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Annika Magnusson
Marja-Leena Karhu
Managers in key role
to employee well-being
at edita group
leadership is
an important factor with a great
impact on employees’ work sat-
isfaction and motivation. To put
it simply: if you get along well
with your closest manager, you
enjoy going to work.
Annika Magnusson
,
Manager, hr Sweden, says that
if you have a good relation-
ship with your closest man-
ager and feel respected as an
individual, it is easier to discuss
things that do not work or need
to be improved at the work-
place. “One important subject
to raise in the annual perfor-
mance appraisal is communi-
cation between manager and
employee,” she says.
High-quality performance
appraisal discussions are also
important to convey to employ-
ees how their individual goals
are connected with those of
the company, or even with
those of the Group as a whole.
“All employees at Edita Group
should have well-defined indi-
vidual goals,” Magnusson says. “If
you know your individual goals
and understand how they fit in
with the company goals, you will
also understand why your con-
tribution is important. And that
will increase your motivation and
engagement.”
This is referred to as per-
formance management and
requires a leadership style that
gives employees flexibility to
make their own decisions and
use their competence and crea-
tivity to reach their personal
goals. Feedback is an important
part of this way of working and
this is an area, Magnusson says,
where we need to continuously
work to improve our leader-
ship skills.
The results of the 2011
employee survey show that
most employees within Edita
think they have a good relation-
ship with their closest man-
ager; the average result on a
group level is four out of five.
The leadership results were
much the same as in 2010, sug-
gesting that there are no areas
related to leadership that need
immediate attention. Magnusson
believes this is because managers
did a good job of handling the
restructuring process.
“However, we should not
forget that all employees, no
matter if they are managers or
not, have a personal responsibil-
ity for creating a good working
atmosphere. Well-being is not
only about how managers relate
to employees, but also about
how all employees relate to each
other.”
•
Activ occupational
health partnership
at its finnish
companies,
Edita looks after well-being at
work by ensuring that the staff
has comprehensive occupational
health services available.
An agreement has been
signed with the occupational
health care service unit of
Mehiläinen Oy. In addition to
statutory occupational health
care services, it includes basic
health care and specialist con-
sultation, if necessary, as well as
services provided by an occupa-
tional psychologist and an occu-
pational physiotherapist.
“As of 2011, age-based medi-
cal examinations for employ-
ees have been expanded so that
they start at the age of 30, con-
tinue at a five-year interval until
the age of 50 and thereafter at a
three-year interval,” says
Marja-
Leena Karhu
, hr Manager at
Edita Finland.
“More and more attention is
paid to workplace ergonomics,
and an occupational physiothera-
pist has provided training to staff
responsible for ergonomic issues
at each company. In developing
cooperation, one of the focus
areas is versatile occupational
health care services that sup-
port psychological well-being.”
An occupational psychologist has
attended the meetings of Edita’s
health and safety representa-
tives to tell them more about
the services available. Both
company- and department-spe-
cific occupational surveys have
been carried out, with the aid of
an occupational physician and an
occupational nurse as well as an
occupational psychologist, when
necessary.
“At managerial training we
have discussed interaction and
how to approach difficult issues,”
Karhu says.
In connection with organiza-
tional restructuring and redun-
dancies, Edita has provided both
employees and managers with
an opportunity to talk things
over with an occupational psy-
chologist. Issues related to the
psychological ability to cope have
been discussed in cooperation
negotiations, too.
“Our cooperation with
occupational health care ser-
vices is very active and we work
together to develop it continu-
ously,” Karhu says. ”Issues related
to health and safety activities
form a strong foundation for
our annual planning that aims to
enhance well-being at work –
the central theme being Edita’s
values: renewal, respect and
responsibility.”
•
edita’s year 2011
55