Burnout also affects young people: ”You’re young, you can do it”
Now she’s looking to the future. Veera hopes to work in another section and wants to start studying.Photo: Milla von Konow.
One in four people in Finland have experienced burnout symptoms. In its new monitoring report, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health reports that the working capacity of young adults has deteriorated and increasingly they have burnout symptoms. One of them is Veera, 20.
I wanted to take a year out after high school and I got a job as a shop assistant in Uusimaa a year or so ago. I was excited about getting the job and working with customers, which I like. I joined PAM around the same time. The shop’s owner changed at the start of the year and the opening hours were extended. Within a couple of months there were big changes for the worse at work, which negatively impacted my job satisfaction.
“The work isn’t organised properly,
we’re understaffed we’re working flat out”
At work, we unload incoming goods as a team. What often happens is that you get all your other work done, but unloading the dairy delivery drags out because it’s one employee’s responsibility. The evening shift person is supposed to continue, but there’s too much work and too few people. My colleagues and I have spoken to the owner about the understaffing and work organisation, but it seems it’s not acted on and not understood. 
I have often been left alone to unload deliveries, even into overtime. The shifts should be planned differently, because now the same employee has to do the same work many days in a row. Often the others can’t help either, because they are busy. And if you are a bit shorter in height, it’s really tough to lift up milk and yoghurt boxes. After my shift I’m totally worn out.
There are over 20 employees at the workplace including supervisors. Many of the workers are upset because the owner was the last one to join, but on the first public holiday he wasn’t at work but still sent us messages telling us what to do. He had no idea how busy we actually were at work. In recent weeks the feedback from customers has been lousy because over Easter there was no milk in the fridges and not much else either. Because they are so busy, the shop assistants seem to be really tired, irritable and frustrated. When their shifts end, some sales assistants have left in tears because they are under too much pressure.
A couple of months ago, a young couple came in on Friday evening to buy alcohol. Only one of them had ID on them, so I refused to sell it to them and told them the rules. One of the young people starting shouting his head off and the other threatened to hit me. Afterwards a customer came over to say he would have intervened because the situation looked threatening. I would have called the security guard, but I didn’t dare to leave the checkout. I later told the owner I was worried, and for a while afterwards the security guard checked the store more often. The owner suggested I ask someone else to be next to me if I’m alone at the checkout.
It seems funny that it’s my job to make sure I am safe at work. There are quite a few of us young girls at work, and there’s no security guard. I haven’t felt completely safe after that incident, and I don’t like being on the checkout on my own.
“The shifts should be more sensible and fairer.”
There are big problems with shift planning. Days off are often between working days, and I find you don’t get to recover properly. I have discussed these one day off-one day at work shifts with the head shop steward and said I hoped the shifts could be arranged more sensibly.
Shifts should also be shared out fairly. As a rule, both the supervisors have the weekends and public holidays off, and they only work morning shifts. I find this unfair because I regularly work weekends. So far I have also worked on all public holidays. I’m sure one reason is that I’m the youngest employee and have no family, and I’m on trainee pay, which makes me one of the cheapest workers.
My social contacts are at a minimum due to my work, although that’s also down to Covid. With the stress at work I don’t even have the strength to meet my friends. This has been going on for many months.
“I tried to tell them I’m too tired and I need support.”
I had to go on sick leave. Before going on sick leave, I tried to tell the owner that I’m too tired and I need support. But I didn’t get the help or the understanding I needed. It’s easy to say ”you’re young, you can do it”. But the fact is that even though I’m young it doesn’t mean I can cope with just anything.
The doctor suggested two weeks to start with and then we’ll see how I’m doing. I got good treatment from occupational healthcare. I picked up a bit after the sick leave, but I think things can’t go on like this. I contacted the head shop steward at work, and he organised a meeting together with the occupational safety rep. He will take my concerns forward. I hope I can get to work in a different section. I am awaiting an answer. I’m planning to apply to study in the autumn.
Veera (not her real name)
Young people’s wellbeing at work has deteriorated as Covid restrictions continue
The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health is carrying out a study to monitor wellbeing at work during the Covid pandemic. The results show that young people’s working capacity has deteriorated and burnout symptoms have increased as the restrictions continue.
According to the study, young people’s wellbeing has deteriorated as measured by various indicators including a positive state of wellbeing at work, positive work appeal and motivation at work. For young people, work appeal was now lower than in pre-Covid times. Burnout symptoms have clearly increased in young people, and especially so as the pandemic drags on.
The background factors influencing this are often complicated. For example, young people report experiencing unfair treatment at work more than older workers. A large proportion (40%) of the young people responding to the study also said that they haven’t learnt any new working practices. In a way they get less out of their work than they put in. Fair treatment at work has to do with justice, and it is known from other studies that this is an important factor explaining burnout. It would be important for workers to be able to participate in decisions affecting them, that they are recognised, get appreciative treatment and that the workplace operates in a consistent way.
General developments in working life could also be influencing the decline in wellbeing at work. More uncertain forms of employment also place a burden on wellbeing at work, as does burnout.
When considering solutions, it would be important to factor in issues that are important to those starting their working careers. For young workers, for example getting feedback at work is important, so that they are supported, understood and guided towards doing the right things and learning new working practices. These should be focused on at the workplace.
The monitoring study, entitled Miten Suomi voi?, analyses changes in wellbeing at work among working-age people in Finland caused by the coronavirus.
What to do
As an employer you are entitled, based on the right to direct, to draw up shifts and thus order when work is done. When drawing up rosters, workers are to be consulted and have the chance to express an opinion and draw attention to practical issues. Also, workers are to be treated equally in their employment, and this includes shifts, when days off are granted etc. These rights apply equally to supervisors.
Go to the shop steward at your workplace if there are problems with your shifts and the way they are arranged. He or she can also check what the situation is for other employees if necessary. It makes sense to arrange supervisors’ shifts so that the assistant manager has a shift when the store manager is not there. The shop steward or the occupational safety representative can also help you to deal with your workload.
Cases of psychological abuse of an employee at the workplace need to be reported to the employer. If you feel threatened or have a near-miss incident at work, contact the occupational safety representative too.
If there’s no shop steward or occupational safety representative at your workplace, contact PAM’s regional office.