“If you happen to fall, the rest of the team will catch you” – trust makes a good working community

“Trust is the most important thing,” says nurse Matti Mitronen when asked about the most important element of a good working community. Mitronen works in the Enhanced Outpatient Care Team of the Psychosis Outpatient Clinic of Aurora Hospital, which operates under the City of Helsinki Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Division.

Things that build trust include all the informal conversations on car journeys that Mitronen and his partner have while carrying out home visits all over Helsinki. 

“You get to know your colleagues while working and see them as something more than just colleagues,” he says. 

Nurse Taru Gröhn, who is part of the same working community, nods next to Mitronen. They are on different teams, but they both carry out home visits to the homes of Helsinki residents who have been diagnosed with psychosis.

“Our supervisor also trusts us. When we are out on the field all day, they trust in the fact that we will do our job as we see fit,” Gröhn says.

Tarja Pusa and Maijuleena Blanco Sequeiros, whose work in the field of food safety is completely different, agree with Mitronen and Gröhn: There must be trust in the working community.

“If you happen to fall, the rest of the team will catch you,” says Blanco Sequeiros about an atmosphere where you can count on receiving help when needed.

“Being helped also feeds your desire to help others,” Blanco Sequeiros continues.

“And help is always available. There is also no need to be afraid of asking for help. The atmosphere of discussion is so open that if you need something, you can just go ahead and ask whether someone could help,” Pusa says. 

Another thing that these two working communities have in common is the fact that they achieved exceptionally good results in the latest Kunta10 study, the results of which were published at the end of last year. Kunta10 is a study carried out by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health aimed at monitoring the well-being and health of staff in the municipal and wellbeing services sector as well as work and changes taking place in it.

You can see the benefits that your work provides for the patients. And not just the patients, but society as a whole. Having us participate in care reduces the need for hospital care. That is no small thing.

Relevant and meaningful work

According to Mitronen and Gröhn, another important factor contributing to job satisfaction is that the work feels relevant and meaningful. According to the Kunta10 study, as many as 90.5% of the people in their unit view their work as being meaningful.

“I am sure that the working community and colleagues contribute to that as well. I guess it’s a bit of a cliché, but every working day is different. You might meet some patients on a walk or at a café, and then there are home visits. There is a lot of variability,” Mitronen says.

Another factor that is at least just as important is feeling that your work is relevant. 

“You can see the benefits that your work provides for the patients. And not just the patients, but society as a whole. Having us participate in care reduces the need for hospital care. That is no small thing,” Gröhn says.

Gröhn works in mobile outpatient care of psychotic patients. It is usually the last type of care that is provided when other forms of care have not helped. Mitronen, meanwhile, works in the Enhanced Outpatient Care Team. Their work is aimed at supporting the living at home of patients who have been diagnosed with psychosis.

“We can help the patients with things like grocery shopping, even if there is no purely psychiatric reason to do so. This improves the treatment relationship with the patients,” Mitronen says.

Other factors that, according to Mitronen and Gröhn, have a major impact on job satisfaction include being able to influence your own work and the absence of standard operating procedures that should always be followed.

There is little to improve, but Gröhn would at least like to see more specialist employees, such as social workers and psychologists, participate in field work.

Work-life balance is important 

Food inspectors Blanco Sequeiros and Pusa work for the Urban Environment Division’s Food Safety Unit. They operate on different teams, but they both carry out inspections at restaurants and shops, among other places, as part of their work. They also investigate suspected cases of food poisoning, for example.

“Our unit also carries out various projects. For example, this year will see the completion of a sauce project that involves studying the microbiological quality of the sauces used by restaurants,” Blanco Sequeiros says.

For Blanco Sequeiros and Pusa, the relevance and impact of their work is also very concrete.

“We see first-hand, in the field, that inspections work. Meaning that they improve operations. That is also important,” Pusa says.

Blanco Sequeiros points out that your work feels meaningful when it is appreciated and flexible.

“Our unit's job advertisements also clearly state that the work is not your whole life. We have a really good work-life balance here and the unit is flexible,” Blanco Sequeiros says.

The excellent Kunta10 results of Blanco Sequeiros and Pusa’s unit include 97% of respondents saying that they would recommend their employer to a friend and 94.1% of respondents believing that they will continue at their current job until retirement.

For Blanco Sequeiros and Pusa, physical activity is an important part of recovery from work. At their unit, the energy levels of employees are also kept up through office exercise during meetings. Physical activity outside of working hours is facilitated by the fact that the Urban Environment Division’s facilities in Kalasatama include a sports hall and gym.

Blanco Sequeiros and Pusa have also organised a dance club that allows employees to engage in dance as a hobby right after the working day.The Urban Environment Division also has other employee clubs that offer a wide range of recreational activities.

“Engaging in physical activity and cultural activities contributes to general well-being and recovery,” says Pusa.

“Discuss and reflect”

Both working communities are of the opinion that possible problems should be addressed and processed immediately before they have the chance to grow into bigger problems.

Discussion is important in the working community.

“Discuss and reflect. If there are things that do not work, we need to think about them together,” says Taru Gröhn. 

Blanco Sequeiros and Pusa emphasise taking care of others.

“Laughter, office exercise and openness are important, as is having the courage to speak up. And not leaving anyone alone,” says Blanco Sequeiros.

“You should laugh a lot! And take care of others,” says Pusa.