News of the week in plain Finnish | Saturday 21.2.2026

Burnout and well-being at work.

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This week’s topic is burnout and well-being at work.

The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health says that approximately 25 percent of employees are at risk of burnout at work. Now we will tell you more about this topic.

Burnout is caused by the workplace

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Difficult issues should be raised regularly, not once a year, says occupational health physician and researcher Eira Roos. Photo: Mårten Lampén / Yle

Burnout is caused by long-term stress at work. Symptoms include long-term fatigue and a loss of interest in work.

The reason is usually that the work is poorly organized or the management is poor.

Occupational health physician Eira Roos has studied burnout.

He says that employee development alone won’t help. The problem usually lies in the organization, i.e. the workplace.

A day of recreation does not guarantee well-being

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An employee bike is a nice thing, but it does not guarantee well-being at work, Roos says. Photo: Tuomas Kerkkänen / Yle

Roos says that, for example, recreation days alone do not improve well-being at work.

Roos tells of a survey conducted among over 300 managers. Common methods in the workplace included exercise benefits and frequent surveys.

Roos emphasizes that well-being at work is created at work. It arises from the fact that work goes smoothly and that you can succeed at it.

A good mood cannot be the only goal

Too often, burnout is thought to be an individual employee’s weakness. Problems are hidden and the cause is thought to be within the individual.

Eira Roos says that often the most persistent employees burn out.

He summarizes that division of labor, tools, expertise, and management culture create well-being at work. Employees must be able to influence their own work.

An employee also needs appreciation.

Difficult issues are not addressed if the only goal of the workplace is a good atmosphere.

Burnout is expensive

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The prerequisites for good work are the employer’s responsibility, but well-being is ultimately about the relationship between people and work, says TTL’s leading expert Pauliina Mattila-Holappa. Photo: Mårten Lampén / Yle

However, not all workload is a bad thing, says Pauliina Mattila-Holappa, a leading expert at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

A little stress at work is normal. However, burnout is costly.

Burnout can cost an employer 20,000 euros a year, even if the employee is not on sick leave. One working day costs an average of 370 euros.

About a year before sick leave, work performance declines by an average of 25 percent. A person who is exhausted cannot work as well and efficiently as they can.

Repetition

Let’s say it again.

Burnout is most often caused by poorly organized work or poor management.

Recreation days or exercise benefits alone do not improve well-being at work.

Here was the News of the Week in plain Finnish. Let’s hear it!