Providing a safe and healthy working environment for Posti employees is a key objective of our people responsibility. This
can be achieved by continuously developing the management of occupational safety and well-being at work on the one hand
and by extensive risk management on the other. The successful management of sick leave and the effective and extensive prevention of accidents are extremely important in terms of employee well-being and productivity as well as the Group’s profitability.
Well-being at work
At Posti, we have shifted our focus to an earlier and more preventive phase in the management of well-being at work and work ability. We actively seek solutions to extend the careers of our employees at risk of disability in close cooperation with our partners and support managers with the help of our workability experts.
COVID-19 situation on the agenda of well-being at work
Ensuring the health and safety of our personnel, partners and customers has been our guiding principle during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has further emphasized the need for low-threshold well-being support and flexible occupational health service channels.
We have invested in managing the COVID-19 situation and preventing infections. The situation has been closely monitored and protective measures have been decided on based on the authorities’ guidelines, risk assessments and expertise of occupational health services. We also conducted a survey on the exceptional situation at Posti, and based on the results, we have succeeded well in communicating and taking measures to protect our employees. In addition, we conducted a workplace survey aimed at Posti employees in expert roles, in which we emphasized the perspective of remote working. Based on the results, we increased the porosity of expert work and introduced shorter Teams meetings.
We supported the physical exercise of Posti employees by offering joint remote exercise lessons and promoted recovery during the working day with the help of a break exercise application. We also invested in providing information about the low-threshold well-being services with multi-channel communication and ensured the availability of conversational help.
Fixed Work supports work ability at an early stage
One of our big goals has been to take Posti’s Fixed Work, or the use of temporary work arrangements, to a new level. The change has been promoted through cooperation between Posti’s occupational safety and health. In Fixed Work, the focus is on the existing work ability instead of disability: what the employee can do on the terms of their work ability and how the work can be flexible instead of sick leave. Fixed Work benefits both the employee and the work community. Above all, the aim is to support work ability at an early stage, allow people to continue working and thus promote recovery. Temporary musculoskeletal problems and minor injuries are typical situations at Posti where Fixed Work is a good solution.
In 2021, we organized 16 training sessions for supervisors on the use of Fixed Work and kept the objectives present in occupational health. There was a significant development in the number of actual Fixed Work days, but we still have much potential to use work modification as a means of supporting work ability.
As a result of long-term cooperation, the number of disability pensions decreased significantly
Posti has carried out long-term work ability management work in cooperation with occupational health services and the pension insurance company. Activities have been targeted at those most in need, and awareness of the emergence of disability, factors affecting the prevention of disability and tools for work ability management has been systematically increased.
In 2021, the number of disability pensions and Posti employees absent on rehabilitation allowance and long term sick leave decreased significantly, the numbers seeing a downward trend for already the second consecutive year. The relative share of partial disability pensions of granted disability pensions also increased. The number of employees receiving disability pension was 40 employees lower and the pension expenditure due to disability pensions nearly halved compared to the previous year.
We are determined to shift the focus of work ability management to an earlier and more preventive phase. Signs of the right direction are the attention paid to early caring and identification as well as increased discussion between the employee and the supervisor about work ability and the possibility of working as work ability changes. The change is also reflectedin the increase in Fixed Work, the strengthening of the sick leave with the supervisor’s per-mission practice and the attention paid to the quality and quantity of discussions in the early support model. The strengthening of these operating models will continue at Posti in the coming year as well.
