Nearly one in seven employees at Finnish welfare region reports workplace bullying

A new survey reveals widespread workplace bullying and discrimination across Finland’s welfare regions, with nearly 13 percent of employees at Pohde reporting bullying and nearly 20 percent experiencing discrimination, public broadcaster Yle reports.

The figures, presented by occupational safety chief Riikka Lampinen at a staff event last week, suggest around 2,400 Pohde employees have faced bullying and over 3,600 have encountered discrimination. The data comes from a 2025 study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, in which 55 percent of Pohde’s 18,000 employees participated.

Lampinen described workplace bullying as an “organisational-level phenomenon” and stressed the figures were shared to spark discussion rather than provide exact statistics. She noted the timing coincided with an anti-racism awareness week.

While Pohde’s bullying rates are slightly below the 14 percent average for welfare regions, discrimination reports—at 19.6 percent—exceed the 13 percent average. Over half of those bullied at Pohde reported it to their employer, a sign of trust in internal procedures, according to community relations head Oili Ojala.

Both officials emphasised Pohde’s zero-tolerance policy on bullying, though Ojala acknowledged the issue reflects broader sectoral pressures. The welfare region survey, covering eight regions, had not previously released bullying-related data publicly.