilities for help that they could ask from their occupational health service. The OHS is often separated from the other activities of the workplace.

During the past decades, the tripartite collaboration and social partners have successfully developed occupational heath services. The legislation has been renewed and several guides have been published. In the so-called collective agreements, the social partners have negotiated on occupational health matters. Therefore, already at the end of the 1980s, the social partners agreed on a model to promote the work ability of workers. This tripartite collaboration and the co-operation between the social partners have been essential in the development of the OHS system. Naturally, one can not forget that agreements and legislation in themselves do not solve the prevailing health problems. Nationwide, separate programmes and campaigns seldom reach everyday work life. Occupational health services must be visible and available at the workplaces.

The activities of occupational health personnel must be linked with a holistic way of thinking. Good occupational health is an aim itself, and not merely a factor affecting a company's competitiveness and profitability. The employee's goal is to stay healthy, even when this causes losses in productivity or in profit. In current work life, the essential prerequisites for the protection of employees are the multiprofessionalism and continuous development of the professional skills of the occupational health personnel.

The control of health risks, such as mental strain and exposure to chemicals at the workplace, is a major challenge for the Finnish OHS. Another challenge is to develop the OHS as a comprehensive system for all employees, regardless of the form of their employment. The requirement for this is a common effort of the social partners and tripartite collaboration, and possibly legislative changes.

At the workplace level, it is essential that employees have better possibilities to influence the health effects of their work. It is also important that they have occupational health specialists to assist in this task. We need preventive measures, if we want to encourage employees to stay longer in work life than at present.

Internationally, the Finnish OHS system has been considered to be effective and of high quality. On-going structural changes in work life, new workload factors and business-based thinking in occupational health services can jeopardize this high standard, however. It is not easy, in Finland or elsewhere, to control the new risks in work life. A key factor for the future is to increase the employers' knowledge about occupational health matters. Problems are solved only when there is willingness for real co-operation between all players, at the national level, and, especially at workplace level.