The trade unions: The employers of the care sector demand overextending and endless overtime from the employees

The health and social services need sufficient resources in order for the patients to receive the best care also in the future. It is necessary to invest in wellbeing at work, or otherwise the employees are burdened and flee the sector.

The health and social services continuously rely on the personnel doing overtime and being flexible. This has been going on for a long time, and too many employees have voted with their feet and changed career. The constant flexibility and long stretches of work increase the burden of the work and considerably weaken wellbeing at work.

When the care personnel get tired, that directly affects the patient safety: a tired and burdened employee makes mistakes at work more easily. So-called grey overtime is sadly common in the health and social services sector. Grey overtime is not officially recorded, but employees need to spend extra time to do their work duties. Overtime also affects the other areas of the employees’ lives. Our members keep telling us that it is more difficult to achieve a balance between work and the rest of the life. Without sufficient rest and recovery, the strain grows too big and can lead to sick leaves.

Today’s pressure to make savings has driven the wellbeing services counties to an unbearable situation, where employment contracts are terminated short-sightedly. It is necessary that the employers of the health and social services sector and the political decision-makers recognise the situation and secure sufficient resources for the services. Only by doing so, the skilled and motivated employees can give patients and customers the best possible care. This guarantees safety and wellbeing for everyone, both carers and those taken care of. Improving the working conditions of the professionals in the health and social services sector is not just an investment in wellbeing at work. It is also an investment in patient and customer safety.

These days it is even more important to recognise the significance of the health and social services sector as part of the security of supply and the comprehensive security of society. The health and wellbeing of all of us depend on the wellbeing of the health and social services professionals. Therefore, we as trade unions work to advance a European directive on psychosocial risks, and we do this work together with other European trade unions.

The trade unions of the Finnish public sector: JHL, Jyty, SuPer and Tehy, participate in the campaign of their European umbrella organisation EPSU on the World Health Day, 7 April 2025.

More information:

JHL´s Chief Executive Officer Mari Keturi, 050 461 9315