The COVID-19 pandemic revolutionised working life: How companies adapted to new operating models

The COVID-19 virus began to spread in Finland in March 2020, pushing the entire country quickly into emergency conditions. The Government imposed strict restrictions on gatherings, so all employees who could work remotely remained at home.

According to Statistics Finland, approximately 60 per cent of employees worked remotely at some point during the pandemic, compared to approximately 14 per cent before the pandemic.

There were many fundamental questions in the air that no one could answer: people were concerned about their own health and that of their loved ones, and companies were thinking of ways to carry out work safely.

Approximately 5,000 people had to learn the practices of electronic meetings and hybrid working within a few days.

Kesko was one of the hundreds of companies where the changes took place practically overnight after the outbreak of the pandemic. Approximately 5,000 people had to learn the practices of electronic meetings and hybrid working within a few days. Of course, it was not possible to work remotely in all retail and logistics tasks.

 

“What was initially survival quickly became a permanent part of our work culture,” says Matti Mettälä, Kesko’s HR Director.

In the aftermath of the worst phase of the pandemic, Kesko’s salaried employees switched from remote work to hybrid work, where part of the work is done remotely and part in the office.

In-person work strengthens the sense of community, supports the adaptation of new employees and makes the work of supervisors easier.

Initially, teams agreed on working methods independently, but then supervisors started to request clearer guidelines for remote and in-office work. Therefore, at the beginning of 2024, Kesko issued guidelines according to which most salaried employees are expected to work at the office three days a week.

Kesko’s management justified its decision by the fact that people are social beings. In-person work strengthens the sense of community, supports the adaptation of new employees and makes the work of supervisors easier.

“We believe that keeping people together is critical for the work community. Working is an activity between people and it requires spending time together. In the long term, a sense of community will certainly also support wellbeing at work,” Mettälä says.

The only exceptions to the three-day rule at Kesko are IT teams and employees at the finance and HR service centre, who are only required to work at the office one day per week due to the nature of their work.

Modern workspaces are attractive

From the employees’ point of view, one of the greatest benefits of flexible remote working is the reduction in travel time and costs – one hour’s commute on five days a week can correspond to up to two months’ working time per year. It is therefore natural that not all Kesko’s salaried employees were pleased with the decision on three mandatory office days.

“We understand that people find remote work useful for many reasons, such as distance from the workplace or children’s hobbies that take up a lot of time. However, we made the decision that we considered best for the company,” says Mettälä.

Kesko’s working hours include extensive flexitimes that make everyday life easier for employees with children, for example, and individual needs are taken into account as far as possible.

“And we still have the opportunity to work remotely on two days,” Mettälä says.

We believe that keeping people together is critical.

According to Mettälä, the majority of Kesko employees like to come to the workplace, and people come to the office slightly more often than required by the hybrid work rule.

In addition to colleagues, one aspect that may make the workplace more attractive are  the modern workspaces in Kalasatama, Helsinki, to which Kesko moved only six months before the outbreak of the pandemic. It has ergonomic workspaces and furniture, a gym, a restaurant and an occupational health clinic. Modern electronic meeting solutions and retreat facilities were used during the pandemic.

Only the future will show how well new working time practices will ultimately function at Kesko. Mettälä admits that Kesko’s management has had to rely on its intuition in making decisions, as there is still very little research data on the matter.

“We believe that keeping people together is critical. So far, the feedback has been positive, which indicates that we are on the right track,” Mettälä says.

Hybrid work in multiple locations is a competitive advantage in recruitment

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) has recently thought about the best place to work after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of Luke’s employees are researchers, and the multi-location working model has been found to best meet the needs of the organisation – Luke prepared the policies for multi-location work in 2019, well before the COVID-19 epidemic. Multi-location means that the employee is free to choose their place of work.

Today, multi-location work is a significant competitive advantage in recruitment, and Luke is even forced to do so, as it has offices in more than 20 locations around Finland. HR Director Mari Paloheimo believes that some employees have chosen Luke as their workplace because the employer allows them to choose their place of work.

“The goal is a balance that combines employee freedom and promoting a sense of community. It is clear that the hybrid working model suits us best,” says Paloheimo.

Initially, we instructed people to come to the office one day a week, but it was perceived as a recommendation rather than an obligation.

As multi-location work was part of Luke’s everyday life even before the outbreak of the pandemic, COVID-19 did not bring any major changes to the organisation’s operations. Paloheimo says that although flexible policies are typical for research organisations even after the COVID-19 pandemic, some guidelines are needed.

“Initially, we instructed people to come to the office one day a week, but it was perceived as a recommendation rather than an obligation. That is why we have revised this guideline and raised the minimum requirement for office visits to six days a month,” says Paloheimo.

Luke wanted to promote a few days working at the office so that supervisors can ensure the well-being of employees and also promote the transfer of tacit knowledge within the organisation.

“Even occasional face-to-face meetings with others are important. The aim is that the days at the office promote team spirit and bring about new ideas,” Paloheimo says and adds that six days a month at the workplace is ultimately a very small requirement.

However, the freedom of being able to work in multiple locations does not affect everyone, as employees in laboratories, barns and fish farms, for example, have to be present every day.

Cleaning company adapted to the operating environment of the pandemic

MTB-Siivouspalvelu Oy is a Finnish company offering cleaning and housekeeping services. The COVID-19 pandemic posed major challenges to its operations, as cleaning cannot be done remotely, which meant that employees were at a constant risk of exposure.

In addition, work locations were empty when customers switched to remote work – the management of the cleaning company was worried whether it could offer work for everyone. Empty offices and closed restaurants created new challenges.

“The COVID-19 period was a turning point for us. We quickly organised work in a new way, and safety became a key objective. We did not want to give notice to our employees, even though the amount of work decreased,” says Liis Kiudorf, Service Manager and Occupational Safety Manager.

Hygiene measures, such as protective films, disinfection and disposable gloves, became part of our daily cleaning routine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of the reforms made during the pandemic have remained a permanent part of the company’s operations, and cleaning hygiene is at a whole new level.

“New cleaning solutions were constantly needed to remove the coronavirus from surfaces as efficiently as possible,” Kiudorf describes.

MTB Cleaning trained its staff in electrostatic cleaning and the use of antimicrobial films. As a result, the company was able to offer its customers particularly effective COVID-19 cleaning services and continues to offer them if the customer feels they need a high level of cleanliness.

“Hygiene measures, such as protective films, disinfection and disposable gloves, became part of our daily cleaning routine due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kiudorf says.

Many people have started to understand the importance of cleaning in a completely new way.

At the beginning of the pandemic, MTB-Siivouspalvelu had to adjust its operations on a weekly basis. New work instructions and plans were drawn up in close cooperation with supervisors and customers.

Teams meetings were introduced in customer encounters and worksite assessments. They were found to be so convenient that remote connections are still used a lot.

During the pandemic, the company developed MTB Academy, a platform for electronic communication and information sharing for employees, and it soon became an important tool for interaction. Even today, videos and work instructions are uploaded there, and employees can watch them on their mobile phones.

“MTB Academy allowed us to train our personnel quickly even during the COVID-19 pandemic and remind them of safety practices, for example. Our employees still use it,” Kiudorf says.

However, perhaps the biggest change in the cleaning industry happened in the minds of customers and the general public.

“Many people have started to understand the importance of cleaning in a completely new way,” Kiudorf says.