Employees' working conditions and wellbeing in the Finnish mental health care services

During the last decade Finnish mental health care sector has undergone rapid changes. Partly due to the economic recession, the psychiatric bed rate and the length of average hospital stay have decreased dramatically. At the same time the implementation of information technology (IT) in health care organizations began. The purpose of this article is to describe the Finnish health care system, offer an overview of the working conditions and personnel in Finnish mental health care services and evaluate the prerequisites for the implementation of IT use from the personnel's point of view. Based on the findings from three national surveys it can be assumed that temporary employment, poor working conditions, aging of employees, and a rising number of mental health problems can affect employees' level of work performance and their capability to use new working methods in their every day work. Constant education for personnel and careful planning is important when implementing IT in the field of mental health care.