Perceived stress during the COVID-19 epidemic varied by occupation among municipal employees – remote work was linked to higher satisfaction

The Kunta10 survey, which was conducted in autumn 2020, reveals that municipal employees were fairly satisfied with their work life during the first year after the coronavirus outbreak. Employees who could work from home worked remotely. Although the year was difficult, positive trends were seen in several areas of work life.

In general, municipal employees feel that their work communities are functional and have a lot of social capital. Management has improved in municipalities. The employer image of municipalities has also improved: in 2020, 77% of municipal employees who responded to the survey would recommend their employer to a friend. The percentage has grown by five percentage points in two years.

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The stress felt during the first year after the coronavirus outbreak varied by occupation

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on work arrangements in the municipal sector. A total of 27% of the respondents said they were working partly from home due to the coronavirus, and 18% worked fully from home. Eight per cent had transferred to new tasks either within their own sector or to a new sector, and five per cent said their team or work group had been reorganised.

The respondents who had worked remotely reported improved control over their working time and changes at work, improved job control and more efficient recovery from work, compared to other respondents. However, the responses varied by occupation; teachers, for example, did not report increased flexibility of working hours as a result of remote work. Job resources related to the work community, such as the community’s social capital, remained good despite the shift to remote work.

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The differences between occupational groups and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were also evident in the longitudinal follow-up study on working conditions and well-being at work. Although work-related stress (high pressure and little job control) was slightly lower than two years ago when examining the results as a whole, work-related stress increased to 35% of the respondents among public health nurses and registered nurses. It seems like the workload increased the most among public health nurses and registered nurses who were transferred to new tasks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic: 43% of these respondents reported work-related stress, and 64% had considered changing their employer.

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The Kunta10 survey results in 2016, 2018 and 2020 can be viewed by occupation, by age group and by gender on the related pages. In the service, you can also group the results by the changes to work arrangements after the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Kunta10 study is the oldest and most extensive nation-wide follow-up study in the municipal sector, and it involves Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Turku, Tampere, Oulu, Raisio, Naantali, Nokia, Valkeakoski and Virrat. The Kunta10 study is conducted every other year. It covers almost one-fourth of all municipal employees in Finland. A total of 65,128 municipal employees responded to the Kunta10 survey in 2020 (response rate 72%).